We have a 14’ Aluminum Lund pushed by a 8hp Yamaha 4 stroke. When it’s just 1 person in the boat we can’t get over a couple mph and basically are riding a wheelie. What’s the best way to easily plane off the boat with 1 person?
I would think a planing fin on the lower unit is obvious, but I wasn’t sure if they worked well on low hp motors?
I could be wrong but with only an 8 hp motor, you might have a hard time ever getting it to plane out.
You may not get it to plane out but pushing the bow up isn’t all that safe in a strong wind. I put my gas can up front and my battery if possible to help with weight distribution. I even built a wooden deck for my dog to ride lookout up front. I can’t plane out my 14 foot, but I go faster and safer.
Mike
I think you need to get a little weight up front and that’s about the best you do.
When we fly in to Canada they are 14’ with 6hp and all you do to keep the bow down is get a bit of weight up front.
Drop the angle of the motor further down. Should be 5 or so angles the motor can be set at. Easy enough to take the pin out and try different angles but I’m guessing the lower hole or second lowest would be best. If it’s just your basic light aluminum Lund, depending on your size, you should be able to get the boat up on plane if you have the right angle. More than one guy and any equipment though it’s not going to get on plane but will still travel much quicker with the correct motor angle
Gas tank gear and battery up front
How many rpms are you turning?
Weight is the answer. 60 pound bag of sand. Easy to take out when you have a second person along. That or get a big dog!
http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/quikrete-tubesand-60-lbs-/0000000235100?Ntt=sand
-J.
Can you add a throttle extension and sit more forward?
For a guy like me, 290 lbs, a sack of sand up front would do the trick!
My buddy runs a 14 ft boat and 6hp 2 stroke. He puts 2 sand bags in the bow and that does the trick. We clocked the boat at 11mph WOT lol.
I have own and operated a lot of aluminum boats in my life time but I have never had to put a bag of sand in any of them. Smellson should be right on with pulling the pin and lowering motor angle. Lowest or second pin hole should do it.. The 16 Jon that I just bought had the gas tank, three batteries and my big ass on the back seat. I moved 2 of the heavy trolling motor batteries forward under the little deck. It should plain better now, if not I’ll move the pin.
Swap the 8 for a 40 and hang on! Or just putt. I don’t think it would ever plane out either, I also agree that gear, gas and batteries up front would help even her out. At least you won’t be flying blind. I almost got rammed once by a guy on mille lacs. He had his nose in the air and couldn’t see a thing! Luckily I was already in gear sneaking through a group of boats so I hammered the gas. He was about 2 feet from my transom when he wheelied by!!
First thing to do is to adjust the trim stop pin on the outboard to a lower position. There is a long steel pin that has a spring loaded T end that sits in a series of holes in the outboard’s transom bracket. This pin is what the outboard rests on when in the “down” position to determine the trim angle.
You want to lower the bow, so lower the pin, probably to it’s lowest or second lowest position, but you have to experiment. You want it just low enough to put the bow down without pushing the bow into a “plowing” position.
If that doesn’t do it, add weight to the very front of the boat under the front seat. Often it won’t take much. My father had a well-selected rock that for years sat under the front seat of his boat, it probably only weighed 30-40 pounds. You want the least weight that will do the job.
Grouse
Thanks for the feedback, quick correction, it’s a 14’ Lund not 16’
The boat planes out pretty easy with some weight up front, was hoping there was some tricks to help without adding the weight. I’m pretty sure the motor is setup as low as it can go, yamaha guy at boat how suggested lowering the prop pitch.
I think we’re wanting more because we used to have an 8hp Evinrude 2 stroke that just flew on a 14’ aluminum boat. Yes our 4 stroke 8hp is heavier, but can’t be more than 15-20 lbs.
RPM’s seem low on the yamaha…it’s a shortshaft length.
Thanks for the feedback, , yamaha guy at boat how suggested lowering the prop pitch.
I think we’re wanting more because we used to have an 8hp Evinrude 2 stroke that just flew on a 14’ aluminum boat. Yes our 4 stroke 8hp is heavier, but can’t be more than 15-20 lbs.
RPM’s seem low on the yamaha…it’s a shortshaft length.
for sure try different prop, 8 hp is 8 hp, sure the torque isnt the same as 2 stroke but with the right prop you will be happy. I was told i wouldn’t like a four stroke 25 compared to my 2 stroke johnson, but i couldn’t be happier, i propped it and now runnning faster then my 2 stroke,sure i lost a little out of the hole.
Can you add a throttle extension and sit more forward?
Easiest and best option. I run a 12’ with a 6hp and if I’m running it by myself, I need to sit as far forward as possible. Once it catches, you can slide back.
FWIW. I hit 13 mph with two guys!
Is your fuel tank already up front and do you run a battery up front?.
That’s all it took for my 14 ft alumacraft but I also have a 25 on it. With me and everything on back it would be a wheelie mania. I shifted that stuff up front and it made all the difference
I used to run a 7.5 on my 14, getting an extendable handle for your trolling motor and moving to more center of boat did the trick for me to plane out. Although minnkota does not recommend using their handles for outboard throttle handles.
Trim tabs?
10′ tiller handle
Another option I don’t think has been mentioned, but that would be a ‘Hydrofoil Stabilizer Fin’ (aka, whale tail) for your size of motor.
as said above. Change trim and move the gas can as far forward as possible. I’ve had luck with this combination.
I run a 6hp on my 14-footer. Two stroke yamaha. Solo I can hit 13-14mph. 10mph against current on the river. But it never really gets “on plane.”
I used to run a 7.5 on my 14, getting an extendable handle for your trolling motor and moving to more center of boat did the trick for me to plane out. Although minnkota does not recommend using their handles for outboard throttle handles.
I’ll be looking into this this spring. Sitting on my middle bench would be ideal. The thing I’m concerned about is the loss of precision with steering with a tiller handle that long. A guy would have to push the handle out almost over the gunnel to make a hard turn?
I had a 12′ boat with a 15 hp on it. It would bounce up and down at full throttle when fishing alone, quite the adventure!
quick update as this past weekend was my 2nd time in this boat. The Trim stop pin is as low as it can go, leaning forward seemed to help alot, so i’ll go with the option of getting some weight at the very front of the boat (Gas, Battery or sandbag) this should easily solve the problem, thanks all!
We’re thinking of upgrading to a 15hp motor for this boat if the price is right, for those who’ve gone from a 8hp to a 15hp 4 stroke, was it worth it?
Sandbag and cooler of Busch up front.
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