Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

I have an old 15' Glastron fishing boat with a 1996 15hp Gamefisher outboard. I bought the boat and motor seperately. The boat will not plane at WOT but will at about 5mph. There feels like a considerable amount of drag and am making a big wake. The boat may be a little heavy for the motor but im not sure. I am going to relocate the battery to the front of the boat as well as place the gas tank in front of the first bench moving it from the rear of the boat. The anti-cavitation plate is about 2.5 inches below the keel line ..... not sure if that may be my problem. So, I was wondering if anyone has used a stabilizer fin on a small outboard?? I was looking at a doel-fin. Pros & Cons??? Any other suggestions or ideas???

Re: Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

I visualize your prop being way too high. No fin gonna help that. Not a fin fan, but on Dr. Frankenstein setups, they can help.

Post a pic with motor down.

Re: Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

Yeah those pics are useless. need pics with motor down and pic of the transom with relation to the bottom of boat.
What is measurement of the transom? 15 inches or 20?

Re: Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

I can get a pic tomorrow. The transom is 20" but cut down to 15" (cut down before I bought it). I bought the boat for the trailer ($300) but found a good deal on the 15hp outboard so I want to use it for catfishing on the Red River. The cavitation plate sits 2.5" lower than the bottom of the boat. I will put a pic up that shows the cut out transom(very sturdy though). Any help is much appreciated!

Re: Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

Put half of the cut out back and your good to go.

Re: Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

Thank-you

Re: Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

jlesh8480 said:

The cavitation plate sits 2.5" lower than the bottom of the boat.

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First off, in my opinion, you're somewhat underpowered with a 15 HP engine. Also, the AV plate being that far below the hull sounds low. You need to experiment with engine height, see if raising it a bit doesn't help. Finally, a fin might help you get on plane quicker, HOWEVER if the fin isn't above the water when the boat's on plane it's going to slow you down.

Re: Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

Never EVER use a stinkin' fin. Fix whats wrong.

Re: Boat won't plane.....Input on Doel-Fin stabilizer????

Shift the wieght like you said and get the engine up where it should be, 2 1/2 is too low, just raising the enigne will get you some speed and moving the weight will get you some more, always do the free stuff first.

Do that stuff and see how she runs, I don't know if a 15 is big enough for a foil to make any difference, also make sure your engine is running right