sneakbox ob motor

S

scott kittredge

Member
i have a fricke glass over wood 12 ft sneakbox with a 6 hp merc. when i took it out for my 1st time. i couldn't get the bow to come down when i had it wide open. it was up so i couldn't see over it. is there any way to stop that ? thanks scott
 
weight up front will help,but thats going to be a problem until you get up on plane. if you have a displacement hull you will have to get iy up at full speed. had a don warren sneakbox same deal
 
weight up front will help,but thats going to be a problem until you get up on plane. if you have a displacement hull you will have to get iy up at full speed. had a don warren sneakbox same deal
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thanks, how much weight are we talking about 10 lbs or 50, ball park to start with ??? thanks, scott
 
Scott, I hate to inform you, but because of the shape of the bottom of the boat,you are never going to get it to run like a flat bottom boat. My suggestion would be to get a removable extension handle to attach to your motor steering arm, very common at any marine type store then you can at least stand up front in the cockpit & get the bow down somewhat & see where you are going. Most BBSboxes are shaped like that on the bottom for more sea worthyness then speed.
 
What might work is a tiller extension handle on your mtr, accompanied by a wrist strap and mtr kill switch. If you move forward when accelerating you might plane off. Then you can move back. This negates the addition of weight. Also putting your decoys, etc strapped to the bow can help. Hopefully more will chime in with suggestions. Good luck.
 
A fricke sneakbox is a displacement hull and it is going to ride bow high by design. I have a displacement hull sneakbox like you have I tuck the 3gal gas tank up under the front deck. That gets 20+ pounds up front. Also I use a tiller extension on the motor so I can move my weight foward. Moving your weight foward will make a big differance. I run my sneakbox while kneeling as far foward as I can go with one hand on the tiller extension and the other hand on the dodger frame. If you are having trouble seeing with the bow up in the air I am guessing you are sitting on the back deck. Try an extension and kneeling in the cockpit up closer to the front.
 
Gas tank forward of the cockpit, extension handle and a good 15hp 2 stroke outboard will help you with your problems.
 
Does the motor have trim adjustment on in ? If so try adjusting all the way in.
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hi, yes it does and i did try it all the way in, did help but not enough to make it better. i am going to try what the other people said too next time out. thanks scott
 
Scott, you may not have a realistic expectation. As others have noted, a displacement hull will not get up on plane and drop the bow like a planing hull. I have a 15hp on my 12ft displacement hull, It is a heavy hull, and I load it down fully. In summer, I can get 15mph out of her tops, in hunting load, closer to 10mph, but very comfortable in white caps in her.

I spent a whole day messing with the right trim settings. I used 3 3/4" shims, and tested each shim with each motor pin hole and plotted the WOT speeds. I then settled on the pin and height for my hull.

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Scott, you may not have a realistic expectation. As others have noted, a displacement hull will not get up on plane and drop the bow like a planing hull. I have a 15hp on my 12ft displacement hull, It is a heavy hull, and I load it down fully. In summer, I can get 15mph out of her tops, in hunting load, closer to 10mph, but very comfortable in white caps in her.

I spend a whole day messing with the right trim settings. I used 3 3/4" shims, and tested each shim with each motor pin hole and plotted the WOT speeds. I then settled on the pin and height for my hull.

375411_2934844536456_1910815520_n.jpg
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nice pic, looks like i will be riding around like you standing up. thanks scott
 
Scott, the other thing to keep in mind... 6HP is not much motor, you are not going to go fast, so don't flog the poor motor at WOT all the time, I wick up to WOT for a second and then back off to 3/4 throttle when I am running. Difference in speed is just barely noticable, but the stress on the motor is significant.

I have a tiller extension I made, and I have 2 kill switch cords clipped together that is always attached to me when I run the motor. I amnot a good swimmer in the summertime! I have a handle attached the dodger frame for my right hand hold when running the motor. If the weather is real nasty or real serious waves, I sit on a boat cushion on the back deck, and trottle down, which brings the bow down some.

The beauty of the displacement BBSB is her seaworthyness, with a dodger, and full decoy boards, it will take some real serious waves to swamp her, and I have a float coat on or life jacket if that ever happens!
 
Scott you aren't going to be setting any speed records with that boat, especially with a 6hp, but put a 15 on it and you'll do 22-25 mph loaded.

Do you know what year the boat is? Bob tweaked the design some over the years.
 
As craig and dave said you won't be setting and speed records in that sneakbox especially with a 6hp but it is a very safe boat. A 6hp is kinda small for a sneakbox. I started with an old merc 9.8 and it worked just fine I got 12-14mph loaded up. I came across a deal/steal on a newer evinrude 15hp that I couldn't pass up. I now get about 17-19 mph loaded up at 3/4 throttle. For a sneakbox that is plenty of speed. When its dark out I go pretty slow anyway about 1/2 throttle. Try the new tips the guys said and see how it works. But I would keep an eye out for a good used 9.9 or 15hp 2 stroke. Post up some pics of the fricke sneakbox we all like pictures. Is this your first sneakbox? If so you are gonna love it. Last season was my first with a sneakbox and it is such an awesome way to hunt ducks. Good luck with the boat this season.
 
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