The good and the bad... added center tube

[rbiederwolf]

Mostly all good..

1. Picked up boat at dealer (3 hrs away) test drove it (Flat calm conditions). It was awesome. Floated a good 3 inches higher. Gained 2.5 mph while adding rooughly another 1000lb of weight. Trailered home

2. Dropped it in water at home (3 hrs south in intracoastal). Took it out for a spin to check it in rougher waters. Speed was great, but most importantly, wake handling was awesome. I took some other boaters wakes that normally might cause some concern, or at least spray the heck out of the boat, and all was gone. It was fantastic!!!! I mean HUGE difference.

Now the bad...Need some help
1. On the cruise home noticed much more vibration while cruising at slow speeds. Seemed like cavitation??
2. Put in reverse at the dock, and then shifted forward... OH No, no forward, shifted to reverse No reverse???
3. Engine idled fine, but no thrust either way. No reving of engine with throttle either.

Any Ideas??

Earlier in the day, Dealer said when they put the engine back on the center toon, they had Just enough cable??? Unfortunatley by the time I tied up it was dark. Plus I do not really know what to look for.

Any help would be appreciated. Going to look at it in morning.

[MichaelB]

It sounds like the shift cable came loose at the engine. Take the cover off and see if the cable is connected to the shifter. It sounds like the cotter key or retaining clip came off.

[rbiederwolf]

It sounds like the shift cable came loose at the engine. Take the cover off and see if the cable is connected to the shifter. It sounds like the cotter key or retaining clip came off.

Thanks MichelB. I am hoping it is something simple

[Mrtoler]

So was the center strakes and 115 enough to plain it out?

[rbiederwolf]

So was the center strakes and 115 enough to plain it out?

Yes. Much better than before. Going to put strakes on the other tubes in a few weeks and I think it will be even better from what I have seen with the center tube and strakes

[serpa4]

So was the center strakes and 115 enough to plain it out?

Yes. Much better than before. Going to put strakes on the other tubes in a few weeks and I think it will be even better from what I have seen with the center tube and strakes

I thought a lot of people said not to use strakes on the outside of outer tubes. I'm interested in seeing the difference in speed mostly.

[Mrtoler]

It's all in opinion on the strakes on the outside of the outer logs. People say it will make you boat dig in to a turn and not handle as good, but on a home built rig probley not gonna be all that great anyway but you will have more flat surface and therefore be up higher on plain therefore more speed. Manatiou pontoons have strakes on the outside and there shp model is the best handling toon hands....cranking the wheel hard right at 50mph need I say more

[rbiederwolf]

So was the center strakes and 115 enough to plain it out?

Yes. Much better than before. Going to put strakes on the other tubes in a few weeks and I think it will be even better from what I have seen with the center tube and strakes

I thought a lot of people said not to use strakes on the outside of outer tubes. I'm interested in seeing the difference in speed mostly.

I have read/heard that as well. However Avalon the manf. believes that best performance is with all 6 strakes

It's all in opinion on the strakes on the outside of the outer logs. People say it will make you boat dig in to a turn and not handle as good, but on a home built rig probley not gonna be all that great anyway but you will have more flat surface and therefore be up higher on plain therefore more speed. Manatiou pontoons have strakes on the outside and there shp model is the best handling toon hands....cranking the wheel hard right at 50mph need I say more

Aftermarket yes, home built no. Whan I am done my tritoon will be identical to a tritoon from the manufacturer. All parts were built by the manufacter, installed by the dealer. Avalon is even re-rating the boat to their Tritoon specs. Thus performance will be equal to that of a Tritoon from Avalon

[lakerunner]

Did you check if your prop is still there?

[rancherlee]

6 strake designs are best for straight line speed/slowest plane speed. Great for Moderate HP applications where have enough HP to get it on plane where you may not have had enough with only a 4 strake or 2 strake design boat. It will probibly hold plane at a nice 20mph cruising speed too. The bad, a HARD edge strake like most use is not desirable for turning if your not going WOT especially those that go full length on the outsides. The grab hard and fight you also posing a hazard if you catch a little air crossing a wave/wake at and angle and it decides to grab. A rounded out edge will slide in this situation, the hard edge on the other hand will grab and JAR the occupants and put ALOT of force on the tube to crossmember connections. Personally I'd run 2 center stakes only, or 4 with center and insides as having the "lift" more centralized promotes banking into turns which makes for better handling.

I'd say 6 strakes if you stay with the 115, 4 if you plan on moving up to a 150.

[JohnO]

6 strake designs are best for straight line speed/slowest plane speed. Great for Moderate HP applications where have enough HP to get it on plane where you may not have had enough with only a 4 strake or 2 strake design boat. It will probibly hold plane at a nice 20mph cruising speed too. The bad, a HARD edge strake like most use is not desirable for turning if your not going WOT especially those that go full length on the outsides. The grab hard and fight you also posing a hazard if you catch a little air crossing a wave/wake at and angle and it decides to grab. A rounded out edge will slide in this situation, the hard edge on the other hand will grab and JAR the occupants and put ALOT of force on the tube to crossmember connections. Personally I'd run 2 center stakes only, or 4 with center and insides as having the "lift" more centralized promotes banking into turns which makes for better handling.

I'd say 6 strakes if you stay with the 115, 4 if you plan on moving up to a 150.

This really depends on the geometry of the strakes and tubes. As mentioned above by Mrtoler, Manitou has all six strakes and handles better than any pontoon on the water.

The Manitou strakes are positive angle, that is, the bottom of the strakes slopes upward from the bottom of the tube leaving a larger, contiguous bottom surface. Some manufacturers use negative angled strakes, that is, the bottom of the strake forms a channel between the outer edge of the strake and the tube. I can see how a negative angle strake could dig in. The positive angle strakes used by Manitou do not.

If the manufacturer of your pontoon says use all six, then use all six. They spend tons of hours analyzing this stuff (it is not a trivial issue) and should know what works best on the boats they've designed.

[Drago]

Ours has 6 what I call 4.5" strakes that run full length on the outside and about 6' short of the stern on the inside. They are cupped slightly on the underside and extend out parallel with the plane of the boat. The top is slanted downward at about a 45 degree angle to form a near isosceles triangle. I've learned the only way to get the boat to bank in a turn and not attempt to turn flat or "dig in" is to drop the throttle a bit, then initiate the turn and at the same time throttle back up.

[mofn]

Did the same to mine and have had great results. As for speed not sure yet if I have a increase, trying to get the engine tuned up (2nd one). As for cables had to replace all of mine, due to added length in the rear. Part of my tune up is to get the throttle cables set up the right way, they are not at this point. Wish I did the 3rd tube along time ago.