So Close! What to do?

[rgb]

It looks like your bunks do not extend past the transom of the boat. They should go a little past the transom so you don't cup the hull. I would start by getting the boat set on the trailer properly which should not be to difficult. Loosen up the bow roller bracket and the winch mount and move the boat forward until the transom is supported by the trailer bunks. Then you will need to put the trailer on stands and move the axle forward to keep the tongue weight right (very important). Once the trailer is set up then see how much room you have.

 

[drxfish]

That does not sound good. I got the boat on the water yesterday briefly. The motor runs great, but at speed, a lot of water comes up by the motor and back of the boat. I am going to check how the motor is set up. The guy I bought it from put a stationary jack plate on it. I asked him why and he said to get the motor back from the boat a little. That did not make much sense to me. I do not know a lot about how that works, but the motor seems to be a 20 inch. I still have not installed the hinge yet due to weather and my brother-in-law's work schedule. Lots to consider.

Here is a picture of the boat pre-launch, GPS on water and tongue after I removed spare tire attachment. I am going to move that to sit flat behind the winch.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

22mph is pretty good with a 10hp. If it is a 20" motor on a 15" transom, might be your spray issue. A fixed jackplate would fix that. Top speed will increase, too. If you don't have it, get a tiny tach or equivelent to see what your WOT rpms are. Also would have a built in hour meter.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Measure twice, but once.

 

[drxfish]

It looks like your bunks do not extend past the transom of the boat. They should go a little past the transom so you don't cup the hull. I would start by getting the boat set on the trailer properly which should not be to difficult. Loosen up the bow roller bracket and the winch mount and move the boat forward until the transom is supported by the trailer bunks. Then you will need to put the trailer on stands and move the axle forward to keep the tongue weight right (very important). Once the trailer is set up then see how much room you have.

I measured and the transom is a little over 7 inches behind the rollers. I can move the winch, no problem, but the leaf spring bracket is part of the trailer, so I do not think I can move the axle easily. Not sure about weight balance. What is the easiest way to check that?

 

[JL8Jeff]

It doesn't look like that jack plate is needed, it doesn't look like it's lifting the motor higher than the transom. Maybe the PO just wanted the tiller handle farther back for comfort. Take a picture of the motor tilted all the way down so we can see what the height on the boat looks like.

 

[drxfish]

I double checked the motor specs and it lists transom height as 16.3 inches for short and 22.1 inches for long. I manually measured about 17 inches, so it is definitely a short shaft. I measured the original boat transom, and it is looks to be 17 inches at the center but found some information online that lists it at 15 inches. I think that is the reason for the jack plate, but the increase in height seems to be 2 inches. The cavitation plate looks to be about an inch above the lowest point of the boat at the middle. Do you think it is lowering the jack plate one notch (one inch)?

 

[airshot]

Don't worry about moving your axle unless your tongue is very light, once you get the spare back on the trailer, that will add hitch weight, but yes, you need that trailer supporting the transom of your boat. One way to gage cav plate height is to run a straight edge against the bottom of the boat and let it stick out the back to the motor. Tilt the motor until the cav plate is parallel to the bottom of the boat...now measure...is the cav plate, above, below or right at the bottom of the boat ??

 

[Crazyboat]

My understanding of setting the motor back off the transom is to get the prop in cleaner water (Less bubbles). I'd be looking back when up on plane an see where your anti-cavitation plate is riding. It is my opinion that it should skate across the top of the water surface, below that and you are just adding drag and slowing the boat, making steering more tricky etc. Of course with the right boat, low water pickups and prop you can ride with the gearcase out of the water and just the blades pushing on the bottom half of the swing.

 

[drxfish]

Thanks, guys. I will take more pictures over the weekend.

I put a Mac's River Runner on it for the river. I went out today and the spray was not as bad at all. There is still a little, but not bad. I also lost some speed, but not much. The river was higher when I ran it the other day and I was going downstream.

 

[airshot]

Once you get the measurements on that cav plate and its relation to the bottom of your hull, you might gain some speed back. Getting that cav plate in the right position can make a difference!!

 

[drxfish]

Here's the latest. I put the spare on the trailer right behind the winch. I did not mention that the hitch side of trailer is very heavy. I cannot lift it without feeling that I am going to hurt my back. From what I see, most of the weight is in the back with the motor, 3 gallon gas can and 3 batteries. Not sure why the front is so heavy, but it is definitely not light on the front end. Moving the winch forward will only add weight to the front. The trailer seems stable as is when pulling.

Given that, I am not inclined to move the winch forward at this point. I will consider other options. It seems strange, because I think this is the original trailer. It is a pain with the rollers and the rear being so heavy. I use shallow ramps a lot and the boat goes nose up before it finally clears the last rollers. With the tail being so heavy, it floats with just a few inches above the water at the transom. I also need to get some bunk guides, as the ribs on the bottom need to like up perfectly or the boat will not sit right. With wind or current I see big challenges trailering.

Here are the pictures of the line from the boat transom to the anti-cavitation plate on the motor as currently set up. It is very close to even. The transom at the bottom is not straight. There is a very sight V toward the middle. I also took a picture of the waterline. I guess I was in the back when I saw it lower.

 

[JL8Jeff]

It looks like the axle is too far back making for too much weight on the tongue. You should be able to move the axle forward with the boat off of it. You should also be able to convert to wooden bunks from the rollers, I did that with my trailer and my boat sits lower and is much easier to center and load. You will need different brackets and U-bolts. I bought some plain old 2x4's and then got a vinyl downspout that I cut in half to use as bunk slides. You can then make sure the bunks extend past the end of the transom. I sold the rollers separately and it almost paid for the conversion.

 

[airshot]

Cav plate looks about right, mabey a slight trim further out if needed for best performance!! I have had both roller and bunk, if properly setup, I will take rollers anyday !! Your rollers can be tightened up to be stiffer, less pivot if needed. A keel roller or self centering roller at the back and a couple side guides and that boat should be a breeze to load and unload..
Having extra tongue weight shouldn't cause any towing issues, better to be heavy than to light !!

 

[drxfish]

Thanks. Your ramp looks about like the one I use most, Jeff.

The leaf springs are fixed to the frame, not U bolted to it, so moving the axle is not an option unfortunately. I will continue to experiment. I will look into the centering roller. As far as trimming it, the boat runs nose up a bit with just me in it, but I might try moving it one notch and see what happens.

One thing I don't like about the motor is that you cannot do the micro adjustments to trim with the motor easily like the Mercury I had. You could just pull up a click if needed. This has to be adjusted externally with the pin. I like to pull up the motor when drifting shallow water also, and that is not easy with this motor being heavier and further back. Two hand process. Pull, move lever and pull up again. Seats come today. I changed out the gas hose yesterday due to leaking fuel demand valve and gray hose.

 

[LaqueRatt]

Moving the axle is still an option and a relatively cheap one. Take it to a welder. Around here a good welder would knock that out in under an hour for 50-100 bucks. Better than straining yourself wrestling with all that tongue weight.

 

[Still Afloat]

HOA: Hopeless Organization of A-holes.

 

[drxfish]

Well, I cut out the section of my bench and tried the fit. It would be like a sardine in there if I did the hinge. It is a bust. It is just too big and heavy for what I need. I fish solo a lot and between arthritis and spine arthritis, that is not going to get any better.

I am going to finish the seats and probably use it a few times and then sell it. I am sure I can get all my investment back as it is a solid boat with nice electronics. I am going to return everything I do not need related to the hinge. I will post a picture after I add the seats.

I do have a question. It is my understanding that I can charge the 2 12 volt batteries hooked up in series for the 24 volt TM if I have a multi-bank charger and charge them separately, correct? I may keep the charger I bought for that because I do not want to remove the batteries to charge them if I can avoid it. Might sell that with the boat.

 

[airshot]

If you really like the boat, get a different trailer, you can get one made the way you want it !!

 

[Still Afloat]

Well, I cut out the section of my bench and tried the fit. It would be like a sardine in there if I did the hinge. It is a bust. It is just too big and heavy for what I need. I fish solo a lot and between arthritis and spine arthritis, that is not going to get any better.

I am going to finish the seats and probably use it a few times and then sell it. I am sure I can get all my investment back as it is a solid boat with nice electronics. I am going to return everything I do not need related to the hinge. I will post a picture after I add the seats.

I do have a question. It is my understanding that I can charge the 2 12 volt batteries hooked up in series for the 24 volt TM if I have a multi-bank charger and charge them separately, correct? I may keep the charger I bought for that because I do not want to remove the batteries to charge them if I can avoid it. Might sell that with the boat.

Sorry to hear that it’s not working out and I hope you find somethings that’s a better fit.

As far as the charger, it depends on what you have. Read the documentadtion. I think most modern marine chargers have multiple 12V banks that charge each 12 battery individually, even though multiple batteries are in the series circuit. However, I have a couple of industrial 24V bank chargers at home that will charge multiple 24V batteries or banks.

So find and read the documentation, this isn’t a good place for guesswork.