OS285 stability and ride

[anchormanagement]

I purchased a 2008 OS285 a year ago. I noticed two issues.

The first is transom wash-over when not underway. In seas over 1/2', water regularly washes over the transom. The transom well always has some water in it. The boat is powered with the standard twin F250's. It also has the westerbeak generator. Does anyone have the same issue? Is it possible the weight of the generator is a factor for this hull?

The second issue is lateral stability while underway. It has been difficult to set the trim tabs to keep the boat level at cruising speed. The boat tends to roll to one side or the other and hang there before correcting. I tried running with empty and full water tank with no improvement. My mechanic noticed the engines were toed in (/\ where bow is up). Using the steering connector rod the toe in was removed. They are now parallel (||). I am not sure this has helped. The list has tended to get better but I have also gotten better at understanding how to trim this hull properly. Has anyone else noticed this behavior?

On the second issue, I did research on the engine toe setting. The general consensus is to determine the proper engine orientation by running with the connector rod disconnected. The engines will find the correct toe setting themselves. (I am not recommending this procedure...I did a lot of research before I got comfortable with the idea and suggest anyone else do the same).

I will report back on the toe setting once I am able to perform the above.

[biggems]

I've been in my '07 285OS since 2009, 700hrs on the same 250s, no genny.

On issue #1, I can get some water under the transom door too, but the wave has to be at least 1ft and hit the stearn corner just right. Obviously, that changes if we have a couple fat-asses in the port quarter playing a fish or pulling a pot. I've thought about adding a weather strip to the bottom of the door.

Issue #2. No idea. My ride is stable and balanced in just about all sea states/fuel levels/tab positions. In a word, the ride is fantastic. Just my $0.02

[RFolly]

I know I am replying to an old post, but I thought I would add my thoughts to Issue #2 above, as something like this post was helpful to me in the past, so maybe I can help someone else. I have a 2013 285 OS and absolutely love it. My prior boat had an 18 degree deadrise which seemed more steady at rest would but would also knock your teeth out when pounding through waves on plane. I find the 285's 22 degrees so much better when moving quickly through the rough stuff. When I got the boat in 2015 I too was taken aback on some days when there was a "lean" while on plane and at one point I thought there was something wrong with the boat. The only problem was me as the operator. The trim tabs on the Pursuit 285 really are key and it took me a while to learn how to dial them in. Agree that full tanks, especially a full or empty water tank is helpful.

With respect to the "lean," one explanation that I read on another forum is that if you are up on plane and there is a cross wind, a fixed hardtop can act like a foil, sort of like an airplane wing. The explanation was that the pressure difference created by the cross wind on one side of the hardtop (I guess the top?) can lead to a lean (as opposed to lift for an airplane) in boats with a deep v. which the 285 OS has. I'm no scientist, so I'm going with this explanation because it seems plausible and I haven't experienced the lean when the true wind comes from the bow.

The solution for me was in learning how to use the trim tabs, as my prior boat didn't have any. Unless the waves and wind are from the stern (in which case I use no tabs) this is what has worked well for me: While slow speed, I lower the engines all the way, then give them one quick hit of up on the their trim angle. I put the tabs all the way down for the hole shot. As soon as I'm up on plane, both tabs get moved to mid trim. Then wait to see if there is a lean that day. If so then I raise the low side tab and if that doesn't work will further lower the high side tab. My success with the tabs has been in making small corrections (one dot on my indicator at a time), and giving them 15 to 30 second to settle in before making another adjustment. Obviously, if I change course or the wind changes, I'll have to redo some settings, but for me it is problem solved. I hope this helps someone else.