14ft Shakespeare Clubman

[Fregata]

Our Shake was totally rebuildt last year, and we reinforced the transcom to handle the power of our "new" motor, a 1988 Mercury 115hp inline6 (haven`t tried it out on the lake yet). A new hydraulic steering will be mounted during the winter as well.

I`m thinking of putting the battery and a new fueltank (100liter) under the frontdeck of the boat instead of behind the backseat. Can anyone tell me if that`s a smart thing to do, or should our boat stay as light as possible in the bow?

Other things I should have in mind...?

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 14ft Shakespeare Clubman

I believe I showed you my 14 footer in your previous post. She is a flat bottom and has a 125 on the back. My battery is mounted behind the driver's seat and the 60 liter tank is mounted about 2/3 meter forward of the transom. She is narrow in the stern and does sit low in the water at rest, but when underway at speed, she only rides on the last 1/2 meter of the bottom.

I'm not familiar with the Shakespeare 14 footer but you have two conflicting desires at work:

1. You want as little weight in the stern as possible so that she will not swamp when you slow down rapidly and so she won't ship water at rest.
2. You want as much weight in the stern as possible so the bow lifts and you get as much hull out of the water as possible for least friction and highest speed.

Unfortunately, if you get too much weight in the stern, she will porpoise at speed so it can be a fine line. That's why my tank is slightly forward of the stern.

I think that unless someone has the exact same hull, you will need to experiment a bit with weight placement.

Note that I am using full out or up trim. The difference between full in and full out is 1000 RPM and 10 MPH. Hope the photos help some.

Oh, yeah! Before you ask: That is a re-badged Force 125. and she does 60 MPH GPS

 

[Fregata]

14ft Shakespeare Clubman

Thanks for your reply!

My tought was to balance the extra 50kg`s from the inline6, by moving the battery and fueltank to the bow. Maybe skip the battery in front and go for a smaller fuelcell?

Here`s a picture...

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 14ft Shakespeare Clubman

OH HO! So it is a little go-fast hull! You will have a lot of fun with her.

On my 14 footer I have had a couple of engines ranging from a light 60HP at 165 lbs (45 MPH), to the 125 at about 275 lbs (60 MPH). That was about 50 Kg difference. I found that the extra engine weight did not affect performance at speed so much as the attitude when sitting at rest. Therefore, I believe that you will need to position the tank and battery to help adjust the ATTITUDE of the boat when running, not to offset the weight of the engine. With so much power on a light hull, the stern weight should not even cause any problem getting on plane. When you nail the throttle it should just bounce up onto plane in a couple of seconds.

I think that you will not be happy with a smaller fuel cell. I originally had a 9 gallon (about 35 liter) tank and with the 125 turning 5900 RPM, it lasted less than an hour. That's why I went to the larger tank. Your 115 "Tower of Power" will probably use a similar amount of fuel.

If that were my boat, I would first experiment with weight distribution to get it to ride correctly on the water--high and "loose." Then I would experiment with props, and finally, engine height on the transom. I would not bother with aluminum props at all, only stainless. The performance is way better, and with the Merc, you will have a lot of choice and even a few racing props. On my Force 125 I am running a New Old Stock Chrysler 12 X 21 fully cupped stainless cleaver prop. It lets the engine rev up, can be run high, and made a big difference in top speed.

I also think that correctly set-up, your engine and hull should reach or exceed 60 MPH (96KmH). It should be a lot of fun.

Last word of advice: Install a kill switch and always wear a PFD while running the boat. Good insurance at the speeds you will reach.

 

[Fregata]

14ft Shakespeare Clubman

Thanks again, Frank...I think you are right on the spot!

It`s all about setup, setup and setup. So next summer will be really fun trying out different trancom hights, props and finding the right balance of the boat. Safety=kill switch, fire extinguisher and life jackets.

My thoughts about fuelcell:
100liter=4 hours of fun
50liter = only 2 hours of fun!
Thats why I planned to install a 100l V-shaped fuelcell under the frontdeck.

According to Propcalc it should be possible to hit allmost 70 mph (13,5 x 24 pitch stealprop and 250 kg boat + driver and fuel).

 

[magnum115]

Re: 14ft Shakespeare Clubman

Hi Fregata,

just found this thread while searching for solving the same problem. I hope you're still here and can post any recommendations or experiences?
I also have an 14" Clubman and think about to put a 115hp mercury fourstroke engine with 180kg weight on it, instead of an old mercury 70hp 2stroke...
mechanics warned me to do it because of the stability of the boat and that this would be quite dangerous because the boat would not build for that power (& weight in the stern...)
I've just put the batteries in front to bring some more weight to the front...
what do you mean? have you tried your rocket yet?

greetz, chris