Epic performance questions. Compared to my old ski boat please read

[tryme]

Taking my peic 21 out for the first time i noticed that it turns quite a bit different than my old 1989 ski boat.  My old ski boat turned flat and really could whip around.  theh epic turns on a bank and doenst really turn all that quickly for a ski boat.  turns lid of like a runabout.  is this a normal thing?  i thought ski boats with the 3 fins under really could turn on a dime.  I know toyota had a problem with the boats in the beginning turning and unable to come out of the turn.  how was this problem fixed?  just asking cause i ski on a river and i need to turn quickly and it seems to underperform when turning at speed. 

Also anyone ever think of putting a live chat option on the web site?  would be nice to chat and get imeediate responce

[lesman01]

can't speak to the turn thing as I have a vdrive and no fins, but the chat thing is interesting. THe only problem with a chat is that there is no one person with all the knowledge(except maybe Pete and Rick and Freak). ANd, if you're chatting mono a mono, others can;t benefit from the collective knowledge.

search the forum for "chine lock" (with the quotes) on the turning problem.

Let's see what others think abot the chat idea. It's certainly possible.

[epic_toy]

I have a 21. I've found the best way to get it turned around quickly is to pull the throttle to neutral and turn the wheel pretty hard at the same time. If you're going back to pick someone up and don't have much weight in the back the back end will literally slide right around. It's a pretty sharp turn, maybe within a couple boat lengths. If you're talking about turning at speed, I've found and was told to put use more throttle into the turn. It seems to track better that way.

The guy I bought the boat from told me the chine lock issue was due to a warped mold, and thus was the reason for the recall where Toyota replaced every boat in the fleet (or maybe I read it on this site...). I did experience it once when I was turning pretty hard with some weight in the back, the wheel went kind of loose. it was weird. Not that big of a deal if you remember to just slow down.

Hope that makes sense....

[toyotafreak]

Let's not be giving power-turning lessons, and for the record, EpicMarine does not endorse power turning for TOYOTA boats or other watercraft.

How'd ya like that?

Les, the only thing I know about is blabbing. Love to talk about them Epics; even more than a lot of you guys that actually KNOW something about the boats :-)

The forum is friggin awesome as-is thanks to Pete and Les. You guys rock and I'm thankful every day for you guys facilitating this community.

[Rambling Wreck]

My E21 is my first and only ski boat - keep that in mind as you read the remainder of the post.

At lower speeds I found myself turning so tight I was right back into my wakes and could put water up and over the bow . Seemed to tick off the spotters so I gave that up! I then started doing the same as Epic Toy and I turn tight enough to go right back in between the wakes. You are right in that the boat does bank a lot at the slower speeds. At higher speeds I don't get much banking at all. In fact, if passengers aren't holding on to the grab handles on the sides, I can keep the vinyl seats wiped down by sliding the passengers across the width of the boat in a heartbeat! I have never pushed the boat to the limits, not my style, so I am afraid I can't address your question as to just how tight a turn it can make. I have never felt anything close to the chine lock that has been mentioned.

As to live chat, I rarely find too many on line at the same time.

[phenom_1819]

I usually ride on a small river too, and agree with you completely.  They don't turn well for d-drives.  I think they should have had another keel under there, and I don't think the stepped-back transom helps either because it leaves the boat ass-heavy (dangit Bitzco, leave this one alone... ), and makes it want to carve the turn rather than slide.

HOWEVER, in a tight river, with no other options, is the ONLY time you should ever do a high-speed turn. Unless you want every other boater on the water to curse you.

For the non-river riders:
When the skier/boarder falls, pull the throttle back to neutral.  Don't turn the wheel yet.  Once the rollers go away (about 4-5 seconds after you pull the throttle to neutral), turn the wheel, idle through the turn, and get back to your skier.  The reason? It minimizes cross-rollers and keeps the water calmer, longer.