Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I've been looking on here researching engine height and most of what i see says to have the cavitation plate pretty close to the bottom of the transom. Since i've owned the boat(1 year) i've noticed that the steering was really stiff/tight until i trimmed up a pretty good amount, then it would get better. I have also noticed a lot of water spray around the rear of the boat, soaking the carpet in front of the rear ladder, and the rear apartment that holds the battery.

I went and checked out my boat and the motor seems WAY too low. It's a good 8" from the cavitation play to the bottom of the transom with the boat and cav. plate level. The water line is another 4-5 inches above that. The engine bracket is actually sticking below the rear of the transom(see pic). So what do you think? The motor is in the lowest hole right now so i have plenty of room to move it up. Try 2 holes up and try it? Try 3 or more holes up?

I'd love to find a little speed here. It's running pretty good for a 23" 20' toon with a 90(25mph gps), but a couple more would be sweet.













Don't mind my guard dog

I think you should go up at least three bolt holes and maybe four. Your correct in thinking that your cavitation plate should be even with bottom of transom. I'm sure the motor mount hanging below the transom is not helping your performance. Let us know how moving motor up helps your speed.

brumbyvet.1044 wrote:I think you should go up at least three bolt holes and maybe four. .

I agree. It looks really low to me.

Thanks for the input. I'll put it 4 holes up and try it. That will be the highest that i can go up. I guess from there i'll get my wife to drive while i glance at the cavitation plate. If it needs to go up further(it might), i guess i'll have to try a small jack plate? I have a feeling i'll have to reprop as well. It's currently at 58-5900 rpms. Loosing some of this drag might gain a couple hundred rpm's?

Easy to raise, just put a floor jack under the skeg, on a block of wood and have someone steady it as you pull the bolts and crank up the jack. Its light enough to not worry about crushing the skeg into the lower unit. I've manhandled the smaller ones in my younger days. Before back surgery. Go up all the way and see what it does.
Good luck and let us know how it works for you!

Don't pull the bolts just loosen them so it will slide up on the transom as you jack it up. It can tip over if you pull the bolts out, be careful, take it slow and it's no big deal.

oldmn19 wrote:Don't pull the bolts just loosen them so it will slide up on the transom as you jack it up. It can tip over if you pull the bolts out, be careful, take it slow and it's no big deal.

It doesn't look like his holes are slotted to allow that. On my Honda, one set is and the other isn't, so I can leave one set in, and loose. It does make it easier.

Woody wrote:It doesn't look like his holes are slotted to allow that. On my Honda, one set is and the other isn't, so I can leave one set in, and loose. It does make it easier.

Mine is the same way. Hafta pull the bolts.

Yep not fun.... it took four of us for the 115 last weekend replacing the transom.

curtiscapk wrote:Yep not fun.... it took four of us for the 115 last weekend replacing the transom.

Need to eat some Weaties there Curtis. Shouldn't take more than 3. Two men to hold the engine, and a kid / woman to replace the bolts.

j/k of course. I'm sure the 115 weights about 400-500 lbs.

I'm not going to try to man handle it. I plan to do it tomorrow or Sunday. I'm just going to take the boat to my shop. I'll either use my cherry picker or swing an arm over from a 2 post lift and lift her up by the eyelet.

To properly set your engine height have a look at the photos in the below propping thread. You can certainly move it up to start but you will want to look at it while the boat is cruising to get it just right.

http://www.veradoclub.com/smf/index.php?topic=137.0

Good luck!

thanks for the link! Mine is so low that the plastic cowling just above the cav. plate had to be dragging in the water. Once i lift it this weekend i'll go take a look at the plate while on the water and see what i'm dealing with. If it's still too low i'll have to get a jack plate.

The transom on a toon may not be the best measure of motor height. It might be best to see where it is when compared to the toons, rather than the center pod. The center pod is just an engine mount and doesn't contribute to buoyancy at speed.

Like was said, run it at WOT and see where the cav plate is riding. If it's high and dry, your engine is too high. If it's submerged, too low. If it's skimming on the surface, it's right where it's supposed to be.

With manual (non hydraulic) steering, it's gonna be a tad stiff to steer. That's pretty much normal and something you just have to get used to.

I am having the same issue, I am raising mine today and trying it out, my local shop has a lifting plate (similar to a jack plate) that will get the engine to as much as 5 1/2 inches up (if needed) and is under $200... ARG marine..(561) 840-1514