17' Trihull won't plane right.

snoopy987

Recruit
Joined
Jun 21, 2013
Messages
1
Hey guys looking for some advice here. I have a 17' saftmate trihull with the 120 2.5 merc sterndrive. The boat has a 14" 3 blade prop pitch is 17. This boat is heavy in the rear with the 4 cyl engine, batteries and fuel. When I go past 1/4 throttle the bow comes up so bad I have to stand on the seat to see and it only gets worse at wot. I have tried trimming it and it still wont bring bow down. The only way I've found to
fix is have one or two people sit in the bow to bring it down. I am considering swapping the prop to a solas 4 blade 19 pitch. Will this help any to fix my planning problem? I would appreciate any input before I lay out 150$ on a new prop. Thanks
 

steelespike

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Apr 26, 2002
Messages
19,069
Re: 17' Trihull won't plane right.

What is "4 cyl batteries"?You may want to check that the foam under the floor hasn't absorbed water over the years.
Could add a couple hundred pounds just where you don't need it.
If you go with a 4 blade you need to drop down an inch to counter act the additional drag of the extra blade.
Increasing pitch is like putting your motor into a higher gear ,harder to push the boat.
 
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