1978 20 master angler

[Bushwacker]

There is reference to the FACT that the ride got better with increased speed.

If you study the Boating magazine article on the 20' Seafari in literature section, you'll see a plot of running angle, mph, and some other stuff vs. rpm. Although optimum mpg cruise was about 19-20 mph on that rig, notice that the running angle gets less (flatter) as speed increased up to about 25 mph; it doesn't get much flatter at speeds over 25.

On my first Bahama trip we did a lot of running in 2' square waves on Little Bahama Bank in the Abacos. Sure enough, the boat rode better at 25 than it did at 20! As the running angle flattens out at higher speed, the wave impacts move forward to the higher deadrise sections of the hull, hence a softer ride despite the higher speed and harder impacts. I concluded that ride would be even better if I could keep the hull running flat at lower speed so as to not hit 'em so hard! For the next trip I added trim tabs, which made the boat ride like it was about 3' longer! Power trim can sometimes do the same thing although it doesn't provide roll control, which is also key to a soft ride. Power trim didn't seem to have much effect with my old 20" motor hanging on the transom, but with the 25" motor on a bracket, that setup evidently creates more leverage, so power trim has a big effect on running angle with current setup. My rig will now plane at 12-13 mph and be very comfortable in some really sloppy seas. Just ask Snookerd about our snorkeling trip down in the keys!