Too much bow heighth ?

[Merc_115]

New to boating have a 83 champion bass/ski with 115 horse merc took out 1st time today, and seems bow is too high so high was afraid to try in get to plain, has 3 blade ss prop any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[QC]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

Welcome aboard Merc! I am going to move this over to the general Boat Topics section as this may be more about proper operation than a propeller issue. One thing we'll want to know is the pitch of the propeller, but I think we want to talk about trim first.

Do you know how to use the power trim? Does it work? Also, what about throttle position? Did you try full throttle? We'll also want to know about weight on board, placement etc. Tell us everything you can. Do you know the condition of the motor? Has it ever ran better or planed easier that you know of? Boat length?

 

[MNSouthwestfishing]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

You probably will want to provide a little more information here. Was the motor trimmed all the way down? What kind of weight distribution? If you have 3 buddies sitting in the back of the boat it will take longer to get onto plane. How fast where you going before you backed off the throttle?

 

[Merc_115]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

me n 1 other guy, yes both in back, trimmed motor down tucked way in actually helped but still crazy high bow, 16.5 ft champion, 115 horse merc, 3 blade ss prop, just got boat, guy used it on lake erie maybe im just too shy to gas it up out of water, ???

 

[woosterken]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

here is an article on how to use trim...............

http://www.clubmarine.com.au/internet/clubmarine.nsf/docs/MG19-2+Technical

woosterken

 

[Boatist]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

Well to start out trim the motor in or down. This will help to push the stern up and the bow down.
Now when you apply power as the boat builds up speed the boat will start to push water in front of the boat.
This bow wave will cause the bow to start to raise and as you continue to build speed the boat will start to clime up on the bow wave and the bow will go higher.
To get on plane your have to clime over the bow wave. When you do that then the bow will come back down on the water and speed will increase a lot as you are no longer climbing that bow wave.
Pretty normal for new boaters to try and inch their way up the bow wave and over but the bow will go very high and you will not be able to see where your are going and may have trouble steering.

Much better to idle out away from the dock an into safe water depth and then
Apply full throttle but keep your hand on the throttle.
With the motor trimmed in the power will help to raise the stern and speed will increase quickly. The bow will still rise but soon start to come back down.
As the bow starts to come back down start pulling the throttle back slowly.
You want the bow to come down to the water with the wave and spray coming off the back 1/3 of the boat. At this point leave the throttle there and slowly adjust the motor trim so the bow is not plowing at the bow.
Note the position where the bow is just up off the water but low enough to cut a wave should you hit one.

Now your can advance the throttle again but adjust the trim as you go. If the bow starts to bounce up and down then trim in or down until it just stops.

It will take you a few times and you will know how to pre trim for a fast safe start.
Geting on plane quickly is much better and also saves fuel.

The very best idea would be to take a experienced boater with you and let him show you one time.
Since the boat is new to you you will not know where to set the trim

 

[JoLin]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

me n 1 other guy, yes both in back, trimmed motor down tucked way in actually helped but still crazy high bow, 16.5 ft champion, 115 horse merc, 3 blade ss prop, just got boat, guy used it on lake erie maybe im just too shy to gas it up out of water, ???

Very possible. I was a new boater 2 yuears ago, first boat was an outboard, and getting up on plane the first couple of times was a little scary. It does take several seconds of "the bow is so high I can't see where I'm going!" before the boat levels out. Get out there with nobody else around and play with it.

Oh- don't baby the throttle- nail it! From a forward idle speed push it all the way forward in a single smooth motion. If you increase throttle a little bit at a time you'll stay bow high forever. When the bow comes back down, throttle back. You'll get the rhythm soon enough.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[MyViewGS]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

For bass boats Im a fast launch person. I trim all the way down and BLAST OFF !!! ... lol. I once ran a 18' ProCraft with a 150 Merc. Got on the water and was ready to go and the trim stuck about 8" out. Talk about having a high bow, WHEW! I found the best thing was to just BLAST OFF again. I bet that bow pitched up 60+ degrees, then back down, and straight back up again... it bounced like that a few times but finally got on plane. The good thing was the trim stuck in a great running position. Hey, for starters, try having your friend sit closer to the bow when you take off.

MyViewGS

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

It would be very helpful to know what that prop pitch is. Look on the hub - there should be a 2 digit number stamped into the side somewhere between the blades. It's possible you have a prop that's pitched incorrectly which is not giving you the bite you need to bet out of the hole properly.

My uncle had a crazy little two blade bronze race prop on his 65 Merc hoping it would get him max top speed. Problem was the boat (14 foot Humber Jewel) couldn't climb out of its own hole to get going unless we were hanging over the windshield to push the bow down.

When propped correctly, your motor should be within a very specific rpm range at wide open throttle. Myself, also I don't think you should be needing max throttle to get on plane but I'm not a bass boat guy so have no experience in that area.

Your rated WOT RPM we can look up and you can check it against your own motor. Do you have a working tach?

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

They aren't suggesting that MAX WOT is needed to get on plane, WOT is used to get on plane as fast as possible so that the bow will drop back down. Most bass boats are extremely *****-heavy, so the bow will ride high to where you can't see forward so it's best to get on plane as quickly as possible.

 

[Merc_115]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

My prop is a 3 blade aluminum 21 pitch, i got on plane a lil today but lake has speed limit so i just hit it bout half throttle jumped out good but geesh what a hole it dug behind me, trim is what i need to get right, when i bacvked offf seemed like the motor was getting muffled or garbashed so to speak then good again

 

[JoLin]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

My prop is a 3 blade aluminum 21 pitch, i got on plane a lil today but lake has speed limit so i just hit it bout half throttle jumped out good but geesh what a hole it dug behind me, trim is what i need to get right, when i bacvked offf seemed like the motor was getting muffled or garbashed so to speak then good again

Hitting it half throttle is what's hanging you up. Starting off, you have to trim in and put the pedal to the metal so the motor can lift the boat out of the water instead of trying to claw its way onto a plane.

Don't know what your speed limt is, but by the time you're in the high teens (mph), you'll be on plane and the bow will come down. THEN you can throttle back, bow will stay down and you'll maintain the correct planing attitude. Trim out, adjust throttle again and you're cruising.

Once you learn how to do it, the kick of a 2-stroke coming out of the hole is just plain FUN. It's THE thing i really miss about my old Johnson.

 

[109jb]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

I know you said you were trimmed all the way in (down), but doest the tansom bracket of the motor have a long pin running side to side that limits the amout of trim rannge you have? When I bought my old Starcraft, the previous owner had the pin iin the second hole from the transom and you couldn't trim all the way in. If you do have that pin, make sure it is in the holes closest to the transom. May not be the problem but something to check.

 

[Merc_115]

Re: Too much bow heighth ?

Yea has no pin was looking today holes r there but no pin, rather like a lil lever for bottoming out