"FE/SE Runabout Setup"

[dcrabtree]

I set my brothers 3-holer on the 13'Krier runabout yesterday for the first time and the torpedo tip is about 3" under the bottom of the boat. What effect is this going to have if any on handling or is it standard practice not to run with the torpedo tip under the boat ?

This will be my first time in such a powerful class and the first time in a Mod boat in 30 years so setup is important to staying out of harms way and having a great fun return to our sport. I don't expect anyone to give up there secrets just steer us out of harms way.

We will be at Dallas City, Illinois next weekend with both run & hydro so all the info I can get is a plus. Thank you

[drew79c]

I had problems last year running a bass foot too low. We waanted to make sure we picked up enough water and ended up with a nose that just hunted. Quite the handful, and not fun. What kinda foot do you have?

[WILDONOUACHITA]

Runabout setup

Hey Daniel - If that is a Bass lower unit, probably about 3 inches too low. I run mine at 1/8th inch above the bottom of the boat.

[dcrabtree]

Its a 45ss gearcase but the problem is it isn't sitting to low its to far under the bottom back of the boat and that doesn't seem like its right.

[sam]

The 45ss nose is very long compared to most other cases used in FE, I do not know if the nose point position makes as much difference as the prop position and height.

[T Chance]

Dan, that's my old boat, right? I was running a Konig unit under my SE 3/4" and level. The photo in my aviator is with the 250 Kawasaki at 1/2". With my new Krier and the 500cc Konig I'm also running 3/4" and with the Kawasaki 3/8".

3" below sounds way too deep to me.

[pops67g]

Deep = Slow

You shouldn't have serious handling problems with the motor buried that deep, but RPM's will sure be way down. Depending on the prop 1/4 to 3/4 below the bottom is a ballpark figure. Gotta turn 'em up to get some speed.

[Steve Crabtree]

Tim, it is your old runabout. The problem is that the end of the torpedo nose is so long that it goes about 3" under the running surface of the bottom of the boat.

When the engine is setup so the propshaft is in line with the boats bottom, from a standing position when you look down at the foot you can't see the nose of the foot because it is physically under the boats bottom.

Will this cause a handling problem?

[B Walker]

Steve,

Will this cause a handling problem?

The answer to your question is yes, most likely. Gotta run it to find out of course.

If you run the motor that deep the boat will tend to "hunt" as drew79c pointed out. Both the length and the depth of the 45 SS case contribute to this effect.

Hunting is a kind of gradual side to side oscillation that gets gradually worse the faster you go. Runabouts feel the effect more than Hydros.

Solution:

Replace the foot or modify the boat to be able to raise the motor.

gl
BW

[Dave M]

Maybe

That is to deep. It will handle decent down there as some mentioned. I too am working out a SST45 gearbox handling issue. So far my experience is the deeper the better the handling. Run it about an inch below the bottom of the boat (propshaft centerline). Don't worry about the tip of the torpedo right now, it won't affect your handling on a hydro, not sure on the runabout with no tunnel. You won't be fast out of the box, but be prepared to get your gearbox re-worked to handle. Mine is a POS for handling in stock config. They work great for what they were intended for, tunnel boats that are big, heavy and under powered. Once I get mine worked out to handle I will let you know what we did to get it to handle. Just drop me an email reminding me in a few weeks.

[Jason Diamond]

You may want to try a set back or extension on the transom to get the torpedo out from under the afterplane. I have this problem on my DeSilva whe I put my 45 on it, but not to the extreme of 3 inches, must be the difference in transom angle, and tower. I run mine at about 1 1/8" deep but most of my wheels are too small to go much higher, and it's not often that I run the runabout anymore. If you do use a transom extension, you will probably need to raise the motor a bit more.

[Art K]

Runabout

Why don`t you call Burt. He was the one you bought the engine from. And I am sure Burt must have had the engine on one of his runabouts.
Art K