www.iFourWinns.com

new to boating here. I have a 205 sundowner that I took out yesterday for the first time. I seem to have trouble getting up on a plane quite a bit. Is there a trick that I am missing?

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1989 205 Sundowner
5.0 HO OMC Cobra

First of all, welcome! As they say, pictures are mandatory or else it never happened.

Make sure your drive is trimmed all the way down to start. After you get up on plane you can trim up a bit to get the most efficient ride. You'll have to play with the trim while on plane to figure out the most efficient speed as all boats are different in that regard. If the trim down doesn't work, your next bet is 1) changing out the prop, 2) adding a stabilizer fin, or 3) adding trim tabs.

Cuddies can be notorious for slow hole shots, mainly because all the weight (i.e. passengers) are typically seated at the rear of the boat. If you can put as much storage weight in the front of the cuddie, that may help as well before spendng any money.

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP

My 245 only has 250 hp and SX (single prop) drive, so I always have to pay attention to drive trim to get up on plane. It has become second nature to always adjust trim when operating the boat.

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Terry
Current: 07 Crownline 255 CCR cuddy - 350 Mag MPI/B3 "Casi Cielo"

Previous:97 245 Sundowner 5.7GI/SX

Tow vehicle: 1986 GMC 2500 Camper Special 454/TH400

What engine, drive & prop do you have? I assume you do not have trim tabs (?).

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Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner

I also have a 205 and have found this to work for a quick (quick for a cuddy anyway) plane. Trim all the way down, give it plenty of throttle (almost full throttle but not enough to throw people out of the boat), you will take off and in no time you will see the bow settle down and voila! you are on plane. Now the trick is to back off the throttle to a comfortable speed. If you slow down too much you will notice the bow going back up and your ride will be crap. Once you're on plane and at a comfortable speed, lift your trim for about 1 1/2 seconds. This should show your trim gauge moving from far left (down) to between the first mark and straight up. This is my sweet spot- yours may be different depending on load and conditions. Once you find that sweet spot you will notice in increase in speed without touching the throttle. Now you may want to adjust the throttle again for you needs.

When I get to where I am going or am stopping for whatever reason, I ease off the throttle and drop the trim all the way down at the same time. Don't go from full throttle to neutral in a quick motion if you don't have to. You will end up with people in your cuddy that you didn't want there. With the trim all the way down this will give you a good trim position for a no wake zone or have it positioned for when you're ready to go at it again.

Try this technique next time you go out in an area that is not congested and do it a few times. I guarantee you will be happy with the results in your 205.

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1998 Four Winns 205 Sundowner

TV: 2011 Toyota Tundra/2002 Chevy Tahoe

If you have trim tabs, have them down as well.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

I have the 5.0 HO with OMC drive. Prop is a 14-1/4X21+. I'm guessing that it is, like everyone said, the type of boat. I have never been in a cuudy before so I had no idea it would be any different. I did run the prop as low as possible, but I didn't just stab the gas. I was trying to keep it from standing up too much so I tried to just ease it on. I did notice that if I gave it a bit more from a take off that it would level out a little faster, but it didn't compute in my head. I think I was just too nervous, as it was my first time out.

I did play with the trim after we were out for a bit and did figure out how to get max speed out of it. I think my trim guage is broken though, as it always reads "up"

Oh, BTW, no, I don't have trim tabs.

Thanks for all the replies. I will use this new knowledge and my new confidence to just stab the gas next time.

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1989 205 Sundowner
5.0 HO OMC Cobra

Took the boat out again for the second time today. I decided to just give'r everything. It worked great. I was too scared to just shove the throttle ahead to get going. I had an easier time trimming it up too. I just need more practice. I broke a vent windo coming back in to dock too. They have a big pipe sticking up through for it to rise on and it happened to be sticking up a little too far and the water was rough from all the morons tubing right at the docks. Well it clipped my open vent windo and shattered it so now I have to call a glass guy and see what this is going to set me back.

Thanks for all the help for the new guy.

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1989 205 Sundowner
5.0 HO OMC Cobra

ouch !
my 205, mercruiser 260 HP can be a pain to plane if the boats fully loaded, ie 4 adults and 6 kids on board. I'll often ask the adults to move forward for a moment to help plane better.
The 205 is inherintly stern heavy and poorly balanced IMO ( engine, fuel, fresh water, & half the passengers are all well aft)

i toyed around with the idea of a 4 or 5 blade prop for quicker planing, or even tabs, but theres not a lot of space to fit them easily.

keep learning about your boats eccentricities, practice makes perfect !

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