Trimming the Motor

You know the drill..

Moderators: Redneck_Randy, badmoonrising, lakerunner

Post Reply
Message
Author
Lesau
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:49 am
Location: Alabama

Trimming the Motor

#1 Post by Lesau » Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:47 pm

Do you guys trim it up to the point that just a small amount of the tubes are in the water? That seems too high to me, but looking for best efficiency.
Lesau

captain28570
Posts: 85
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2016 9:49 pm
Location: Baton Rouge LA

Re: Trimming the Motor

#2 Post by captain28570 » Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:05 pm

Without a fuel management gauge it will be hard to tell.

My fiberglass boats liked a little trim to get best MPG"s. The faster I went the more trimmed I needed. Less boat in the water when trimmed up.

But my Tritoon acts different. I have a digital gauge so I can watch the MPG's.

I trim mine up just a hair while cruising. If I lift the bow more the MPG's start going down.

When I get near WOT I trim up around 30 percent or so to get it out the water more then I trim down a little and it gets the best speed that way.

I think trimming to much actually makes the stern squat more creating more drag.

A lot of water moving between the toons. Mine seems to do better with almost no trim. But I have lifting strakes on all toons.
2017 22 Manitou Aurora LE SHP Tritoon Evinrude G2 HO 150

User avatar
guy48065
Posts: 554
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:32 am
Location: Atlanta, MI

Re: Trimming the Motor

#3 Post by guy48065 » Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:05 am

I've always suspected that analysis is correct for pontoons that plow rather than plane in the water. Most pontoons simply can't plane (I don't know about the 150HP+ tri-toons...maybe?) so you're actually levering the bow up (and pushing the stern down) by raising the thrust angle. That takes energy and it's wasted in just prying the bow up.
Mark
1996 Sweetwater 180EX + Johnson 40
Rush Lake, Atlanta, MI

Lesau
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:49 am
Location: Alabama

Re: Trimming the Motor

#4 Post by Lesau » Wed Sep 05, 2018 1:10 pm

Thanks guys, that is what I was thinking. I tend to trim mine so the bow is a little elevated to avoid the possibility of water over the bow, but that is only really an issue when the water is rough.
Lesau

User avatar
zoom650
Posts: 659
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 7:14 pm
Location: Macon, Panama City Beach

Re: Trimming the Motor

#5 Post by zoom650 » Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:16 pm

As I trim, I watch my speed. If speed drops, its trimmed too far up.
Air around the prop?, then trimmed too far. (You'll hear this.)
If the nose begins to porpoise, trimmed too far up.
Michael and Laura
'12 Ford F150 Lariat SuperCrew Ecoboost
'14 Harris Solstice 220, P3 tritoon, Mercury Verado 150, Enertia 14p.
prior boat: '02 Century 2600CC, twin Yamaha EFI 200's, full instruments.

User avatar
Rick McC.
Posts: 419
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:12 pm
Location: Weeki Wachee, Fl

Re: Trimming the Motor

#6 Post by Rick McC. » Thu Sep 06, 2018 7:25 pm

zoom650 wrote:
Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:16 pm
As I trim, I watch my speed. If speed drops, its trimmed too far up.
Air around the prop?, then trimmed too far. (You'll hear this.)
If the nose begins to porpoise, trimmed too far up.
This. :thumbsup
Rick

Sights are for the unenlightened.

playcraftray
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 31, 2018 7:16 am

Re: Trimming the Motor

#7 Post by playcraftray » Thu Sep 06, 2018 9:22 pm

captain28570 wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:05 pm
Without a fuel management gauge it will be hard to tell.

My fiberglass boats liked a little trim to get best MPG"s. The faster I went the more trimmed I needed. Less boat in the water when trimmed up.

But my Tritoon acts different. I have a digital gauge so I can watch the MPG's.

I trim mine up just a hair while cruising. If I lift the bow more the MPG's start going down.

When I get near WOT I trim up around 30 percent or so to get it out the water more then I trim down a little and it gets the best speed that way.

I think trimming to much actually makes the stern squat more creating more drag.

A lot of water moving between the toons. Mine seems to do better with almost no trim. But I have lifting strakes on all toons.
+1

User avatar
steve1313
Posts: 679
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 6:33 am

Re: Trimming the Motor

#8 Post by steve1313 » Fri Sep 07, 2018 5:27 am

I'm like ZOOM. I watch speed. At WOT, I can gain as much as 1.5 mph by adjusting the trim properly, which is usually just before porpoising starts. I have a tritoon with lifting strakes, which lets the boat "plane". on a pontoon, I think it would be very difficult to actually get much planning.


Although I have get fuel management readings, I never pay any attention to that number with respect to trim. Frankly, the fuel managment numbers are not very important to me because I'm not really concerned about fuel burn. When the fuel gauge nears empty, I just fill it up again and I certainly don't do anything with the thought of conserving fuel.
Steve
"Serendipity" - 2017 Sweetwater 2286 WB Tritoon w/ 150HP Yamaha
Slipped at Lake Anna, Virginia
Primary Residence: Richmond, Virgina
Lake House: Lake Anna, Virginia

Post Reply