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Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
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Author:  MikeN [ Fri Dec 24, 2010 8:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
Can any boat owner of a 328 share with me how they trim their outdrives during takeoff and while on plan. I Have owned the 328 with volve outdrives for two summers. I sometimes feel the bow sits too low while on plan as the boat will corkscrew when hitting another boat's wake at a slight angle. I have learned to live with it, but was wondering if other 328 owners trim up their outdrives at all during boat operation in deep water. I trim up for about 3 seconds after planing to give the bow and little more lift and better steering feel, and my trim tabs are always full retracted up. I am new to the four winns and want to hear from other 328 owners their trimming secrets. Thanks and Merry Christmas.
Author:  Lakebum [ Sat Dec 25, 2010 12:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
Like cap'n said, just depends on the conditions. Just have to play with it and see what works best. Neither of my trim meters work, so it's just by feel. You'll feel the sweet spot and notice the speed and smoother ride. 3 secs sounds about right, you can over trim on this boat quickly, so also watch your tachs and listen to the engines.
We don't actually use the trim tabs for coming out of the hole unless really loaded or maybe use 1 side or the other to level things out. I've always been impressed with how well this boat planes out, yet still handles pretty good chop.
Damn, now I'm thinking about waking up on the boat and going for a ride. o well 2 more months.
Merry Christmas to all!
Author:  txvista [ Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
About how fast are you going when you feel the boat corkscrew? I haven't had the problem. After planing, I adjust the trim tabs, and then the engine trim. I was always told to do it in that order, and it is just habit now. I adjust the trim tabs a lot more than the engine trim. I will raise the outdrives usually when the lake is pretty calm. On my boat, holding the engine trim for about 3 seconds is a lot. Are your trim gauges working? If so, how high are they?

Also, are you raising your trim tabs at the end of each day. There are 2 benefits of it. First, it doesn't allow growth on the inside of the shaft when you are not using the boat. Second, you know exactly where the tabs are when you leave the slip on the next outing. I can see the boat corkscrewing if you lower the throttles, and the tabs are on opposite ends to start with.
Author:  Cap'n Morgan [ Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
I wondered about that 3 seconds also. I know all boats are different, but on our boat with Bravo III's, if I held the trim button for 3 seconds, the drives would be up too high and cavitatation is the result. Maybe 1/2 to 1 second maximum for me to get the "sweet spot". It was about the same situation on our 268 with a Volvo DP. With the couple of 328's I have driven, I have never felt the bow was too low, except maybe in 5 to 6 foot waves. :wink:
Author:  txvista [ Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
Also, the the trim switches on the throttles of the 328 are not the easiest to operate with one thumb at the same time. The first summer I had my boat, my trim gauges were not working. I thought I was depressing the switches the same amount of time, hence the drives being at the same level. When I got the gauges fixed, I realized I was raising my port engine higher than my starboard mainly because I was not putting equal pressure on the switches. My service guy also made a note of it as well when he was driving my boat. Now I will raise one at a time in small increments. Just bringing it up because it maybe just another reason for the corkscrewing.
Author:  Cap'n Morgan [ Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
Good point, I had forgotten there is a trim switch for each outdrive on the 328 w/Volvo DP's. Just one button trims up both drives at the same time on the BIII's. Though it does have two "trailer buttons", and of course those are not used for trimming the boat.
Author:  jnizi [ Wed Dec 29, 2010 9:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
My experience is the same as Cap'n Morgan. As I hit plane, I trim up maybe a second or 2 and you actually feel/hear the boat hit what I have always been told is proper angle. I rarely use the trim tabs unless I am compensating for a heavy or unbalanced load.

Never felt the bow was too low on my 338. Do you have any pictures of your boat up on plane? Just wondering if it looks if the bow is too high? Do you carry a lot of stuff on the boat and is it balanced? Just wondering if weight distribution could be causing an issue?
Author:  MikeN [ Fri Dec 31, 2010 10:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Triming the motor's outdrives of a 328
Thanks for all you help with suggestions/questions.

I rarely use the trim tabs when planning unless my load is uneven. When slowing moving through the marina the trim tabs are always up and when the boat is docked the trim tabs are up also. The trim tabs work great when I need to use them. The 328 volvos has enough power to get up and plan without using the trim tabs, so I rarely us them at all.

The motors are trimmed fully down when getting up to plane, I do engine trim each motor separately as I have found the engine trim switches to be difficult to trim the motors up equally at the same time. I press each engine trim button about 2 to 3 times to find the sweet spot for driving (any more and the motors cavitate). I believe my use of engine trim is fine and likely the boat's performance is also fine. The boat does not corkscrew during normal use and when hitting waves on the bow is fine. However, when I am heading back to the marina at the end of the weekend with many other boating traffic heading in the same direction, I find waves hitting the side of my 328 will send my boat into what I call a corkscrew. The boat rocks back and forth, I can feel the bow getting pushed around by the waves and I have to countersteer alot to get through the side passing waves. It is likely what all boaters experience when travelling through waves that hit your boat from the side. The 328 looks great on plane, according to my friends. Although my marine mechanic said the same thing to me, that he feels the boats design has the bow sitting low while on plane. Otherwise, I love the boats handling and I am likely overreacting. However, the look on my wife and kids faces when encountering waves from the side can be quite comical as they hold on.
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