Thanks Guys,
Steve, Keep in mind engine height is relative to the notch and set back. Water travels up off the bottom. The further back you are the higher you have to go to get the gear case out of the water.
I would take a video of your lower units running at speed to see what it looks like. 2" is pretty high with 3" set backs and no notch. I am sure that is why they needed the water ramps.
You may not gain anything by moving the motors back. I would think a lot about it as it will change the CG on the boat as well.
I only ran 3" set backs on my 28 and the motors were not as high as some others reported but the boat was still fast as the others.

Chris,
No need for magic water there is more to MPH to come.

Nasty - did the Merc boys make any comment on the rigging regarding the set back ( or lack there of)???

Hey Speich, The guys at Merc told Pete not to add any set back. We spoke about it after we were done dialing in and he felt the boat handled better than any other 30 foot outboard he has driven. Said don't do anything. Originally Pete was going to have 12 inches. Mike at Mercury said the boats handle better without the set back or a big notch. The 318 that just came out of the mold has a 6 inch notch built into it. Somebody must think some sort of set back may help. When they are finished with it we will see how it runs relative to mine. Im not doing anything this season except work on getting a second set of props from Dewald who I have already been talking to about it. I think it may benefit from the setback because it takes a lot of positive trim for the boat to run on the high end. That may just be the way this rig works. Who knows. At some point I will experiment with it but not this season. Im doing the props because I need a second set and rather just buy a set of Bravos for emergencies I figured Id give Dave a shot at trying to top Mercs. He is a great prop guy for sure and we will see what he comes up with.

From the outside looking in - I like your thinking. You have "X" invested already and you probably will always ponder the Dewalds until you eventually ran them on the boat...

Is Dave going to set you up with more rake to carry the bow higher at neutral trim?

Ron that is amazing you cant beat those 300x motors and you have solved the water pressure issues, I hope I can still beat you LOL. Its so nice to see how all of the people following the outboard skaters, and willing to share information. Quick observation for NastyBug 31 skater, I think your boat must run great in big water, but it needs a small notch or bigger brackets. As you say it doesnt carry the bow useless you trim it out and that can kill acceleration and top speed. If you can try a higher rake prop and larger diameter it may help. The boat is beautiful good luck.

Sorry Ron not meaning to high jack. Just one more. Yea Dave is casting some things as we speak. I gave him my dimensions on my props and he seems to think it needs more rake in the prop. Im gonna work with him immediately in the Spring to figure it out. we will see what happens. I will start something about it when it starts for those interested. Sorry Ron. Take it away.

My appologies Ron - I have been pulling stupid hours to catch up to schedule and when I take 5 minutes for myself, I loose track between Nasty's and your threads... hence the unintentional highjack.

Questn if you know, How much different is there in the size of the running surface between the two boats and the prop specs that you each are running as your 308 is running a VERY nice set in the vid (and pulling off great numbers) with minimal trim?

SL not sure about running surface but regarding my props thus far they are 29"s/5blade/Thru-Hubs. They are 14.5" diameter and have 20 degree rake. The tips are a kind of a mix between round ear and cleaver.
My boat thus far does not react to positive trim at all really.
I have some 4 blade cleavers on the way that have 17 degree rake. Will see how it runs and carries the bow with those.

Hey SL, My Running surface is the same as Rons minus the notch in the rear of the hull. My motors are mounted on 3 inch Jack plates with the propshaft 2 inches above the bottom. It ran the same top end at 1.75 above the bottom but the acceleration was a bit better at 2 inches so they left them at 2. Also slip went up a bit at 2 inches. My props are 15 inch Dia 33pitch and 15 degree rake. Originally I thought they were 13 rake. They are 5 blade cleavers over the hub so no Bravo style. Also gear ratio is 1.75 thats kind of common knowledge. Dave Dewald said in ref to the rake that he felt he would be up more around where Ron is at 20 degrees. We discussed the fact that the gear case was larger than the current sport master and he was concerned about that. He felt the greater rake would carry the bow bit better and I could direct the props farther back rather than upward a bit. Right now 27% is level with bottom and we were running them at 40% and higher sometimes at the top end.

My water ramps are 2.0x4.35x0.25" after making them deeper.

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