Offshoreonly.com - Outboard help??

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Agreed Kurt!
Although 10 on that boat will be flighty in big water

Quote:

Originally Posted by Too Stroked (Post 3881068)

Didn't mean to imply that's where everyone needs to run. Mine's actually 3/4" below the pad and that happens to work out best for my hull / motor and average conditions on Lake Ontario. I had some fellow Progression owners from Long Island tell me the boat won't run for crap without at least 12" of set back. (I have 6" and it works just fine.) And as you've apparently already seen, lots of set back is tough on the plate and the transom. That's not a good combination in a race boat.

BTW, your whole post - as well as Johnny's - are spot on.

Sorry Too Stroked, wasn't finger pointing at your comment. It is just generally assumed that the only way a boat can be quick is to lift the engine to the moon. This is true in some cases, most certainly on a real light v bottom running calm water. However heavy boats running hard in rough conditions need a different approach.
The only way I get away with 10" setback is my hull is quite heavy in the nose so I guess moving the motor from 6-10" was like moving a motor on a light weight 2-3", it doesn't feel much different at all. Top speed is no different, in fact if anything it corners a little better now. I haven't seen any jacking plate yet that doesn't start to lay over one way once you start running it hard in the ocean, that's why I went static, to ensure engine movement is kept minimal, nothing worse for handling than the motor flopping around out the back. I might suggest running a jack plate till you get it dialled in then fabricating a solid setback like mine (just shorter) and using bigger bolts to mount everything.
Are you running tabs on the hustler? IMO they are a must have for the rough water racing!

Here is some pics of my set back and boat.
http://s1304.beta.photobucket.com/us...tml?sort=3&o=1

Hey guys,

Thank you for all the replies you guys are awesome... So far looking at going with the 6" setback hydraulic jackplate so I can lift the engine up while trailering due to the fact the boat is not equipped with a splash well so my trim up is limited, while doing some calculations tonight I realized that from the engine bracket to the steering ram i have 7" so to be able to properly clear the deck to trim up to be able to trailer her it looks like I may need to go with a 10" bracket, unless I decide to do some trimming of the deck... so how would a 10" bracket affect me compared to the 6"?? Is t do-able in a race situation? Kurt, your boat is beautiful man!!According to the Hering prop calculator it is showing a 6% slip with a 21p, 5000rpm, 1.87 gear ratio, and our speed of 54mph.

It will be doable, be worth throwing a few lbs up front in big water

So you think 10 is ok? or would it be worth the extra 4" to notch the deck for a 6" setup?

Forgot to mention its a 30" shaft...