wondering how much water depth i can go safely in a 271 formula. draft specs say 34inches but is this with the drive trimmed up all the way or down? our bay is quite shallow, 40 inches in some areas and full of loon ****. how bad is it to putt thru loon **** knowing that some of it is being sucked into your engine (500efi)
thnx from a newbie.

As a safe general premise, it is what your boat is. It is minimum amount of water needed to float the boat (loaded) when at rest.

The problem with manufacturer's specs is, some of them give the numbers loaded, some raw. I had a SportCraft and they must have measured it completely unrigged, simply the bare hull draft! Best bet for you is to measure from the water line to lowest point on the drive when it is fully in the down position and add a couple of inches.

AND, keep in mind that is very safe "float" draft, maybe dead idle draft. Until on plane, draft iincreases as throttle increases. On plane, and depending on hull style, load, trim; cut the draft roughly in half.

I had a bass boat with about a 28" draft and on plane I felt comfortable in 12" or maybe less of water.

Be glad for the loon's by product! Better than granite!

Make sure to get a sea strainer if it does not have one.