Opinions needed......should i straighten the bottom or not?
 

I just purchased a 1989 23 wellcraft nova xl that im putting a 502 mag efi in that should be making 500-550 hp. Just like everybody on here I want to get the most speed out of the thing with out getting killed in the process and I know this aint a boat to try and go a 100 mph in but I still want to go as fast as I safely can with what I got so with that being said I know that the hull has hooks in the bottom in front of the trim tabs and I know the manufacturer puts them there for a reason but I was wondering if they should be filled in if yor lookin to go faster than the manufacturer had in mind. I would like to hear all your options on why or why I shouldn't do this and pros and cons and if anybody has done this on a similar hull and what your results were...... THANKS

I would remove them - You can always solve a porpouse problem with the tabs.
I would rather have control.

not a fast hull by no means...if you get to 65 quit there...

Leave it alone. Not worth it. There are probably a few more satisfying projects the boat needs.

Save your $$ for gas and beer!

ok so say the boat did 65 mph as it sits. How much speed do you think I could pick up by doing the bottom?

A mile or two.
The thing about making a boat go fast (for its design) is a number of things all put together. Every little thing helps but each one only helps a little. Thats a lot of work taking the hook out of a hull along with repainting or gelling the bottom. I've done it before but that was a ground up restore. If I already had a nice gel bottom then I wouldn't bother.

don't touch! not worth the work!

sell it, buy another boat with more efficient hull with stock motor, you might go faster for same money, than your actual boat with upgraded 502...

thought about doing it on mine (PQ27)...the way the ''hook'' is designed i would run out of bottom at the transom,if cut straight...like the others said,not worth the trouble for 1-2 mph....still doing 77-78 mph with 620hp

What would give you the best increase in speed and handling would probably be a -2 imco lower. Nice thing about that is if you find a good used one you can almost certainly get your money back out of it if you don't like it or decide to sell the boat.

I took the hook out of a similar boat (1990 Formula 242LS) and gained exactly O MPH.

Save your money for new props, they will get you the best bang for the $.

Wannabe

I took the hook out of my 251 Checkmate Convincer.. I could run in 3' water without any issues, when I 4' came along the boat would litterly go skyward and then trip and stuff on the next wave. I contacted Checkmate to ask about it.. "Did you take the hook out?"... I said yes.. They told me to add wedges to the next flat surfaces, outward instead of putting it back on the pad to correct it.. eventually I added tabs very close to the bottom to control the hook needed when in flat water, and pull them up for a flat bottom on the smooth water. In between the "no hook" and the tabs I experimented with adding some wedges to the bottom.. I was playing with power at the time and really didnt see any affects of straigthening the bottom. But when I took off the wedges, it allow the bow to rise and I did see a 3-4mph advantage.. A lot of work, but in the end an improvment. For what you are trying to do, you need to find out what it does for handling before you take the plunge. I would say, don't do it. Buy another something different next time!
Hope that helps.
Dick

can someone answer this question?

Why is there a hook in the first place? Why don't boat manufacturer make the mold ''staight'' right at the beginning?

Sometimes, as in my case with the 251 Check, they had two molds, one for the boats with more HP and another for the ones with less. The hull was a variable dead rise type.. Started at 23.5* at the transom and went to 27 or 29* as it went forward. It worked well for slicing the waves at speed, but it would also kick the bow up on too big of a wave, at speed. The cure was to put a bit of hook in it, to lift the stern as the transom moved over the wave crest.
After I removed the hook in the center and added wedges on the bottom between the strakes I took the boat out and actually felt the stern lift as I went over a wave. I asked my buddy who was riding with me,, he could not feel it. I ended up adding a wedge that was 11"x7"x3/8".. I could run in 3-5' water at 75mph.. and the boat would fly almost flat with the drive getting as much as 5' out of the water. It was a fun boat. Later I took the wedges out and added tabs to do the same thing when I was on big water. With a top speed close to 90mph the affect of slight hook is amplified, so it was an advantage in my case, but also a lot work and a lot of time spent redesigning the wheel.

Answer to your question, they sometimes add a hook to compensate for a problem with the hull design.

A hook can also develop from poor support on the trailer or bunks.. So it pays to ask around before you make modifications, to see if some has been down that road.

Ballz - did you get/read my response to the PM you sent to me?

Like these guys say, don't bother messing with the hook on your Nova. Hook is ouside the running surface when your at spped so here is little to no affect from the hook.

leave it alone, not worth the work!

ok thanks for all the info guys really appreciate it........ looks like im gonna leave it alone and run the piss out of it like it is!

what motor does it have now? 350 or 454? alpha or bravo? if you are putting a 502 in a small block boat, well just thank God alphas are cheap...

I bought the boat with no engine. im putting in a 502 with a bravo

With the ZZ502/502 I ran a labbed 25 Mirage plus. Prop worked well. Save a few $$ on labbing and see if you can find a Mirage 25, the older style non plus type and see how it works out.

ok cool thanks for the info