Having an issue on the way back in.

Hey everyone, i'm fairly new to boating and am having an issue that no one seems to be able to resolve.

The boat is a 17' Pro Line with a 1986 Evinrude 110 V4. Well maintained, runs great.

The problem is this:
When i 1st launch for the day, we go out the channel, hit the throttle, boat goes right up on plane no problem. I motor out a few miles, we fish all day, starting and stopping, maybe running to a few new spots. Everything runs great.
In other words, other than regular maintenance, the boat has zero problems, BUT, almost every time, on the way back in, i will hit the throttle to go back, and boom. The *** end digs in, motor RPM's go up to 3500 and the boat wont plane out or go very fast at all.
The 1st time it happened, I thought i may have taken on water and the weight was an issue, but, every time, i pull the plug and she's bone dry inside.
I have changed the plugs, fuel/water separator, and filter(s), greased the gears, cleaned the carbs, and pulled the prop to check the hub (looks brand new) I'm completely puzzled.
I have talked to mechanic(s), and my girlfriends father who has owned boats for years, everyone else is puzzled too.

Anyone have an idea?? I'm out of them.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

Boats having fun and doesn't want to go home? Seriously, thats a problem I never heard of.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

I'd say you have a leak and taking on water during the day and you don't find water when you take the boat out of the water because the water is running out of the boat on the trip back to the dock.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

Georgesalmon said:

Boats having fun and doesn't want to go home?

Click to expand...

That was my Girlfriends suggestion. LOL

jigngrub said:

I'd say you have a leak and taking on water during the day and you don't find water when you take the boat out of the water because the water is running out of the boat on the trip back to the dock.

Click to expand...

I thought that to be the case too, but, we have a long channel that is all a no wake zone, it would have water in it by the time we got to dock i would think? I even checked the back access port, and its empty.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

Could it be a trim issue?

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

maybe your prop is spun but it doesn't show up until the boat has been run a while and it "warms up."

If you had water, your bilge pump would come on--you do have a float switch, right?

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

d4v3 said:

... The ***(Aft) end digs in, motor RPM's go up to 3500 and the boat wont plane out or go very fast at all.
...

Click to expand...

Just so we don't overlook the obvious, let's consider....

You lower the motor after launching the boat and get under way.
The trim is then adjusted up for ideal speed.
After stopping you try to get back on plane with the trim still up.

Do you trim back down for each restart?

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

Sounds like you've eliminated water as a suspect. And hopefully you're trimming correctly when you want to get on plane.
You can test for a spun prop easily enough.
Any chance your fuel tank isn't venting properly? That would be another easily eliminated suspect.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

How much fuel do you carry, how much do you use getting to the fishing spot and where is the tank located?

Any coolers or livewells that have more or less weight in them when you are done?

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

Home Cookin' said:

maybe your prop is spun but it doesn't show up until the boat has been run a while and it "warms up."

Click to expand...

This is what i'm going with next. I took the prop off last weekend, the castle nut was a bit loose, so i took it off, re-greased the shaft and torqued it down
to factory specs. While i had it off, i marked the hub with white paint. I'll run it this weekend and take the prop off again to see if there's slippage.

UncleWillie said:

Just so we don't overlook the obvious, let's consider....
Do you trim back down for each restart?

Click to expand...

Yes. Also playing with the trim angle when the issue occurs, trying to eliminate trim as a suspect.

Brewman61 said:

Any chance your fuel tank isn't venting properly? That would be another easily eliminated suspect.

Click to expand...

Didn't think of that, how would that affect me on coming back in though? Wouldn't that prevent me from getting up on plane altogether??

oldjeep said:

How much fuel do you carry, how much do you use getting to the fishing spot and where is the tank located?

Any coolers or livewells that have more or less weight in them when you are done?

Click to expand...

I typically cary about 7-10 gal. It's a 10 gal. tank, but, sometimes i go out with 3/4 if im staying close to shore.
We use about 4 gal. round trip, we dont go out far ( especially with this problem, its a bit "un-nerving" )
Tank is located in the side of the hull, on the port side.
No livewells.
We do have a cooler, a 100 qt. cooler, used as a seat mid way down next to the console, starboard side.
I typically only carry about 10 gal. of ice, on the way out.
Unless i had a really banner fishing day, i technically should be coming in lighter than i went out.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

coastalrichard said:

Could it be a trim issue?

Click to expand...

I dont think so? I thought it might be due to coming in on rougher seas, but, I have tried trimming up and down, seems to do nothing.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

d4v3 said:

Didn't think of that, how would that affect me on coming back in though? Wouldn't that prevent me from getting up on plane altogether??

Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a long shot, but it's not impossible, and it's cheap to test. Maybe it's obstruced in a way that lets air back in the tank very slowly so that when you start off each day enough time has passed since the last time you operated to allow adequate air back in the tank. But obstruced enough so that as you use fuel during the day you have problems. Easy to eliminate as a potential suspect and you won't have to pay anyone to diagnose it for you.

My father in law had a fuel problem in his boat years ago. Fuel starvation for some reason. We hooked his motor to a portable tank and the thing ran like a champ, but when hooked to the built in tank, ran like crap. I don't remember what the final problem was, but testing was easy enough in his case.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

Brewman61 said:

Yeah, it's a long shot, but it's not impossible, and it's cheap to test. Maybe it's obstruced in a way that lets air back in the tank very slowly so that when you start off each day enough time has passed since the last time you operated to allow adequate air back in the tank. But obstruced enough so that as you use fuel during the day you have problems. Easy to eliminate as a potential suspect and you won't have to pay anyone to diagnose it for you.

My father in law had a fuel problem in his boat years ago. Fuel starvation for some reason. We hooked his motor to a portable tank and the thing ran like a champ, but when hooked to the built in tank, ran like crap. I don't remember what the final problem was, but testing was easy enough in his case.

Click to expand...

hhmm, it worth checking out. I could always just pop the cap to vent it before take off on the way back in, see if it has any effect.

Re: Having an issue on the way back in.

Sounds like you know what you're doing, so I'm offering this tentatively....

Are you certain your prop is not "weeded up" when you turn to go home? I've had the problem on the shallow lake near home, but not on Lake Michigan. Try putting her in reverse and throttling up momentarily, then go back into gear and see if she'll plane for you.