Sonic Prowler...
 

Ok, I think everyone knows the 26 has an issue with Porpoising...
I've got K-planes, & they do a great job of controlling it, & mid 50's, I am able to lift them to "neutral" (not sure if that is still considerd to be dragging). However, the porpoising will still return at that speed if a wake is hit, or any wave to upset the ride. Again, I drop the tabs, & all is well.

I've also swithced to a Hydromotive P5X, hoping to help the issue. It does seem to help some, but what that prop does more is...On plane much quicker, & I no prop blow-out in turns.

So, more or less, I've "learned to live with it"...With that said, I really enjoy the boat. I love the ride, it is a very secure feeling boat. I do plan on keeping it for a while. So, I started learing more about the Porpoising issue...

Being that all Prowlers do it, I'm convinced it's not a "hook" in the hull, unless it was a design issue, & I've never heard anything about that.
I have also read about the "notched transom" being the issue. Well, I'm not ready to have it filled in....lol.
I am thinking more along the line of drive depth. I'm not sure which way it would need to go to help it. I've read where some boats do better with a shorty, & some do better with a drive spacer.
So, short of spending lots of money to test, I'm looking for a bit of input.
I know there was a thread here a while back, & someone was planning on trying a shorty, but I've not seen where they actually did.
Has anyone tried a drive spacer? I'm thinking that is the direction I need to go. It seems to me (definitely not an engineer) the prop would have more "leverege" to hold the bow, if it were a bit deeper in the water. Am I thinking wrong with that?
Then I look at what a shorty may do, it seems that the boat would want to run more level, & that boat definitely seems to like...more level.
I had even considered looking into an extension box, but that is quite a bit more work, & I know nothing about what they do...anyway.
Sorry for the long post, I'm just thinking of ways that can make the boat better.
Thanks for any input on this....

Just looking at this pic of a Prowler, the prop shaft looks very deep in the water to me. I'm no expert, though. Have you talked to Sonic?

Try talking to Julie at throttle up. I spoke with her, she said that when Dollar offshore and Sonic were kinda tied together her and Mindy did a lot of prop testing on Sonic's. She is familiar with what the Sonic hull likes.

All 26 are built like that. I have a 502 in mine and my prop sits that low in the water. Im not an expert, but if the X dimension was raised, would there be enough clean water getting the prop?

Im running a 24p bravo with my 26. I really only see porposing between 35-45mph. If Im over 50, I use no tabs and adjust the drive if I start to bounce from other wakes.

I really dont think it matters what prop we use, if we shorten the drive or add an extension. Its the nature of the hull...

I would try a nose cone first. I've seen it fix chine walking issues. I don't know why, but I've seen it first hand.
Plus they look cool! LOL

After posting this thread, I spoke with Todd at Hydromotive. I am going to send him my P5X to do some work to the "leading edge" to get more "bow lift".
I did notice a change in the porpoising as soon as I put the prop on right out of the box...It was still there, but it did improve.
I was thinking I needed more "stern lift", but the way Todd explained it, I was thinking "backwards"...go figure :lolhit:
I will post the results when I get it back.
Thanks for all the input...

Have you tried a left hand prop? I've seen it work on other boats. Just a thought.

I would think thats backwards too. The more I get the bow out of the water at crusing speeds (35-45mph) the more the boat bounces.... When I tuck the drive in, the bounce lessens.

When I switched to the 5 blade, I went with a LH rotation. Overall, it did help with the porpoising, I'm just not sure if it was just the 5 blade, or the LH, or a combination of both...
However, I do have a bit of "prop torque" while getting on plane, now that I have the 5 blade, but no big deal.

I decided to wait to send to prop back to Hydromotive. I've got some runs I plan on doing over the next month, & I don't think he could get the prop back to me in time. I'll most likely wait until late next month & see how busy they are.