26 Billfisher Handling

[No Bad Days]

I am looking at purchasing a 26 Billfisher in the next few weeks. The one thing that keeps coming up is how tender they are in a following sea and in the trough. I have never spent any time on a 26 but have owned a 20 and 23. I know getting the bow up in a following sea is key, No fat dudes in the bridge? Any other tricks? Have you ever felt unsafe?

Thanks, Erik

[tony p]

I have had a 26 for 4 years. The tail wiggle on a following sea was a devil to figure out at first. I agree on all your points. Keeping the fat guys below is also essential.

A few weeks ago I had one of the more adventurous trips as we had a moderate swell, but tight interval heading home and it did a few eally solid slides. Newever felt unsafe, but on one swell it was a wild ride. Proper handling and it is fine.

As I am sure you already know the fuel economy is very good and a benefit if you ever have had a gas engine.

[DOGHOUSE26]

Trim Tabs all the way up coming in the jetty, out in the open ocean raise them upl until you hear/feel the props slip then lower the tabs until the slipping stops. When I was powered with an AD41, I pretty much ran with the tabs all the way down. Once you get above 16-17 knots you and raise the tabs to trim the boat better. Now with the D4-260 at speeds above 20 knots my tabs are barely down at all.

[Knot Now]

I am a Fat Guy, so keeping me of the bridge is not going to happen......LOL
I have found that if the sea is not directly astern, if I leave the boat leaned over just a touch on the side swell from I can run a lot more trim (run faster).
If the boat pops upright, just re-trim before you get in trouble.

You can always just slow down.

[grey goose]

Nothing against the bill fisher but an 8'6" hull seems a bit narrow to be running that high up, considering the weight that could be up there, Love the boat, Wish I had the cabin space, But trade offs are just that. Plus I really wanted to get it in my garage on the trailer when it came to doing the maintenance.

[DOGHOUSE26]

It doesn't have anything to do with the height, it's the weight of the boat and the shape of the hull along with the size of the swell and the speed of the boat. If you are running over 19-20 knots it wont happen unless you are extremely low on fuel and don't have any water in your bait tank. Try a 4-6' following sea in your pilothouse at about 14-15 knots and your boat will do the same with the tabs all the way down, it just won't be as pronounced; but with 300 HP under you I would expect you would be traveling 20+ and not worrying about it.

[IRish Wake]

Following seas are to say the least are disconserting.I've read that when the stern slides the best way to correct it is to turn the steering wheel opposite the sliding direction.Just the opposite one would do in an automobile slide where you would correct by turning into the direction of the slide.By the way the IRISH WAKE is for sale,see it on Bloodydecks.

[No Bad Days]

I feel there are lots of boats that are bad in a following sea, I was told my Shamrock would be the same way. I never really felt it in the Shammie the 5 years I owned it. We spend most of our time running up or down the coast, never with the sea behind us except running into Mission Bay.

Irish Wake is a awesome boat but out of my price range!

[IRish Wake]

Here is an excerpt from an article I found online. I hope it is helpful:

"Regardless of direction, it is necessary to control your boat speed and choose the one speed at which the boat becomes most responsive and controllable. Going too fast in a following sea means that you'll fly off the top of one wave and bury the bow into the back side of the next. That's not good, so we need to find the right speed which yields the most comfortable ride while still keeping good control of the boat.

When following seas start to get really big, we have only two choices: either we slow down to the appropriate speed, or we have to change direction. If we put the seas on the aft quarter we can maintain a higher speed without stuffing the bow into the backside of a wave. On the other hand, we may not end up going in the direction we wish. (And here you may have thought only sailboats engaged in tacking) It then becomes a matter of whether our higher speed makes up for the extra distance we have to travel. Often times it does, making it advantageous to alter course 20-30 degrees."

[No Bad Days]

Thanks guys, I sealed the deal on a really clean 2nd owner 1988 Billfisher!