78 Johnson 115 Running Great! But Bow of Boat is "Plowing"?

[phx5kegsman]

Hello, maybe this is the wrong section to post this, but I have received so much good advice here: I took my 82 Ranger 130V w/ 78 Jonson 115hp out on the water yesterday. The motor ran excellent, thanks to the help I've received here! When up on plane, the bow of my boat is slightly pointed down towards the water. Not a lot, but it's noticeable to me. I don't think it's a weight/ loading issue because most of the weight is in the stern section where the fuel tank is. I also have four Group 27 batteries back there. How is the bow supposed to be when up on plane? Level, Slightly pointed up, or down? TIA for any advice!

 

[dingbat]

Hello, maybe this is the wrong section to post this, but I have received so much good advice here: I took my 82 Ranger 130V w/ 78 Jonson 115hp out on the water yesterday. The motor ran excellent, thanks to the help I've received here! When up on plane, the bow of my boat is slightly pointed down towards the water. Not a lot, but it's noticeable to me. I don't think it's a weight/ loading issue because most of the weight is in the stern section where the fuel tank is. I also have four Group 27 batteries back there. How is the bow supposed to be when up on plane? Level, Slightly pointed up, or down? TIA for any advice!

Depends on hull design.
The front half of my hull is completely out of the water on plane.

Are you trimmed up properly?
Too much trim will push the bow down

 

[saltchuckmatt]

Depends on water as well.....rough, bow down, flat nose up. Play around with the trim until you get comfortable.

When the weather is calm, I start with the nose down....I punch it and as it planes I start being the nose up. At that point I listen for the outboard to slightly cavitate and then trim it back down slightly. A good tach is helps.

 

[jimmbo]

If the bow is plowing, it is too much weight up front, too much inward Trim, or the Hull has a Hook.
My Avatar shows how little of my boat is in the water at speed

 

[Chris1956]

Bass Boat, right? The nose should be up and "carried" when on plane. The wave that comes off the side of the boat should be at the transom, or real close to it when trimmed properly.

Put a straight edge on the hull left and right of the keel, at the transom. See if she has some hook in the hull, or some protrusion at the transom.

My old SeaRay 19' I/O had a part of the hull that hung below the transom. I think it was to get the boat's butt out of the water. That was built into my hull. I would not think a bass boat would have anything like that.

 

[racerone]

Power trim and tilt ??----Or do you manually have to move the thrust pin ?

 

[phx5kegsman]

Power tilt/ trim and the pin is in set of holes that is closest to the transom. Her is what my hull looks like. So, trimming up while at WOT will bring the nose up, correct? How will I know when trimmed up too much? I tried trimming up, but it seemed like it was "jarring" the motor and throwing a lot of water up, causing a rougher ride. The water was a bit choppy, though

 

[Scott Danforth]

When it starts to porpoise, it's too high. Trim down one or two taps

You should be dang near wearing out the trim switch.

For the holeshot. Trim all the way in, mash throttle, and as boat is coming out the hole, trim up until it porpoises, then tap the trim down once or twice

As you back off the throttle, your thumb should also be trimming down a bit

 

[jimmbo]

My old SeaRay 19' I/O had a part of the hull that hung below the transom. I think it was to get the boat's butt out of the water. That was built into my hull. I would not think a bass boat would have anything like that.

I have seen quite a few Hulls that have Hooks built-in near the Chine, I suspect the Boat Maker figures that at Top Speed, that area is not in the water anymore. I'm not a fan of that engineering, as at lower Speeds, it increases Drag, and while trimming the Outboard further can still raise the Bow, but the Hook also increases it Angle of Attack

 

[brodmann]

Do you have a plug in the bilge area to drain water from the front of the boat? Some boats have two plugs. One at the bottom of the transom to let water drain out and one pointing forward to let water out of the bow area of the boat.