too heavy in the back end/ plowing through the water.

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HUSKERBOATER

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I was wondering if anyone had tips for moving weight forward in a semi- V boat. I have decking on the rear 3/4 of the boat and find i hard to move weight foward considering the back half is flat so I can store things under the decking. anyways, my boat is 11'6" 42" beam, with a 245lb guy and a 1996 6hp evinrude. Maybe clip my trolling motor to the front so I can move the battery foward? or park myself as far foward as possible and stick my little japanese friend at the helm? I am really plowing through the water now. here is a link to a youtube video of my ride. Also, there is a small knob in the center of the throttle than I can turn either way- What exactly does this do? I really want to get the manual but don't have 25 posts yet.

Brent Q.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CM3ZQP3iKE
 
I added wiring and more fuel line to move battery and tank to the front. Could not open YouTube clip. You may be able to extend your seat forward, I have done that before, every bit helps.
 
just a thought is the motor within the factory rating for that boat? other than that i agree, move battery and tank forward.....also make sure you dont have any waterloged foam or wood in the boat.

one more thing, is the motor at the right angle so that it is not pushing the rear down?
 
How large is your fuel tank? When I purchased my boat it came with a 6 gallon tank. I have a 9.9 Evinrude. I found that it was too much for my needs. I downsized to a 3 gallon tank and saved some weight and space. I am still able to go between 17-20 miles with the 3 gallon tank. I usually only travel about 10 miles when I go fishing. If you have a large tank and do not plan on using all of the fuel every time you can just quit filling it up all the way. That will save some weight.
 
A 12' boat is not the best for the kind of weight and placement you have in it. A 14' would do much better but you have what you have so....
1st - Move the fuel tank as far forward as you can get it. Extend the fuel line if necessary.
2nd - Move the battery as far forward as possible also. Extend cables if you have to.
3rd - Make sure your trim pin is as close to the transom as possible, that will give you the most out of your combination.
4th - Lean wayyyyy forward when trying to plane the boat....you just might do it!
To answer your question on the small knob in the center of the throttle, that is an idle adjustment knob. It controls engine idle speed when the handle is twisted back toward slow idle. Adjust as necessary.
 
bluegillfisher said:
wolfmjc said:
one more thing, is the motor at the right angle so that it is not pushing the rear down?
wolf, what angle should motor be? Do you just play with the trim settings on back?

Marion
if you have power trim then yes play with the angle of the motor to make sure its not "pushing down" when you are underway, if you have a manuel setting then try moving it up or down to see if it makes a difference...every boat is a little different due to design and weight placement, you should also look at the other suggestions in this post because have some good ideas too...
 
Doubt that little motor has power trim. Power may be your problem. You can't drive a rail road spike with a tack hammer. Rule of thumb with manual trim. Start at the lowest setting-all the way down and work your way up till it won't plane out. Now if it won't plane out on the lowest setting try a shim or two for even a deeper bite in the water. Place the shim so the motor tilts futher under the boat. Do all the weight shifting recks also. See if you can borrow a bigger motor from a good friend and that may answer the question. Jenny Craig (I weigh 275).
 
tccanoe said:
Doubt that little motor has power trim. Power may be your problem. You can't drive a rail road spike with a tack hammer. Rule of thumb with manual trim. Start at the lowest setting-all the way down and work your way up till it won't plane out. Now if it won't plane out on the lowest setting try a shim or two for even a deeper bite in the water. Place the shim so the motor tilts futher under the boat. Do all the weight shifting recks also. See if you can borrow a bigger motor from a good friend and that may answer the question. Jenny Craig (I weigh 275).
This is exactly the opposite of what the guy who I got the motor from said. I am going to lake this afternoon and I will start at lowest setting and work higher. My other motor(both are 25's) would pop the boat up on plane, but was a pull start. :| I replaced fuel filter cap and rubber seal under it yesterday. I was getting a small amount of gas leaking when I pumped the blub--now it is tight.

Marion
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.=D> I have a 3 gallon and a 6 gallon tank- will use the 3 though to reduce weight. I will have to try out the tilt pin setting all of the way forward this weekend. Also I have decided to mount the battery and gas tank near the front as well. And yes I now realize that I should have gotten a 14', but being the first boat I have ever owned I didn't know what to expect. This site is awesome, I couldn't get this much advice anywhere else. I am putting Rustoleum on the trailer tomorrow and If I am really ambitious I will think about getting a longer fuel line and battery cables. I had another idea, what about bolting some wood all of the way to the bottom on the transom to get some added buoyancy? I think the easiest fix would be to get on the track and lose some weight, but being 6'4 I will always be too darn big for this boat. As far as size of the motor, it is only about 50 lbs and is definitely not too much motor for the boat.
 
I'm 6'4" 275 but it's all Dunn-lapp.
Something I did to move my battery was buy a set of long jumper cables and clip the clamps (?) then solder lugs in place. Worked well. In the long run, you may want to take your 12 footer and make it a trolling motor only boat for those lakes requiring electrics. Keep an eye out for a 14-15 footer cheep. They are out there all the time. And if your married it will give you and yours something to talk about. You know, keep a little spark in the relationship.
Adding wood will just add weight. You can add flotation but you're talking a big job. I can't remember what those box-like things are called (help me here) but they look like a major project.
 
I just purchased a 14' Starcraft aluminum. It has a 9.9hp Merc. I have noticed that when I am alone in the boat it is plowing and I have the manual trim set to be as close to the boat as possible. When I have the kids with me it seems to get on plane. I will take some of the great suggestions provided here and try to apply them to my situation. I think the shim suggestion might work for me. Just to make sure i am understanding this correctly, I would shim the motor where it attaches to the transom? with the goal being to get the prop angled a bit more toward the boat to push the back end of the boat up a bit more?
 
You got it. Think of it as getting the prop under the boat to push it up and over on plane. Put the shim on the in-board side to angle the motor back under the boat. If you put the shim out-board, it would act like the trim pin being moved out. (I think but I'm no expet. Somebody help me out here.)
I was dating this girl (here we go). I took the girl and my old 20hp Johnson to Canada on a Smallmouth trip. We rented a tin V-hull and I stuck the Johnson on it trimmed all the way down. Man, when we took off that V-hull stuck stright up in the air, hitting those big water waves and that girl sitting in the bow her butt bouncing off that bench while she gripped the gunnels and yelled with ever slam back down on the hard water, I STILL laugh thinking about it 30 yrs later. Once that boat planed out though, it would scoot across that lake. Ah, the good ol' days. She was a skinny little ol' thing too. Her butt may still be hurting.
Anyway, use a piece of 1X2 as long as the distance between the screw clamps on your motor. Place it on your transom and tighten. You may need to move the pin out a little to compensate or not. Mess around with it. (don't drop your motor in the water) If you find the right shim you can glue/screw it in place and go from there. If a 1X2 is too thick, go with a thin plywood shim or something. Good luck.
 
Good call on the hydrofoil Bobberboy. I think I remember someone making a smaller set for lower hp motors yrs ago. Might check e-bay if they can't be found retail.
SkagBass, I would say you are real close with your motor angle if having the kids in the boat gets you on plane. Doing some weight redistrabution, a little shimming and leaning waaaay foward may do the trick. By the way, what is an expet?
 
OK SkagBass,
Did you get a chance to try your mods out this weekend? The suspence is killing me. I was thinking. You may have to angle/cut your shim on the outboard side in the direction you want the motor to go /. (that's not a back slash it's an angle slash) Let me know how it goes. TC
 
I got a chance to test it out this weekend. I used a 1x2 on the outboard side of the transom and it made a significant improvement. This week I will cut a piece of wood with an angle to make a more permanent solution. I also took a look at the hydrofoils at BPS. These seem relatively inexpensive so i plan on adding this as well. I also caught 3 nice SMB on the outing. Thanks for the great suggestions!
 

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