Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

First post. I have a (2013)23' Crest Tritoon 25" outer tubes 26" center tube with lifting strakes and under skinned.(2012) 250 Optimax Pro xs set in lowest position tried others this was best . 17" pitch Enertia SS. Wot 6000.Top speed with 4 people and coolers all near the rear of the boat. 41 Mph Gps. Wot suggested range 5500-6000. The boat weighs 2700 Lbs Motor 505 Lbs. The problem is I can only run trimmed down (in) fully. Any attempt to trim up causes ventilation. I tried a 4 bladed Vunsura it was worse. Only one time with the same 4 tubby guys and gear the thing took a little trim up and ran great 47.8 mph gps. Looking at the thing out of the water the anti ventilation plate is 7" above bottom of center tube but tube is cut out about 24" so the motor is 2 feet behind bottom of center tube.While underway there is a lot of spray but it looks like the A V plate is a couple inches above the water Thinking of a 5" extension making it into a 25" outboard. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The strakes are lifting the boat, you need to get the prop deeper, I'm thinking a jack plate.
or a couple more tubby buds (w/ coolers of beer).

A hydraulic jack plate would be warranted on a boat and motor of that caliper. They're in the area of $1K.

With the big diameter tubes you could have used a 25" motor. Extending the shaft could be more expensive than a jack plate so you can compare cost to see which is better for you.

yep, Hydraulic JackPlate. You will get the best of both worlds. Mine will be on by spring. Then re-propping with the new Enertia

OK Thanks for your input! I ordered from Bay manufacturing a 5" extension kit. A little worried about the jack-plate. It would have to have a big set back to allow trim-tilt in lowered position and not hitting the steering ram. As the coolers get lighter the chances increase of forgetting to lift the jack-plate at the dock and breaking something. Will see what happens could be a jack-plate in my future if this does not work. Thanks again!