I had hoped to do some posts from the Northwoods over the weekend but was just too tied up with 3 kids and fishing and all of that other cabin stuff. I will post a few pictures (I didn't take very many) when I have a chance. Here's the report I promised: The "Wedge".... I installed a 5 degree wedge this year, and also moved the engine up one set of holes. The hole-shot is definately improved, with almost no bow rise. I started with my 19 pitch Mirage Plus. Trim range is improved with the wedge, albeit not as much as I'd hoped. The bow certainly stays lower and speed holding is better in the lower pulling speeds. The boat is still a bit stern heavy, though, particularly when it is light on fuel up front. I can see where the wedge, combined with a lighter engine, would be an ideal setup for this boat. Yesterday, I installed a hardened, plastic wrapped 60Lb bag of concrete in the very tip of the bow, forward of the fuel tank (it was fun getting it in there). This made a noticeable improvement. The boat sits flatter in the water, gets on plane like a rocket, and is less prone to porpoising with moderate trim when it is low on fuel. By the time I installed this, I was down to a quarter tank of fuel so I can't yet comment on performance with full fuel and the bow balast together. With full fuel (and before adding the bow weight), I switched off to a 25 pitch Mirage Plus. This prop substantially reduced RPM, reduced hole-shot, and resulted in slowing during turns, with resulting acceleration coming back out of the turns. This is all to be expected, of course. At WOT I was only just over 4,000 RPM. Interestingly, the prop added no speed whatsoever in the normal trim range. I was seeing about 55 MPH just as I do with the 19 Mirage. This prop did allow me to trim up more than the 19 at WOT (before porpoising sets in), and ultimately I hit 67 MPH as porpoising began to set in. The boat was never unstable, and never chine walked. However, you simply cannot get the motor trimmed up high enough to sustain higher speeds with this hull without getting severe porpoising. As we know, it is not a "speed" hull. I have heard it said that the Hydrodyne 18 hull hits a brick wall at about 55MPH and it is hard to get it going much faster, even by playing with props and engines. I have found that to be pretty accurate so far. Although I hit 67 MPH, it was done very briefly, at high trim, and then started to really porpoise. Of course, my high speed speedo reads off of the shaft, and I'm not certain how accurate that is when the engine is trimmed up high. I can tell you that 67 MPH in this boat feels really fast. It is likely that more bow weight, and the engine up one more set of holes, would improve top speed. However, as that is not a goal with this boat, I would rather leave everything as is. I then changed to a new 21 pitch Mirage Plus. This prop probably makes about a 3 MPH difference in top speed. Trimmed up and at the edge of porpoising it will hit 60 MPH with this prop. For sustained speed without porpoising, it is more like 55-57 MPH, as compared with the 19 pitch, which has you at about 52-55 MPH in sustained speed. I notice little or no difference between the 19 and 21 in normal pulling. It may show up with heavier loads. Overall, I was pleased with the wedge, although I stand by my original view that this boat simply lacked weight up front. I think the 60 lbs up front will be a big help, particularly when operating with low fuel weight. I will be curious to see how the boat behaves with low speed, slower pulling when I have full fuel added to the new bow weight. Of course, adding weight up front means that it is not going to tail stand anymore, but that is fine with me, as I did that a few times only to experience it. I don't recommend the manuever as I have to imagine that it is pretty hard on the boat. That is my report, in a nutshell. I will post more pics soon. Markbano
It seems to me that if you want to add weight, why not a bigger fuel tank and get some use out of the weight. I went out this morning and when we started I had about 4-5 gallons in the tank with no problem. jim
I currently have an 18 gallon tank up front. Actually, it doesn't seem to hold more than about 16 gallons. In any event, I have three floatation foam compartments up there and the 18 gallon tank fits exactly in the spot made for the fuel tank. In order to put a bigger tank up there, I really would need to reconfigure the entire bow compartment, including the current arrangement of floatation foam compartments. I'm not sure that would be worth it - indeed I don't know if it would be possible without removing the deck again. 60lbs isn't much - it is just like putting a small child up there. However, it just enough to offset the light nose I get when I burn off fuel. Adding another 10 gallons of fuel would get me the same weight, although it would not be quite as far forward as the weight I have in there now. Also, with a bigger tank, it would just cause me to go longer before refueling, and would leave the bow light once again as fuel got down low. I would be interested in trying a prop that is specifically designed to lift the stern. Do the high-fives do that?
A high five has very little rake, which is good. It has some tip cup which is bad. I would try a three blade with no cup in the tip. You have several props. I think a shop can take the tip cup out. Do not start with a raked prop though. jim
Mark, You could put a tiny hook in the back of the hull and get a little more stern lift, and it would help with the porpoising also. The I/O's had this when new. It went all the way across the very rear of the bottom. It was about 1/8 - 3/16 long and about 1/16 deep. I have seen it done with Marine-Tex. The white would not be very noticeable. I can see you wincing at the thought now. :wave: It would be visible when the boat is on the trailer. jim
