Basic bass boating

[UncleRon]

Just got my first bass boat and trying to learn how to operate it correctly. I have put in the water a few times now and still having problems with tilt and trim. When I first take off the bow rises so high I can’t see over the bow. It will level out after a short distance. Is this normal or is something not set right? While running at speed the boat bounces a lot. Is there supposed to be some bounce even after trimming out? I would appreciate any input. THANKS!

 

[mike_i]

Your bow lowers as the boat gets on plane and levels out. it's normal. You can slowly adjust the t&t so the bow isn't too high at first, takes a little practice as you get use to your boat. As for the boat bouncing are you referring to the bow or the entire boat? Is it a light weight aluminum boat, if so it's normal.

 

[BWR1953]

When you first take off, put the motor in full down position. As the boat starts to "climb out of the hole" the nose will start to drop. That's when you start adjusting the trim up. After the boat is fully on plane, you can increase the down trim a little to keep it from porpoising (the bouncing up and down) and the boat should settle nicely onto plane. When you slow down, the boat will settle back into the water and to get back on plane, you repeat the process.

It just takes a little time to get used to the process. Even lightweight aluminum boats can handle correctly on the water without porpoising.

What brand and model is your boat? Do you have any pictures?

This video might help a bit.

 

[Tassie 1]

No, there shouldn't be much ' bouncing ' or porposing,
Two possible causes are poor load/ weight distribution and or motor too heavy and powerful for the size of the boat

 

[roscoe]

Since you are new to boating, and this boat, all things are relative.

Bouncing around to you, may just be normal to the seasoned boater.
On launch, don't go up on plane unless you can see everything ahead is clear for a couple hundred yards.
You know your vision will be obstructed when getting up on plane, and you don't want to hit anything.

To get up on plane, you need to throttle up quickly.
This will pop the bow up, get you on plane, so you can level off and regain vision of the water ahead of you.


Yes, there will always be some bouncing,
the smaller and lighter the boat, the more it will get thrown around.
The bigger the waves , the more it will get thrown around.

Is the front bouncing over waves? Or porpoising?

Make , model, and size of boat?
Engine size??

Weight of boat, weight distribution, trim setting, boat speed, type of prop, engine mounting height, are all factors.

A properly set up and operated boat should get up on plane and level out within a few seconds.
Anything more than 5 seconds can be improved upon with setup changes.
Anything more than 10 seconds and there is serious work to be done.

Trim down all the way total off..
Get on plane and adjust throttle to about 3/4, or about 4000 rpm.

Trim up a little at a time, listen to your motor, as the motor raises, there will be a point where the motor rpm's go up slightly. If you trim much further, the prop may start to suck air and speed and cornering will suffer.
And porpoising will increase.

Trim back down a little.

On rough water, trim down a little more.

 

[ahicks]

I would add one other thing regarding getting the boat on plane. Don't just assure the area in front of you is clear, but also the area UNDER you! The boat is going to draw significantly more water when accelerating. Make absolutely sure your motor and prop will clear the bottom. If it's going to be close...DON'T. Those are nearly always expensive repairs!

 

[Texasmark]

Adding what was said: On porpoising, if it's due to the trim position (being too far out), not wave action, which isn't classified as porpoising, flat bottom or semi V boats which are flat at stern (rear) half of the boat are harder to trim for max speed without porpoising, but trim, in most cases, will cure the problem.

Your rig and it's loading will setup at a given speed and a given trim angle for fast, smooth performance (assuming flat water for a reference), remembering the as speed increases, the less boat you have in the water, the less drag and the faster the speed.

Once you have your speed set and trim for fastest smooth performance, porpoising can/will return if you do any one of three things: Change the load in the boat....passenger moves to a different seat.....change the trim position out from where it was, or lower the throttle setting. To correct for one change you have to change the other to get back to a smooth ride.