stern heavy

[cobiawayne]

got a 71 20 ft cc seacraft, closed in transom and installed a livewell in transom,26 inch stainless marine bracket.I have played with some weight up front and as long as I,m the only one in it its great,but when I have some else with me I have to run really trimmed down.I,m running a laser11 19stainless prop.I use the boat mostly for offshore fishing.I,m wondering if anyone has experience with this setup and if I need to go with trim tabs or smart tabs or just one of those doel fins.Oh yeah its a 97 merc 200 top speed 53 mph gps.Got a great deal on the motor,can,t afford to change motors.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks

[vcs]

Does the boat porpoise if you don't trim down?

[cobiawayne]

Yes especially if my livewell is full and i,ve got a passenger behind the console with me

[vcs]

when I put the bracket on my 18ft it did the same, I installed a doelfin and that fixed the problem I would suggest you try that they are inexpensive and do work.
Tony

[BigLew]

Don't forget to drop the motor down on its mounting bracket, if possible!

[vcs]

here is a previous post about engine mounting here is the post

Get a straight edge and bring the motor to neutral trim, see where the cavatation plate lines up should 1 to 1 11/2" above the hull bottom. Props with long blades or alot of cup can go higher

[bridgeman]

outboard most likely is hung too high

[cobiawayne]

Yep just went out and measured and best i can tell while fighting off a swarm of sqeeters is it looks like cav plate is 5 inches above keel

[Bushwacker]

I'm running a 30" setback bracket and my cav plate is 3.5" above keel. I run a Doelfin and a 4 blade prop for extra stern lift. Low speed planing performance was terrible until I tried a 4 blade prop; will now plane at 12 mph!

[Bigshrimpin]

I think something like this would help a bunch. I can plane at low speeds with my bracketed seafari, but it's still light in the bow at speeds even with a Mirage Plus or Rev 4.