Motor Height revisited...

[rbiederwolf]

I think the common consensus is that on a tritoon, the motor should be mounted so that the cavitation plate on the motor is equal in height to the center toon it is attached too. This way the water will flow just below the cav plate.

Makes sense to me. However when I called the dealer to tell him I think he mounted the engine too low (when he put on the new center toon), he says absolutely not.

According to him, and specifically my make and model of boat, the engine needs to be down lower. His reason is that my boat with front couches can be nose heavy and if I get additional wieght distributed to the nose ( kids/adults bow riding), I run the risk of the prop raising up and prop blow out.

I think this happened once last time I had boat out with guests. Kids were all in the front, I went to push it from idle to running speed and I felt the prop slip. I pulled it back to idle and pushed it back up at a slower rate.

Thus I think he may be right for my boat. Also I have not installed the outer lifting strakes yet, and he said this will easily compensate for any issues anyway. Engine height within an inch or two will not matter.

Thoughts...?????

[jimrs]

I think your dealer is right on. The mounting of the motor higher is great for a planing hull. Most of us have a lot of boat with light weight and the passengers change way more that of a regular boat. I think if your main concern is speed then you should raise it but toons even the new
higher power toons need more motor in the water. I looked at a new Bennington with a 250h.p. Yamaha and it was mounted just below the middle toon. Thus eliminating prop blow out and not enough water at high speeds to cool the motor. It might cost you a few mph but its worth it not to deal with prop blow outs. I know that a lot of people on here will disagree but it's not worth it to me for 2 or 3 mph.

[rancherlee]

I can see where front couches may cause an issue. Being a pontoon captain is all about weight management and moving bodies around if need be. If you do manage to blow the prop out with 4 people up front it's probibly going to blow out no matter where your engine sits on the transom. Your new setup should do better now that the weight of the engine is further back.
Solutions, in the order in which I prefer.
#1 move the people around on the boat, I personally believe it to be a safety issue to have people at the very front of ANY boat above planing speed.
#2 Prop, be it a 4 blade aluminum or 3/4 blade, find one that BITES
#3 Move anchors/batteries around to help balance your running load. If the couches are always used move "movable" weight reward.
#4 Leave the wife at the dock
#5 drop the motor down, usually doesn't fix a poorly balanced load though.