I'm trying to get the bow down...

Rhett Owens

Rhett Owens

Active member
I'm working on my duck boat this summer. My problem is it rides really bow high, I don't go out in big water so I don't need the bow up in the air. I have a hydrafoil for the motor but haven't put it on because I'm scared I'll tear it off on a log. What about adding wedges to the bottom of the boat? Has anybody done this and will it help keep the bow down?


You can see the rocker it has in this picture...
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i had a 15 hp 4 stroke honda 100lbs on my barney 13ft and it did the same thing no matter what i did to change the angle so i added 100 lbs in the bow and by da jazus bye what a sky rocket i had a blast planned out and only the back foot of the boat in the water weeee heee the lake i tried it on was dead calm at sundown ,had a blast chasin seagulls off there roost in the middle of the lake.tho i had lites coming on as i drove around the lake and people coming out to see my little jet boat had a hell of a rooster tail too ,you see it was nov i think or oct so no one goes on the lake at this time of year...lol except a silly ducker eh!

in the end i didnt feel safe in the ocean with it so i went to a 4hp 2stroke until a little bigger maybe a 9 would be perfect for it..or even a mud motor in the shallow bay i use sometimes.

good luck finding the answers ill be watching as id love to have the 15 on it..

shermie
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That motor looks like it is too low on the transom although a boat with a lot of rocker is tough to get the bow down till you over power it and get the wetted surface shortened WAYYY down. Trim the load with more weight to the front and see if it makes a difference.
 
I think that Shermie has the answer. Get more weight in the bow. My boat does the same thing. With a load of hunting gear it is fine, but in the summer without the full load she wants to run with the bow up. I have a sand bag that I put in the bow to help with this. You also might try getting a longer fuel line and moving the gas tank forward.
 
Thanks for the input, keep it coming. I need all the help I can get.
I have to gas in the bow. The angle of the motor is like that because I kept pushing it under the boat to try to push the bow down. I plan on shimming the motor up but, will this help get the bow down? I'm still looking for some input on wedge on the bottom of the boat, anybody have experience with them?
 
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Lifting the motor will help. The deeper it is under the boat, the more it will lever the bow up. Haven't done wedges on mine but it seems to help the porpoising in a lot of guys boats which happens when you try to get a displacement hull to plane. You could add thickness to the rear of the hull to take the rocker out but that is a lot of work.
 
On a similar-sized, similarly powered, similar-rockered boat of my past experience...

Raising the motor 2" on the transom solved the problem. And allowed for me to run either a neutral trim angle in calm seas, or a positive angle in bigger seas, giving me much more control over the attitude of the boat.

That's the easiest, probably cheapest solution (some 3/4 lumber or ply, and some work with resin and maybe cloth if you're so inclined). I'd start there.
 
I had a similar issue on a boat, made an aluminum block and angle bracket to space the motor up higher off the transom to get the cavitation plate level with (or just barely below) the bottom of the hull and it solved the problem.

I've never used wedges, but they usually create lively debate around here... Surprised none of the regulars have jumped on this. Maybe they only get worked up about wedges on devlin boats?

Charlie
 
my hunting partner is about 6'5" and around 300lbs...........................................never had a problem with bow getting to high.



he does make a nice windbreak ;)
 
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Soon Brad at Toller Boat Works will chime in soon since he builds these Gator Duck Hunters to fund his hunting. He does not put wedges on these boats, but he may reduce the rocker so that the bow up attitude is lessened.

With that much rocker and a flat bottom it will hide bow high unless you get a lot more weight up there. Even with moving the motor up to where the cavitation plate is even with the hull bottom will more than likely not help much, but is an easy thing to test with a few blocks of wood. Just make sure that there is enough of the transom for the mounts to clamp on and not slip off.

The wedges debate usually involves the option of cutting a few test wedges and then duct taping them on the hull and taking a spin around the pond to see what each gradation of wedge results in for ride. You could also start out large and plane the wedges down after each trip around the pond, but that could be too much of a hassle and the possibility of a major boo boo is muy grande.

Sutton will eventually jump in and tell you to put trim tabs on there since they work so well for other boats.

Trim tabs also used as dog steps will start another debate about dog steps being next to the motor or cross current in a river and such.


What I want to know is how do those roller bunks work on your wood/epoxy hull? Any signs of wear where the roller and wood meet?
 
It looks like a long shaft motor on there to me, it is way down below the cavitation plate, that is too much additional drag in the water besides you are raising you're draft by 5 inches
 
Yeah I've talked to Brad on the Gator Boats sight. I'll test moving the motor up with some blocks and report back. I thought about trim tabs but I'm scared I'll knock them off and they cost $100.
The rollers are tough on the keel strips. I'm thinking I need to change to carpeted bunks, are they the best bet?
I dont think that outboard was a long shaft. I'm running a different motor (15 Yamaha) on it now so I'll have to put it on and get measurements.
 
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Rhett, Sure looks like ya did a fine job on it! That rocker is going to give you a good deal of agility in. It is more trouble than it's worth trying to get the bow down, even with a 25 on it. I had my battery in the bow compartment with the bow anchor and a 125 lb Bay dog sitting on the hatch and she still kept her nose in the air. Turned out to be a big plus the day I had to bring it in of the York in 3 footers. Where the hell is Courtland, any way?
 

Thanks Howard. I've talked to you before on the Gator boats forum. I'm gonna try to get the bow down... the river I hunt is hardly 3 foot deep much less 3 foot waves. Courtland is about 30 miles west of Suffolk. It would take me 1 1/2 hour to get to Gloucester.
 
I think you have had some great advice in all the replies. As to changing the rollers out for carpetted bunks, Yes and yes. I have carpetted bunks on all my boat trailers even the one for the 21' Grady White. Sometimes you have to spray on some type of lubricant but they are so easy to build and maintain. You maybe better off with longer bunks than you have too. Also Rhett that's a great looking rig. Bet you might shoot a duck or two in the Nansemond huh?

Best,
Harry
 
Soon Brad at Toller Boat Works will chime in soon since he builds these Gator Duck Hunters to fund his hunting.
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More like fund the new born :) ;) When I build my original I opted for the hydrofoil, it worked great and I only lost a mile per hour or so. I did shim the motor up some using a bracket similar to what one of the previous posters mentioned, except I used a piece of 2x material on the inside of the bracket. This way I could find the perfect height using several different sized shims. I toyed with putting wedges on the Ducks Unlimited version I built but really want to do it for myself or at least a customer thats aware of what I'm trying to achieve first. I think either would be great, obviously the hydrofoil is an easier fix. Don't be afraid of tearing one off, I put mine through some pretty nasty stuff and never had a problem. Brad
 
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I have shimmed the motor up and will test run this week or weekend. I went up 1 3/4 inches, I hope this will help. I'm still putting off the hydrofoil (even though I have one in the shop) because I have a Macs Riverrunner on it and I hope that will give it some lift also.
 
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I had the same problem with my Gator DH. I ended up goind with a hydrofoil. I used the SE sport from Cabelas. It all but completely stopped the violent porpoising that I had been getting. Not sure what the top end was before as it was too scary to open up the throttle all the way. Now I run with me and a dog at about 23-24 mph.
 
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