new guy needing some project help

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t3clay

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hey everyone, tanner here im a huge hunter and fisherman looking to do some work to my boat and you guys are awesom! so thought this would be a good place to start!

well i got this boat a few years ago and i did a hellof a job putting in an awesome casting deck the problem is that i used 3/4 ply and it is way to heavy, i cannon get the boat on plane and i dont have the funds to upgrade the motor. so here is is a 16' either 36 or 42 wide the casting deck was built from 2x4s and 3/4"plywood.

im looking to remove all or half of the casting deck and build a floor i would also like to remove one of the benches too but im not sure how much work that is and if it is something that is safe to do?

the boat has 3 benches 2 under the casting deck.... am i missing anything?

my goal is to reduce the weight of the boat so with that in mind what is the best thing to use for floowing aluminum i would assume.. i am also looking for this to be cost efficient.

thanks everyone

 
another question on the motor there is the pin that you can move to adjust the tilt/trim angle that the motor sits does anyone have an idea of where the best spot for that would be? im planning on taking it out and trying different positions but is there one spot that is most likly to be the best?
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=347277#p347277 said:
t3clay » Today, 20:56[/url]"]another question on the motor there is the pin that you can move to adjust the tilt/trim angle that the motor sits does anyone have an idea of where the best spot for that would be? im planning on taking it out and trying different positions but is there one spot that is most likly to be the best?

It all depends on the loading of the boat. I have found that the 2nd pin from the bottom is most ideal for mine. As far as lightening the deck, I built mine out of 2x3's, and 1/2" sandeply. Supported properly, there is no need for 3/4" ply for a floor in a john boat.
 
when i built it i was really worried about it bein stable. now its too heavy im thinking about removing the back half of the casting deck, starting at the back door hinges. the very back of the casting deck there is a built in bench seat. i would like to remove this too to give it an open floor plan but how do i know if it is needed structurally or if the boat will be ok without it?
 
the bench setup in this boat is similar to the one here
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10365&start=0
 
Aluminum would definitely be the way to go if you want to reduce weight. Cost factor would be the only concern vs wood. As far as removing a bench seat, I did it with my build and haven't had any issues so far. But, my ribs extend 3/4 of the way up the gunwales and are spaced evenly throughout the hull of my boat. So I felt comfortable with the support I would have after removing my bench seat. You'll have to evaluate your situation and make a decision from there.

You can check out my build for ideas if you want. Mine was built specifically for duck/goose hunting and secondly for fishing. Good luck!!
 
thanks for the help guys, i have another question, do you think that my problem may be more of a weight distribution issue rather then a overall weight issue, what i mean by this is maybe if some of the weight from the front is moved to the back it will even out and the boat will perform better?

maybe if i removed half of the casting deck like my original plan and moved my deep cycle to the rear of the boat that would even everything out enough to get up on plane.... ideas?
 
I don't have much experience with that size motor on a 16', but I would think it should easily plane a bare bones 16' hull? Either way, lighting up your boat by either removing some or all of your casting deck should help. What you can do is take the whole deck out and take your boat for a test run. If it gets your boat on plane you'll have a reference point to start from. You could also look into modifying the engine. Not sure if it's possible with your particular motor, but with some you can use higher hp carbs to get some more power. Would be alot cheaper than getting a whole new motor.
 
I agree with Bigterp

I think your inability to plane out is plain and simply caused by the weight. I've got a 16' Lund and I re-built it from bare bones and added plywood casting decks and a plywood floor. That combined with battery weight adds quite a bit, and even with my 25hp if there's two of us we both have to be near the back to plane out.

Like you said though, just doing some weight distribution might help a lot.

You could maybe squeeze out a little extra power by doing some tuning/mods to your engine, but being a 15hp you wont get much more out of it.

First thing i would do is play around with the weight and see if by just moving a battery to the back helps, and go from there to make it as simple as possible
 
Tune the motor height first, this will help you get all you can from the engine. The anti-ventilation plate should be dead even with the bottom of the hull; use a straight edge to verify.

This is just the starting point!

Then add shims to the transom to raise the motor a half inch at a time. The goal is to be able to make a tight turn with no or very little ventilation. Once you get to the point where it ventilates in a tight turn then reduce the height by one (or even by one-half) shim.

The tilt should be set so the motor is in as vertically level as possible; not tilted fore or aft.

Once the height is set then make tilt adjustments to get the best WOT performance. This is usually go until it porpoises then back it off one hole. If you start to ventilate during the tilt adjustment remove a half shim to lower the motor a bit.

when I do this I use 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch shims; I just set them on top of the transom under the motor bracket. Once I get the perfect height I can make a more permanent mod to the transom or make a small jack plate.

Each boat and motor is different my 12 footer liked the anti-ventilation plate two inches higher than the hull bottom,my 14 footer likes it about a half inch higher.

Next would be looking at the prop diameter and pitch; you will likely need to re-prop for a heavy load. Most factory props are for light to medium loads. You should re-prop after you get the new casting decks installed.
 
Rat, you seem to be talking about some fine tuning here. How do you measure what your boat "likes" the best? Speed?
 
Not yet, tuning for the best motor height is all about getting it to ventilate and then backing it down a shim.

Speed and RPM will happen when you start tuning your prop; but to get the most out of a prop it is important to get the engine height correct first.
 

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