Hello. I have an ’82 PolarKraft 15 X-wide & deep flat. It is rated for a 25 hp which i have on it. My problem is, when there is only one person in it, the bow sits way up in the air while you are moving at anything over idle. Is this normal? At full throttle, it sits waaaay up in the air. How do I get it to plane better? Any information would be greatly appreciated. I am a rookie boater with no clue on this type of stuff.
Sounds like your motor is tilted up to high.
PTC is correct. Pull the pin on the motor mount and move it in toward your Transom.
Thanks for the quick replies. If I remember, it is set on the second hole from the bottom right now. I will check again in the morning. If it is, what else might do that?
Too much weight in the butt end. Move some of it forward if you can.
If that doesn’t fix the problem then maybe the gas tank needs to be moved farther ahead instead of being way in the back of the boat. Try these suggestions, motor mount pin 1st., then gas tank if needed and let us know if it solved the problem. Thanks, Bill
Some of my friends have smaller aluminum rigs – most of them put the anchor and the TM battery in the bow as far forward as they can to avoid the problem that you have.
The only one who has everything in the back welded a complete floor into his 16′ jon – using leftover diamond plate from a truck box he built for a contractor friend of his. It probably doubled the weight of the boat, but it rides 10x better now and doesn’t have a noticeable ‘torqueing’ at full throttle (you used to be able to see the flex in the hull when underway).
One thing, if you decide to remote the battery to the front – make sure you use heavy wire, usually 6 guage, and shell out the $15 for a breaker. If it shorts under the gunnel or under the floor, you’ll be glad you did.
I agree with what everyone else says, but I’m suprized that after you get the motor above about half throttle that it doesn’t plane. One summer on a trip I put a 15 horse on an aluminum boat and the bow was way up until I got going and the it leveled off and really cruised.
they make this plastic thing you can put by your propeler, i think it is called the scorpion or somthing. Saw it at walmart years ago.
I feel pretty dumb right now. I have my motor, trolling motor, battery, and 6 gallon tank all sitting behind me. After reading your comments (Thanks), it makes sense now. I guess I will have to move things around. My buddy was running around while I went to get the trailer and he looked like he was ready for take-off out there. Thanks for all the help. I will try these ideas out this week. But first I have to find a new prop. We hit something and broke one of the blades clean off. What is really weird is we were just taking off in some shallower water and felt a slight bump and then the motor was vibrating pretty bad. So far I have had lots of fun with this rig. I bought the boat used. Supposed to have a “small” rivet leak. Uhh, huh, suure. All but one in the front leaked. Got that repaired. The motor has been returned to the dealer twice, seems to run better now. I also agree with the flexing of the boat. She buckles alot while running around. Hopefully after I learn the river a little, I can afford a new one.
Boats are like motorcycles – you need at least three.
Just one more idea, when I’m running alone in my John Boat with a 25hp. motor I find the front end wants to jump around at high speed. What I’ve been doing is putting a 40qt. cooler filled with water in the front. This really helps and makes it easy to remove.
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