Hi folks! Have followed this forum for years and know there's some darn smart people out there who've "been there and done that". Need some advice from the brain trust! I'll try to give you as much info as possible so you're better able to offer sage advice.
Have a 9 year old 25 Ft. Party Barge but when you have a party of more than three or four in the front it rides "nose low" in the water and is a wet ride even a half power. Re-powered last year with a new Merc 115 4 stroke. Great boat with only 2 or 3 people riding in the back but when you add a few people to the front...it stinks if there's any chop at all. The new engine has a standard shaft length and already sits a low in the water as it can be set to get a adequate bite with the cupped prop to have acceptable performance.
Have a old Sylvian 22 (junker that's stripped to a empty deck and used as a dock) and was considering scrapping it and using one of logs (in good shape) to add a third (center log) to the Party Barge to fix the serious (In my humble opinion)design flaw. The "Barge" has approx. 25 inch logs (I think) and the Sylvian has approx. 21 or 22 inch logs. I understand that I'd have to mount the "new" center log forward enough of the engine pod to insure water flow to the engine is not disrupted which would result in the center log being about 18 inches forward of the existing logs.
I know you can put a 2X4 along the top of the third log to push it down so it won't turn into extra weight and drag with no lift value but it will still be "riding two inches higher and giving less lift" than the two outboard logs.
IS doing this a crazy, stupid project to contemplate or should I just live with the Party Barge limitations? Any advice or thoughts?
Have a 9 year old 25 Ft. Party Barge but when you have a party of more than three or four in the front it rides "nose low" in the water and is a wet ride even a half power. Re-powered last year with a new Merc 115 4 stroke. Great boat with only 2 or 3 people riding in the back but when you add a few people to the front...it stinks if there's any chop at all. The new engine has a standard shaft length and already sits a low in the water as it can be set to get a adequate bite with the cupped prop to have acceptable performance.
Have a old Sylvian 22 (junker that's stripped to a empty deck and used as a dock) and was considering scrapping it and using one of logs (in good shape) to add a third (center log) to the Party Barge to fix the serious (In my humble opinion)design flaw. The "Barge" has approx. 25 inch logs (I think) and the Sylvian has approx. 21 or 22 inch logs. I understand that I'd have to mount the "new" center log forward enough of the engine pod to insure water flow to the engine is not disrupted which would result in the center log being about 18 inches forward of the existing logs.
I know you can put a 2X4 along the top of the third log to push it down so it won't turn into extra weight and drag with no lift value but it will still be "riding two inches higher and giving less lift" than the two outboard logs.
IS doing this a crazy, stupid project to contemplate or should I just live with the Party Barge limitations? Any advice or thoughts?