Motor Height?

[CWCW]

Hey guys,
ALERT!! STUPID QUESTION IN THE MAKING!!!! HAHA!! Im new to this whole boat and motor terminology. When i read posts about people trying to get more performance out of their boat, and they start talking about "what height is your motor set at?" or when the say, "my motor is 3" above the pad", what are are they taking about? What is the pad and from what point on the motor are they measuring it from?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Motor Height?

depending on the motor. the AV plate, flat plate above the prop. should be 1 inch above and extended line of the keel of the boat, and parallel to the line. there is a fine line of raising and lowering the motor to match the Hull, for best performance. then you have tilt and trim. the angle of the motor to the transom of the boat. you never want to get higher than the motor can pick up water for cooling. then you get into prop diameter, pitch, and rpms of the motor. the combination of these things is called proper set up/

 

[CWCW]

Re: Motor Height?

So you can adjust the height of the motor on the transom a little with out having a jackplate? Besides extending the motor backward from the boat, does the jackplate enable more raising and lowering of motor height than would be possible with out a jackplate?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Motor Height?

yes, there are manual and hydrolic jackplates.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Motor Height?

It all has to do with the prop and hull design and how they react with each other. Then you have to factor in intended use. It's an overall deal rather than just being motor specific.

Basically what we try to do is increase efficiency in any given rig. One of the most important aspects is reducing drag. Then balance. The easiest way to reduce drag is to move the gearcase up out of the water. Balance can be changed with load or motor placement.

In general, most guys with recreational boats refer to height, or X dimension, as a relation between the anti-ventalation plate and the true bottom when they're parallel. Hi-perf guys refer to it as the propshaft and the true bottom.

The pad is the part of a hull that looks kinda like a ski rather than a V. Here's a pic of the pad on my Hewes. Also a shot of a pad on a tunnel V.