trim readout issue on opti via smartcraft gauge

[Hugh Jardon]

on the opti 200, if you set the smartcraft gauge to read trim, when you are going along it will sometimes alternate between 10 and 8.8

it will read 10 most of the time but now and then it flicks to 8.8

has anyone else come across this, did not notice any play in the engine but it is a heavy lump to tug on

should i be worried?

[jwalker]

Dear Worried of Hook,

We need some more information, preferably a picture of your wiring harness, your trim sender unit and a video of the gauge while it is playing up. I hope you can find the time to do this. I will help the Ribnet members enormously.

Much love and good wishes.

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Dear Worried of Hook,

We need some more information, preferably a picture of your wiring harness, your trim sender unit and a video of the gauge while it is playing up. I hope you can find the time to do this. I will help the Ribnet members enormously.

Much love and good wishes.

i was thinking you might say that, so i have taken some video but i am having it professionally edited by the bbc for a documentary and they can apparently provide it in any format you need.

to help further i have had the wiring harness removed by the dealer to provide better pictures.

also if it helps further i am very happy to bring the engine in person up to scotland for further scrutiny

petrified in petersfield

[Mollers]

Dear Fireman Sam, I've never known a trim gauge to be 100% accurate. The none "Smart" type tend to flick about all over the place. Trim is really about knowing your boat,allowing for speed , extra load etc and most importantly adjustment for sea conditions. What ever the gauge is reading is by the by.

[Scotty]

Dear Hugh,
I see from your profile that your boat is 7m long. The easy and cheap solution is to look over your shoulder at the engine and trim up or down based on your observation

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Scotty

Dear Hugh,
I see from your profile that your boat is 7m long. The easy and cheap solution is to look over your shoulder at the engine and trim up or down based on your observation

Scotty, Hugh has forgotton to add that he prefers to wear a Firemans helmet whils't ribbing. This tends to make looking over one's shoulder a little difficult.

[Hugh Jardon]

some fantastic advice as normal below but just to push the question again....

on the opti 200, if you set the smartcraft gauge to read trim, when you are going along it will sometimes alternate between 10 and 8.8

it will read 10 most of the time but now and then it flicks to 8.8

has anyone else come across this, did not notice any play in the engine but it is a heavy lump to tug on

should i be worried?

[JIY]

Hi Hugh,

I've only done about 5 hours with my new 200 Opti, so haven't noticed a problem, but I'm running with the Smart Craft gauges only showing trim when the trim button is depressed. I guess trim angles are dependant on transom angles, so will be different on every boat, but my usual " 4 up and full fuel" trim angle is 4.5 on flat seas at about 33 knots.

However, in my last boat, which was a diesel with mercuiser leg, the trim gauge always varied a bit when in moderate seas, particularly in a following sea.

I'll be out on the new boat later in the week, and if you've not had advice from any other Opti owners by then, I'll check and let you know how my trim behaves.

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by JIY

However, in my last boat, which was a diesel ...

Jim, 2 diesel boats and then a change to petrol. Give us the lowdown on the new boat...and why?

[JIY]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Jim, 2 diesel boats and then a change to petrol. Give us the lowdown on the new boat...and why?

Hi Jeff,

Two reasons really - firstly a co-owner who decided it was time to hang up his lifejacket (although JS will probably be out on the water as much on my new boat as he was on Panther!), which meant I had to finance the new boat all on my lonesome, but also because of reliability issues with the legs attached to diesels.

Our first diesel was a 6.8m Ribcraft Offshore, with a Volvo KAD32. Although the boat was only 3 years old, it was costing a lot to maintain, with a variety of repairs (exhaust elbow, starter motor, etc.) The Ribcraft was well built, but at 6.8m was a little short on waterline length for a diesel installation, so it was rather stern-heavy, and hard work in a head sea. We both agreed it was time for a change to something a bit longer, but still with a diesel installation (economy, safety, availability etc).

So boat number two was ordered, an 8.5m Tornado. She was (is) a superb sea-boat, highly capable in all conditions and very well constructed. We plumped for the Yanmar coupled to a Bravo 3X leg. We chose the 250hp engine because there was evidence that the 300hp+ engines were too torquey for the Mercruiser legs. All was well unit last year, when we had a failure of one the the Universal Coupling Joint bearings at about 280 hours - it took about 10 weeks to fix, in the peak summer period, and we missed a number of commitments (Scottish Series etc). Then this year we had to replace a worn steering gimbal pin (at 600 hours), taking another 10 weeks and a whopping £2.5K!

So I'm having a go at the outboard route, new boat, 3 year engine warranty etc. The extra cost of fuel is significant - yesterday I did 68nm in formation with my old 8.5 diesel - he burned 64 litres, I burned 69 litres, so the economy is pretty similar, albeit the price at the pump is not! Of course if (and hopefully it's a big if ) red diesel is no longer available to pleasure craft next year, the economic advantage of diesel boats will be less clear.

I've gone for another Tornado, because their sales advice and support was absolutely first class with the 8.5, and of course because of Tornado's legendary build quality, which I've yet to find any reason to doubt. Thus far the 7.5 is everything I could have asked for, what she lacks in waterline length and sheer inertia as compared with the 8.5, she more than makes up for with an excellent ride and handling.

Had more been known about the new Volvo diesels, perhaps I could've been tempted back down the diesel road, but it's early days yet and I'll await your and others experiences with interest.

Well that's my reasoning in a nutshell, time will tell if I've made the right decision!

Jim