This past week I just purchased a used 2010 Lowe R1860CJ with a tunnel hull. Powering it I have a 2010 Mercury Optimax 115/80 Jet. It is mounted with a manual jack plate. The boats tunnel hull is 14 inches wide at the top of the tunnel. When I plane the boat out it feels and looks like it is squatting a little in the rear end, and if its squatting I know I am not going to be able to run real shallow. Typically when you get on plane you can bump the trim on the motor up a little and really sit the nose down, but when I bump my trim up it starts splashing water into the back of the boat and does not bring the nose down. I have a splash guard on it. My question is exactly what height should I mount my motor to the tunnel. Should it be flush with the top of the tunnel? Currently it looks to be about 1" to 1/2" to low from being flush. Everything i have read says to mount it flush, but where it is out now the jet outtake is already about halfway out of the water, so if I move it up flush it will barely be in the water. Also, the boat is only running about 28 MPH and I believe it should run faster than that. I think I need to move it down just from driving it, but everything I read says mount it flush with the tunnel. Has anyone else experienced any problems similar. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
