Flat bottom owners

[redrum]

Where do you sit? I've put together a 1648 flat bottom this year and I put two swivel seats side by side where the middle bench would go along with a side console.

Im getting a ton of splash over the bow. I know I need to get some more weight to the back. Do any of you sit two people side by side on the back bench? I've considered moving my console back and taking out the swivel seats. Just wondering if others had done this and how it works. It looks like the Blazers and Lowe shallow water series are setup like this but some of them I see the seats on boxes in front of the back bench.

Thanks for any input or pictures.

 

[Lil' Blue Rude]

I have both of my seats side by side on the back bench and my boats a 16'42". That's how most people set theirs up around here or they set on boxes or pedestals in front of the rear bench but very few set theirs up with the console that close to the bow. If you move your seats back to the back bench it will be a night and day difference on how the boat runs. You'll be able to get a lot more boat out of the water and you should pick up quit a bit of speed.

 

[momule]

I'm surprised to hear that you're pushing water with that setup. With splash coming over the bow are you actually up on plane? How smooth is the water that you're running in?...waves?

I have a 1448 flat bottom with the Yamaha 40/30...two seats mounted on front bench with a side console, two batteries and 12 gal tank in far back. Static balance is about perfect with two <180lb people and full gas. Comes up on plane very quickly and the splash from the hull hitting the water is about 2/3 of the way back to the stern. No splash from the bow unless I have to slow the boat down due to heavier waves on the Missouri River...but by that time I am almost coming off plane. GPS shows a top speed of about 23 mph upstream at WOT. Not fast but ok with me.

I was hesitant at first about having so much weight up front but with the batts and gas in back with the 215lb motor I guess it evens out. I can run in about 5-6 inches of water if I need to. I wonder if adjusting the trim on the motor would help you out any... Use a hole choice that puts the motor a bit further from the transom which should raise your bow a bit at WOT. Every boat is different so you'll just have to play with it and with your weight distribution. Try some 5 gallon buckets of water in the back for a temporary test maybe...

 

[archery68]

I have two seats all the way to the rear with live wells under the seats. Only thing behind me is starter battery on one side and gas tank on the other. I have an 18/52 blazer ss with tiller Mercury jet. As stated by lil blue this is very common set up where we run here in Missouri. These guys around here will set up boat in just about any configuration u want.


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[dhoganjr]

Looks like too much weight forward like little blue rude said. You're better off to have the weight about 2/3 back, sort of a balancing act. The way it is now most of your weight is in the front half, where you sit and the passenger. Also the trolling motor up front and battery if you have it up there.

You might try moving the trim out like momule said. With it tucked all the way under it will push the bow down. I think you are still going to end up having to move the seats and console back to balance it out.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Can you elaborate on "splash over the bow".

 

[redrum]

I've already taken the seats, bait tank and console out. I'm in the process of moving everything back to the back bench. My only concern was losing the ability to float some of the unknown shallows but I usually have someone with me so I can just get them to walk up front as needed while surveying. I'm sure it will still run shallow on plane.

As for it getting on plane? I mean it feels like it planes out. The splash was just a lot of water hitting the bow and coming over the front. When I had the passenger go sit on the rear bench it went away.

We shall see.

 

[redrum]

I got everything moved around and had a chance to take it out yesterday. Most importantly I slimed it up with a Striper. It runs much faster now 27-30. The splash coming back over the bow is gone. It planes out quickly. I have a 4 blade stainless impeller. I had the engine in the top pivot bolt hole and didn't like the wheelie when it was starting to plane so I dropped it to the middle hole. I lost 3 mph but it jumps up much quicker. In the area where I fish most being able to float shallow and plane really quick is super important running through shoals. It should get me through this year. I plan on trying to find another MV hull later. I will say this. She is looooooose in the rear now

 

[handyandy]

outta find a tiller handle for that engine getting rid of that console will shed a little weight and open that hull up a lot more. Glad it's working well for you.

 

[dhoganjr]

Good to hear you got it worked out. Sounds like it is now running like it should.

 

[archery68]

Glad it doing better for u.


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[Captain Ahab]

Did you move that live well back as well? That is a lot of weight in one spot


Each gallon of water weighs in at 8.3 lbs. Looks like at least 25 gallon right there - so over 200 lbs

 

[momule]

Interesting how different each boat is with what would seem to be very different set ups. You managed to solve your problem by moving weight to the rear and it seems like my performance has been improved even though I have a lot of weight up front. As I said earlier in this thread I'm using the 40/30 yamaha on my 1448 with a series 29 deep cycle, a regular sized starter batt and 12 gal tank in the rear. My console is way up front with driver and passenger at front bench. Minn Kota 55lb troller on bow. This set up dialed me in pretty close, but when I tried to put the motor on the middle bolt for trim the foot sat back from the transom too far and splash increased, but it picked up a significant amount of speed and a faster hole shot. I left that setting and put a larger piece of flat rubber (from an old bed liner) on my boat mounted aluminum splash guard that bridged the gap tween the transom and motor foot and that took care of the splash. I know it's still splashing but the peice of rubber keeps it down. You would think that the larger amount of splash would indicate a loss of water jet and an inefficiency but that hasn't been the case. I need to get a camera to record what is actually happening when I'm getting on plane since to watch it means I have to have my fat *** leaning over the transom. It's GoPro time I guess.

One thing is for sure: doesn't seem to be a whole lot of hard and fast rules with these set ups other than these small, light hulls are really sensitive to weight distribution and balance. I wish I'd gone to a jet years ago...small hulls, smaller motors, great fishing in clear, skinny water.

 

[Lil' Blue Rude]

This set up dialed me in pretty close, but when I tried to put the motor on the middle bolt for trim the foot sat back from the transom too far and splash increased, but it picked up a significant amount of speed and a faster hole shot. I left that setting and put a larger piece of flat rubber (from an old bed liner) on my boat mounted aluminum splash guard that bridged the gap tween the transom and motor foot and that took care of the splash. I know it's still splashing but the peice of rubber keeps it down. You would think that the larger amount of splash would indicate a loss of water jet and an inefficiency but that hasn't been the case. quote]
If I had to guess I'd say your getting water coming over the leading edge of the shoe or at least bouncing off the leading edge. When you trim your motor up that decreases the angle of the leading edge of the shoe which drops the leading edge lower some what. You might check with a straight edge form the bottom to your shoe now with your current trim position you motor might need to come up just a little bit.

 

[momule]

This set up dialed me in pretty close, but when I tried to put the motor on the middle bolt for trim the foot sat back from the transom too far and splash increased, but it picked up a significant amount of speed and a faster hole shot. I left that setting and put a larger piece of flat rubber (from an old bed liner) on my boat mounted aluminum splash guard that bridged the gap tween the transom and motor foot and that took care of the splash. I know it's still splashing but the peice of rubber keeps it down. You would think that the larger amount of splash would indicate a loss of water jet and an inefficiency but that hasn't been the case. quote]
If I had to guess I'd say your getting water coming over the leading edge of the shoe or at least bouncing off the leading edge. When you trim your motor up that decreases the angle of the leading edge of the shoe which drops the leading edge lower some what. You might check with a straight edge form the bottom to your shoe now with your current trim position you motor might need to come up just a little bit.

Thanks for the tip Lil Blue. I agree with you and found that the peice of rubber that I was using to add to the splash guard was just getting in the way so I took it off and moved the pins so that the leading edge of the shoe is closer to the bottom of the hull. I guess everything is a trade off and what we look for is the best possible combination. I'm pretty happy with the way it's running right now although I'd love to try some pods to decrease the time it takes to get on plane. Damned expensive project though in case it doesn't help. Probably what I should do is upgrade to a longer, wider hull but jeez, there's no end to that kind of thinking.

 

[redrum]

outta find a tiller handle for that engine getting rid of that console will shed a little weight and open that hull up a lot more. Glad it's working well for you.

I used to have a Merc 25/18 tiller jet. I smacked a rock so hard one time it kicked up and jerked the tiller out of my hand. After that incident I've never really had a desire to go back to tiller jets. I love a tiller when I don't have to worry about smacking rocks. I gotta say I like having a place to mount switches and my tach in the console. I keep my tackle box under it so it really don't take up much more floor space.