Wake "spray": can I fix it?

[mofirsttimer]

Hi all! First time post, and first time boat owner.

I have a 1994 Crownline 182 BR. I've attached a picture of my outdrive...you can see that the hydraulic cylinders that tilt the outdrive are open to the water. That may sound obvious...but what I mean is, as the boat moves, the water comes up between the shafts and drive unit, creating a rather large spray in the middle of the wake. This is a little better when I trim the drive up some, but it's still not a smooth wake like I feel most boats have. Am I missing a part? There was a hydrofoil on it, but that bolts on toward the back and is unrelated. It just seems...odd. I'm used to seeing a nice, smooth wake come out from under the boat. Mine has a big spray (well, really two of them together). It doesn't affect performance, but it is annoying when tubing to be constantly sprayed in the eyes with water!

 

[Texasmark]

How about a picture of the bottom of the hull, camera about 2' off the ground, with you being directly behind the outdrive, out about 3'. Picture worth a thousand words.

Your camera is too high and too close.....but I see one thing that could be a cause, but the picture I asked for will clarify that.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,...... When yer on-plane, the trim rams are out of the water,......

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome aboard.

When you take the new photo, lower the driver closer to normal trim. Trailer position doesn't help when looking for something causing the spray.

 

[JimS123]

Are you sure its not the transducer causing the rooster tail?

 

[JASinIL2006]

Are you sure its not the transducer causing the rooster tail?

Exactly what I was thinking, too. My boat did just that. A rubber plug that fit into the adjuster slot on the transducer did the thick.

 

[Chris1956]

That transducer looks to be tilted down. It may also be too low. Both will cause spray.

Do you have a speedo pickup on the transom as well? That too will cause some spray.

Outdrives are usually installed correctly by the manufacturer and are not adjustable in the X direction. So it is likely that some other issue is making the spray.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Hi all! First time post, and first time boat owner.

I have a 1994 Crownline 182 BR. I've attached a picture of my outdrive...you can see that the hydraulic cylinders that tilt the outdrive are open to the water. That may sound obvious...but what I mean is, as the boat moves, the water comes up between the shafts and drive unit, creating a rather large spray in the middle of the wake. This is a little better when I trim the drive up some, but it's still not a smooth wake like I feel most boats have. Am I missing a part? There was a hydrofoil on it, but that bolts on toward the back and is unrelated. It just seems...odd. I'm used to seeing a nice, smooth wake come out from under the boat. Mine has a big spray (well, really two of them together). It doesn't affect performance, but it is annoying when tubing to be constantly sprayed in the eyes with water!

the spray is not coming thru the drive rams as those are about 6" above the water when on plane.

make sure your tube line is 75' to get past the turbulent area just behind the boat. depending on the hull, that turbulent table is between 10 and 30 feet long.

your transducer will cause spray as others indicated above. however if you can feel that spray, your too close to the props anyway. go with a longer tube line.

if you want a smooth wake, you need a dedicated ski boat, not a boat with an I/O

 

[JASinIL2006]

We found a booster ball (which not only has a longer tube line, but also a floating ball to keep the line from kicking up spray), to be very helpful. If the spray is caused mostly by the boat, though,the booster ball may not help (although it still provides for a better tubing experiences, say my kids!).

I can't tell if iboat sells them because of the miserable search function, but you can Google "airhead booster ball" if you want to go that route.

Does your outdrive have holes from where the hydrofoil was attached? Are they catching and kicking up the spray? (Putting some duct tape over them would let you know if that's the problem...) Just a thought.

 

[mofirsttimer]

How about a picture of the bottom of the hull, camera about 2' off the ground, with you being directly behind the outdrive, out about 3'. Picture worth a thousand words.

Your camera is too high and too close.....but I see one thing that could be a cause, but the picture I asked for will clarify that.

Here you go Texasmark. I took a few of them.

 

[mofirsttimer]

Are you sure its not the transducer causing the rooster tail?

Perhaps it does some. When I first installed it, my readings would disappear when I hit about 20 mph. According to the instructions that came with it, I made adjustments and now get readings up to a little over 30. However, I don't remember tilting it down like this... In any case, the "rooster tail" is coming from the center near the drive on both sides, not just one side.

 

[mofirsttimer]

That transducer looks to be tilted down. It may also be too low. Both will cause spray.

Do you have a speedo pickup on the transom as well? That too will cause some spray.

Outdrives are usually installed correctly by the manufacturer and are not adjustable in the X direction. So it is likely that some other issue is making the spray.

I'm not sure on the speedo pickup. The speedo quick working several weeks ago when my son had the boat out. I asked my neighbor (he's a long-time boat owner) about it and he said normally there is a speedo pickup there. He found it and said it wasn't plugged, but I can't tell you more than that.

 

[mofirsttimer]

the spray is not coming thru the drive rams as those are about 6" above the water when on plane.

make sure your tube line is 75' to get past the turbulent area just behind the boat. depending on the hull, that turbulent table is between 10 and 30 feet long.

your transducer will cause spray as others indicated above. however if you can feel that spray, your too close to the props anyway. go with a longer tube line.

if you want a smooth wake, you need a dedicated ski boat, not a boat with an I/O

I'm fairly certain my tube line is that long... I will double check it. The spray in the eyes isn't the rooster tail itself, but lighter sprays off the sides. Perhaps a longer rope would do the trick.

 

[mofirsttimer]

We found a booster ball (which not only has a longer tube line, but also a floating ball to keep the line from kicking up spray), to be very helpful. If the spray is caused mostly by the boat, though,the booster ball may not help (although it still provides for a better tubing experiences, say my kids!).

I can't tell if iboat sells them because of the miserable search function, but you can Google "airhead booster ball" if you want to go that route.

Does your outdrive have holes from where the hydrofoil was attached? Are they catching and kicking up the spray? (Putting some duct tape over them would let you know if that's the problem...) Just a thought.

I've seen the ball thing you're talking about and have considered ordering one. Thanks!

 

[southkogs]

Your setup isn't too different from mine. And I get a pretty smooth table behind the boat - kids were skiing on it last weekend.

So, new line of thought: what is different in your boat that adds some weight to the stern? I'm thinking that maybe you've got some extra weight in back that's causing you to dig in a little on plane. When you trim up, it pushes the water flow down and out a little more ... mitigating the spray from the drive.

Can you think of anything adding weight to the back? Any indication she's water logged at all?

 

[Scott Danforth]

do you have a tow hook in the middle of the transom, or are you using a bridle?

if your using a bridle...... there will be a bit of spray as the line hits the water. its less of a spray as it is a splash that just has enough hang-time for your head to run into it. a longer line or the booster ball would help. moving the tow point up will also help.

dont go too long on the rope, as the centripetal acceleration in the corners can get them well over 40mph

BTW, you may want to take care of the corrosion on your drive.

 

[Texasmark]

Picture shows the depth finder transducer definitely is a problem. As others have said it needs to come up or do as I do and mount it inside in front of the transom, centerline of the boat as close as possible shooting through hard glass, no sandwiched hull in that area. Hard epoxy with no bubbles. It's acoustic and solid glass transmits just fine.....course maybe if you are out at 100 Fathoms it might matter.....grin.

Other thing is your drain plug may be the spray source on the Port side if you didn't have it in the position in the picture, and it was hanging down. WW has threaded types without the handle...takes numerous turns to lock, but hanging down wouldn't be a problem. In your last picture it appears that both sets of hydraulic lines to your trim cylinders are in fact up out of the slip stream. I/O's are usually factory setup for right height, so that should make for minimum spray and correct skeg to transom bottom interface.

Reverse chines and reasonable dead rise at the transom makes for fast planing, soft, dry ride, and good economy of operation. Nice hull.

Other folks covered the minimum distance from the transom for good water skiing.

 

[mofirsttimer]

southkogs It does get some water in the bilge during normal operation...not sure how much is normal but I assume it has a leak somewhere. I run the bilge pump every now and then. After switching out the prop a few weeks ago it planes out and hits hole shot in a few seconds. I plan to be on the lake this weekend, so I'll post a pic or video.

 

[mofirsttimer]

Texasmark and GA_Boater I posted new pics above and forgot to tag you. Thanks for your input!

 

[Scott Danforth]

should be no water in the bilge during normal operation