I believe the lower the Center of gravity the better the boat will handle

I believe if you figure out the "best" Center of balance your boat will handle better and go faster

It's all a black art that takes more money and time then most have. How important it is depends on what you want, and how easily your actual boat is affected by changes. Some boats, and speeds, do not change drastically, while others do.

My Baja, and many other Bajas on here, went faster with more weight in the rear.

Unleashed has a ballast tank for a reason, haven't hooked it back up yet but will report once we do, luckily she runs on rails so haven't got around to it yet.

I was hoping some experts would post in this thread so I could learn

4r444_7

Kevin, glad you chimed in. Unleashed has 5's on boxes right? According to some that should mean it's all messed up and doesn't handle worth a crap because it was designed for bravos. And the ballast tank must add some weight to the bow.
All I wanted to see with this thread was if anyone else has actually seen a weight change screw a boat up. Doesn't look like it.
Mythbusters marine series lol

If you want weight low as possible, why do a lot of race boats have saddle tanks? lets hear your thoughts

And as water conditions and speeds change, so does your handling. then props,drive heights,ballast and balls all come in to play. you can also keep a few heavy padded pistol bags with lead bars in them to move weight around

Is this true?

I will try and dig up some photos this was back in 2000 , 17 yrs ago. I was the laughing stock of the neighborhood, if I don't have a photo my neighbors do, the boat ran 92 mph at best with rocker, problem was I had small shaft 3 and did not have a lot of prop selection, I did see 95 one cold October day with a good chop, and low fuel

If the boat is too light it rides mucky in rough water. With a light boat you can add ballast where you want for the best ride depending on sea conditions and/or how it ran best in testing.

Yes, and according to some all Gladiators spin out but ours turns sharper and faster than anyone EVER needs to.....

But what's your definition of "screw up"? Is a 5mph speed loss a "screw up"?

I have not dialed unleashed in enough yet to know the best setup, nor have I raced in rough water enough to know that one setup is better than an another.

There are just way too many factors in setting up a boat then just weight placement. Look at props for example. How often do you see someone try 3 or 4 props and pick a favorite? But they really didn't TEST them properly. Well one prop might work best spinning out, while another likes in, let alone different drive heights, drive toe, trim settings, etc. The average recreational boater doesn't take the time to properly test and tune.

I think there are to many generalizations. Look at how much power it takes to increase speed! So is it fair to say that power doesn't make a difference in speed since there's not a drastic change?

Can you really dial in a true usable pleasure boat ????? And if you did what are you dialed into speed, comfort, water skiing?