Can'tFishEnough
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2011
- Messages
- 86
I'm pretty new to boats - other than going with others to fish/ski/tube etc... but now that i have a little fishing boat - 14ft texas maid with 1992 15hp Evinrude I'm trying to learn what options might give best performance increase for lowest cost and least amount of "hole drilling", time, or $. (sorry in advance for a long post that may still be missing critical info... but I've tried to be as specific as possible for my situation).
Background setup:
The boat is what I guess you would call a semi-V bottom - it has a deep V at the bow and is nearly flat or just slightly rounded at the stern. The transom is 16inches tall.
The motor seems to have originally been a Long shaft motor indicated by the L in the model # but it when measured it is 17in from the clamp at the top of the transom to the AV plate. It has manual trim (the type with the 5 holes and a pin to adjust it) The prop is marked as 9.3x9.
I have raised the motor up 3/4 of an inch with a small wood spacer under the screw clamp brackets and seem to have better performance under my typical load (about 245-260 # toward stern - me, 6 gal gas tank usually about 1/2 to 3/4 full as far forward as hose will go, and some gear -not including motor or trolling motor... and another person usually my wife + trolling battery anchor/small cooler maybe a few other items at the bow that are probably around 220-235). we cruise at about 18 mph on the gps with the motor on the middle trim hole. (before raising 3/4 inch were cruising around 17 mph). Problem is that when I add a heavier guy in the front maybe
someone around 250 or so plus the 60-70 lbs of battery and anchor etc we just plow through the water... at maybe 12 mph or very best with the wind at our back 14 mph in flat water.
What I am sure of is that I can't afford a 20 or 25 hp motor this season... maybe in the fall I can find a good used one on craigslist or something... but it's not in the cards for now.
(Will be ordering a tiny tach I may be able to get it in this weekend.)
SO here is what I'm unsure of at this time:
-- should I investigate trim tabs as a possible way to stabilize the boat and add some lift to the back?
-- Do I look in to new props? I've seen some SOLAS AMITA 3 on ebay with all the different pitch sizes that would probably be in the budget.
-- have current prop modified: I talked with one prop shop today that said he could cup the blades on the prop I have and that would probably fix the problem ( a little more top end speed and less ventilation or cavitation / he said it would be about $25 - my cheapest option: BUT would it really help???).
-- should I look into hydrofoils (like the permatrim) that might not cause too much extra drag to decrease top end but keep water actual around the prop so it doesn't cavitate and start slipping whereby possibly increasing top end a bit...
Please be gentle on the replies - I'm trying to learn here & make a wise decision, but with all the different options and opinions, I'm unclear what I should try first.
Background setup:
The boat is what I guess you would call a semi-V bottom - it has a deep V at the bow and is nearly flat or just slightly rounded at the stern. The transom is 16inches tall.
The motor seems to have originally been a Long shaft motor indicated by the L in the model # but it when measured it is 17in from the clamp at the top of the transom to the AV plate. It has manual trim (the type with the 5 holes and a pin to adjust it) The prop is marked as 9.3x9.
I have raised the motor up 3/4 of an inch with a small wood spacer under the screw clamp brackets and seem to have better performance under my typical load (about 245-260 # toward stern - me, 6 gal gas tank usually about 1/2 to 3/4 full as far forward as hose will go, and some gear -not including motor or trolling motor... and another person usually my wife + trolling battery anchor/small cooler maybe a few other items at the bow that are probably around 220-235). we cruise at about 18 mph on the gps with the motor on the middle trim hole. (before raising 3/4 inch were cruising around 17 mph). Problem is that when I add a heavier guy in the front maybe
someone around 250 or so plus the 60-70 lbs of battery and anchor etc we just plow through the water... at maybe 12 mph or very best with the wind at our back 14 mph in flat water.
What I am sure of is that I can't afford a 20 or 25 hp motor this season... maybe in the fall I can find a good used one on craigslist or something... but it's not in the cards for now.
(Will be ordering a tiny tach I may be able to get it in this weekend.)
SO here is what I'm unsure of at this time:
-- should I investigate trim tabs as a possible way to stabilize the boat and add some lift to the back?
-- Do I look in to new props? I've seen some SOLAS AMITA 3 on ebay with all the different pitch sizes that would probably be in the budget.
-- have current prop modified: I talked with one prop shop today that said he could cup the blades on the prop I have and that would probably fix the problem ( a little more top end speed and less ventilation or cavitation / he said it would be about $25 - my cheapest option: BUT would it really help???).
-- should I look into hydrofoils (like the permatrim) that might not cause too much extra drag to decrease top end but keep water actual around the prop so it doesn't cavitate and start slipping whereby possibly increasing top end a bit...
Please be gentle on the replies - I'm trying to learn here & make a wise decision, but with all the different options and opinions, I'm unclear what I should try first.