Are you stern heavy?

[Country Dave]

Are you stern heavy?

How much weight is on your stern? I’m running a big motor because I have it. I’m installing float pods to help with the heavy motor and to run and float as skinny as possible. The motor is 400 lbs give or take a pound. The electric/hydraulic Jack plate weighs in at about 50lbs. But that’s it, fuel and battery are midship. This is on an all welded 1752 Lowe Roughneck Mod V.
Tell me about your Jon, is it stern heavy and how it performs. Thanks.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Curious what you're running on 1752 that weighs 400lbs? I bet she scoots.

 

[RAMROD]

I will venture a guess and say a Yamaha 115 HP four stroke. :mrgreen:

 

[Country Dave]

Good guess RAMROD,
:mrgreen:
Yes a Yamaha 115 four stroke. RBO the build is not complete yet, hoping to splash her early March. Funny thing is even the little four strokes are heavy. The new Merc 75 HP four stroke weighs 399 pounds dry. My Yamaha 115 weighs 401lbs.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Good guess RAMROD,
:mrgreen:
Yes a Yamaha 115 four stroke. RBO the build is not complete yet, hoping to splash her early March. Funny thing is even the little four strokes are heavy. The new Merc 75 HP four stroke weighs 399 pounds dry. My Yamaha 115 weighs 401lbs.

Derp! Yammy 115 is in your signature! #-o

 

[RAMROD]

Sorry couldn’t pass that one up! 8)
I agree on the four strokes! Have a 9.8 Nissan with electric start, don't know the excat weight but that thing is heavy!

 

[Bass n flats]

I have the same boat except it is a 1990. When I got it the previous owner had an early 80's 80hp 2stroke. Not sure of the exact weight but I would guess 250-300lbs. It made the stern sit super low. I never ran the boat setup like this so I cant give my opinion but by judging the water line on the boat this was not the optimum setup. The water line came 3/4 up the side of the boat at the transom.

 

[Country Dave]

I have the same boat except it is a 1990. When I got it the previous owner had an early 80's 80hp 2stroke. Not sure of the exact weight but I would guess 250-300lbs. It made the stern sit super low. I never ran the boat setup like this so I cant give my opinion but by judging the water line on the boat this was not the optimum setup. The water line came 3/4 up the side of the boat at the transom.

Thanks Bass n flats,

What motor are you running now? The float pods are supposed to support 200lbs. If I understand their claim correctly its saying, “that with the float pods installed you can add 200lbs to the transom without increasing the boats draft”

So if that’s true, and it sounds reasonable it would be just like running a 200lbs motor. Besides I’m going to have the rest of the weight balanced out as best as possible. Trolling motor on the bow, 12 volt trolling motor battery up front under the deck, console will be midship if not a little bit closer to the front deck, starter battery under the console and fuel tank in front of the bench seat.
I’m hoping this will be a pretty good set up.

 

[cva34]

..Most older boats were not designed for the stresses Jack plates put on Transom( not just the weight but the 5" setback and the extra height) combined creat a lot more stress on transom ..Then there is another factor that is HP/weight ratio..When most /all older boats were produced they were designed with a 2s in in mind.. 4s were for cars.Well with new tec 4s are becomeing the std and in general are heavier 50 # or more...Extra stress is also while trailering too .My 2c says watch your behind( Transom) for cracks...cva34

 

[Poormans Boatright]

Dave, I know you already bought the Beavertail pods, but if you are really concerned about being heavy in the rear, here's what I would. I would build a rear section like the one Gator Trax offers: Their hunting deck https://www.gatortraxboats.com/p-95-hunt-deck-sport-model.aspx It wouldn't be hard to build and you can make it as long as you want. Not only would you add floation to the back of the boat, you will be adding overall length to the hull itself, creating a longer, more stable boat for the 115 to push. Plus it would give more room to hunt/fish on. I think it looks really cool too. I added float pods to my 14'er years back, I'm gonna get it going again here soon, and I am thinking about cutting the pods off and adding a rear deck like this. Reason being is I'm gonna be adding a air motor to it for flounder fishing and could the extra room and floatation.

 

[shallowminedid]

dave sounds like ur having the same probs i am. i just went from a 60/40 jet to a 115/80 yamaha on my 17 footer. new one weighs every bit of 406 lbs. sat real low in the water, and under slow speed ud think the stern was goin under. moved the 24 gal tank and 4 batteries to under the deck made it a bit better but still got too much junk in the trunk. was lookin into beavertail pods but i cant get a price from them directly, they dont like phones or email evidently. cabelas has them on sale for a decent price or i was looking into having a shop custom build them for me since i need to get them welded on anyway. the susky is only 3-4 feet for 200 miles so every bit of floatation helps. ive heard some people say they cause problems for jets. others swear by them. but for a few hundred what else could make it anybetter

 

[Badbagger]

Dave, kinda why I'd asked in your build thread... when I bought the SeaArk here recently that I'll be picking up, I contacted SeaArk about the rating. They told me the boat is rated for a 140 which as all well and good due to the stress put on the stern etc. Of equal concern was what weight engine the transom/hull is rated for.

One of the biggest reasons our tinnies ride like crap and even the mod v hull is due to the design in general and that a fair amount of tinnies ride bow high which is a bad thing unless you want your fillings knocked loose. Between the engine weight, battery weigh, fuel (if your tank/tanks are in the stern) you have a pretty good amount of weight back there. The pods will give you a lot of stability when you're sitting still etc. but not so much running. Fortunately, the SeaArk fuel cell is in the bow so that will help a LOT. Batteries are in the stern and I may move them forward. I think the Etec 115 weight is 375 I'm going to put on the boat which is an 1872.

Speaking of stern heavy....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhmN5um1LzA&feature=player_embedded

 

[Country Dave]

..Most older boats were not designed for the stresses Jack plates put on Transom( not just the weight but the 5" setback and the extra height) combined creat a lot more stress on transom ..Then there is another factor that is HP/weight ratio..When most /all older boats were produced they were designed with a 2s in in mind.. 4s were for cars.Well with new tec 4s are becomeing the std and in general are heavier 50 # or more...Extra stress is also while trailering too .My 2c says watch your behind( Transom) for cracks...cva34

Thanks for the insight,

Well I do understand the concept however I am rebuilding/modifying my transom. It’s for the most part going to be bullet proof. If you check my build you can see I’ve backed the original transom up with a piece of 0.125 3033 aluminum, I also replace the wood core with two pieces of ¾ in 5 ply hardwood sealed up in epoxy resin. I’ve also replace the flimsy front cap with another piece of 0.125. In addition I’ve made it a full transom instead of the ¾ that came out. It will be tied into the side boxes by welding 90o brackets between the transom and side boxes. I am also in the process of adding two floor to transom support so it will now have three instead of just one. I am also adding one 2x2 peace of 0.125 on the back of the transom in front of the jack plate.

When the first four strokes came on the market o I guess it’s been a good 12 to 15 years now they were very heavy, I don’t agree with 50% heavier but yes considerably heavier than the two strokes maybe 25% heaver. Anyway that’s not the case anymore. Here is the scenario, my model year 1999 Jon needs to be repowered. Let’s just say I’m a diehard Merc guy I’m not but you know what I’m saying. I go to my dealer and say I want to buy a 70hp OptiMax because my hull is only rated for 80hp max and he says ok cool here you go. How much dos that the motor weigh sir? 375lbs dry. O ok how about the 75HP four stroke? 399lbs dry.
So I ether buy the motor I want or, I start looking for a 1980s through 1990s two stroke. My Yamaha 115 weights in at 401lbs, so I’m not overly concerned about the weight being too much for the boat to handle, just concerned about the draft, that’s why I’m installing the float pods. Beside the HP rating on any motor is max HP it’s only going to put it all out at a very high RPM maybe not redline but for sure up high in the rpm range.

 

[Country Dave]

shallowminedid I got my through Cabela's.com

 

[Country Dave]

BB I’ve seen that clip before. :LOL2: he has that motor trimmed up as far as it will go, forcing the bow up.

 

[Country Dave]

PB those things are very freaking cool. =D>
I wish I would have know about them before I bought my float pods. Maybe next build.


https://www.gatortraxboats.com/p-95-hunt-deck-sport-model.aspx

 

[Bass n flats]

I have the same boat except it is a 1990. When I got it the previous owner had an early 80's 80hp 2stroke. Not sure of the exact weight but I would guess 250-300lbs. It made the stern sit super low. I never ran the boat setup like this so I cant give my opinion but by judging the water line on the boat this was not the optimum setup. The water line came 3/4 up the side of the boat at the transom.

Thanks Bass n flats,

What motor are you running now? The float pods are supposed to support 200lbs. If I understand their claim correctly its saying, “that with the float pods installed you can add 200lbs to the transom without increasing the boats draft”

So if that’s true, and it sounds reasonable it would be just like running a 200lbs motor. Besides I’m going to have the rest of the weight balanced out as best as possible. Trolling motor on the bow, 12 volt trolling motor battery up front under the deck, console will be midship if not a little bit closer to the front deck, starter battery under the console and fuel tank in front of the bench seat.
I’m hoping this will be a pretty good set up.

Right now I am running a 25 hp tiller. I would prefer to have a 35 but budget and availability I settled for the 25. It pops me up on plane quick and I can run solo at 24-24mph. It sits really leveling the water.

 

[cva34]

C Dave you mentioned that I said 50% heavier and you disagree ,I would TOO .I said 50# (lbs ) or more..Sounds like you put alot into Transom, stiffer stronger probably,But heavier Too..Compounding your problem..Just a thought consider a Yammy 90 hp 2s you could lighten up almost 150#.They are bulletproof and lots around.Only 261#.Only problem there no longer Manufactured. Wider would solve your problem and I can't tell you how to get short of......cva34

 

[Country Dave]

C Dave you mentioned that I said 50% heavier and you disagree ,I would TOO .I said 50# (lbs ) or more..Sounds like you put alot into Transom, stiffer stronger probably,But heavier Too..Compounding your problem..Just a thought consider a Yammy 90 hp 2s you could lighten up almost 150#.They are bulletproof and lots around.Only 261#.Only problem there no longer Manufactured. Wider would solve your problem and I can't tell you how to get short of......cva34

:LOL2: I didn’t know the number sign was for lbs. My bad. I thought you were trying to say percentage. Never the less it is what it is. Anyway I would love to have a new Yamaha F70 four stroke but I just don’t have the extra 7K right now. That’s what you’re going to pay if you want one with power tilt and trim.

Yes I could look for a used one but in the immortal words of Forest Gump, you never know what you’re going to get. Even with good compression test results does not insure you of too much. I know what I have now, a sweet 2003 Yamaha 115 fore stroke with less than 100 hours on it. Is it a little heavy yeh but with the float pods, batters, console and fuel tank midship I really don’t think I’m going to have an issue. I welded the float pods on tonight, just got done. Pics tomorrow on my rebuild thread.

 

[cva34]

Your giveing it your best shot.Got my fingers crossed too....cva34