Boat Set-Up Tips

[johnsonm50]

Thanks for the tips Dave. I would have thought the more 'out' the tilt the faster & tuck was a control thing. Ive run with a bit more tuck than the previous owner because I weigh a little more & thought that would help the attitude & the transome wouldn't lift much.

Everyone's motor sounds fast in the pits too.

[blueskyracer]

Another item to discuss is setting up the steering wheel tension. There are four adjustments. The steering wheel nut, the engine pivot nut, the cable tension and the rope across the lower unit. What do you like to use?

[Dave M]

Steering - IMPORTANT

Another item to discuss is setting up the steering wheel tension. There are four adjustments. The steering wheel nut, the engine pivot nut, the cable tension and the rope across the lower unit. What do you like to use?

NEVER use the rope across the back to increase the resistence on steering. You will bust your ass eventually.

For anything over a BMH I truly wish the hardware companies would stop selling the tension nut on the hub of the steering wheel. This is more about saftey than worrying about what color your helmet is. Stay out of the water and you don't have a color issue.

ALWAYS tighten your steering by tilting the engine up to relieve tension and lossen up the cable ties, then the tie backs. (in-direct steering) Pull some cable through the tie back on one side. Maybe 1/2" to start with if you are already close to being tight. Re-tighten the screws before lettign the engine down, and once done go turn the wheel.

This ain't no crap here. If the safety rule makers would pay attention to this very thing it could eliminate a LOT of people in the water due to broaching in the corner, or collisions becasue the boat changed lanes.

if you use the sterring hub to add tension and your cables are not pretty tight, your engine will flop around somewhat while under power. Remember folks, steel cable has stretch in it. In a corner your engine will be fighting your steering. You shoul dbe able to take your hand off the wheel under a hard turn and gran another handful of wheel without worry that the wheel will spin. The tension nut should ONLY be used for a very slight adjustment after you have done it the right way. I think they should outlaw the tension nut hubs personally.
Ya, this is me talking about a safety rule that should be in place... imagine that. It makes sense to me.

A rule of thumb for the larger CI classes. If you can turn it on shore without the engine running it is too loose. In my 850CCMH it takes two hands to turn the wheel on shore, or a good effort with one. This means it will be only okay once running. I NEVER use the tension nut.

I am anal about safety. believe it or not. I just choose to do the right thing for the right reasons.

[blueskyracer]

NEVER use the rope across the back to increase the resistence on steering. You will bust your ass eventually.

For anything over a BMH I truly wish the hardware companies would stop selling the tension nut on the hub of the steering wheel. This is more about saftey than worrying about what color your helmet is. Stay out of the water and you don't have a color issue.

ALWAYS tighten your steering by tilting the engine up to relieve tension and lossen up the cable ties, then the tie backs. (in-direct steering) Pull some cable through the tie back on one side. Maybe 1/2" to start with if you are already close to being tight. Re-tighten the screws before lettign the engine down, and once done go turn the wheel.

This ain't no crap here. If the safety rule makers would pay attention to this very thing it could eliminate a LOT of people in the water due to broaching in the corner, or collisions becasue the boat changed lanes.

if you use the sterring hub to add tension and your cables are not pretty tight, your engine will flop around somewhat while under power. Remember folks, steel cable has stretch in it. In a corner your engine will be fighting your steering. You shoul dbe able to take your hand off the wheel under a hard turn and gran another handful of wheel without worry that the wheel will spin. The tension nut should ONLY be used for a very slight adjustment after you have done it the right way. I think they should outlaw the tension nut hubs personally.
Ya, this is me talking about a safety rule that should be in place... imagine that. It makes sense to me.

A rule of thumb for the larger CI classes. If you can turn it on shore without the engine running it is too loose. In my 850CCMH it takes two hands to turn the wheel on shore, or a good effort with one. This means it will be only okay once running. I NEVER use the tension nut.

I am anal about safety. believe it or not. I just choose to do the right thing for the right reasons.

Thanks Dave I have seen folks use all four and I have also seen folks with cable so loose that they might touch the deck. Some only use the rope and other combinations so thought this should also be addressed in set up

[Aussie Steve]

Tuck

Thanks for the tips Dave. I would have thought the more 'out' the tilt the faster & tuck was a control thing. Ive run with a bit more tuck than the previous owner because I weigh a little more & thought that would help the attitude & the transome wouldn't lift much.

Everyone's motor sounds fast in the pits too.

It tends to lift the back out of the water when you get air under it , because it pushes the front down and pushes the air to the back , the pic in my Avitar is tuck 1" and 1.1/2" deep, very hard to cool at that much tuck so I had to run deep or move the motor backwards and the Karelson didn't like that , I also extend the airtraps right through to the transom 1/2 " to help trap air to the back .

[johnsonm50]

It tends to lift the back out of the water when you get air under it , because it pushes the front down and pushes the air to the back , the pic in my Avitar is tuck 1" and 1.1/2" deep, very hard to cool at that much tuck so I had to run deep or move the motor backwards and the Karelson didn't like that , I also extend the airtraps right through to the transom 1/2 " to help trap air to the prop.

Cool, Thanks. Ive heard & read about some boats working with more tuck than Ive used so far.

[johnsonm50]

Some of the Mercs have the steer pin tension nut on the steer bracket. Assuming the cable/rope is tight enough, what about that as a tension adj.

[mdaspit]

Lets keep the boat building and bottom configurations on the boat building threads.

.

Its your thread Dave and no highjacking or disrespect intended.

I just thought that maybe everything was inter-related, and if I understood why people were doing the things they were doing to get a specific reaction out of their boat it may help me understand the concepts better.

Kind of like teaching a man how to fish vs. giving him a mackrell.

[Dave M]

Haha

Its your thread Dave and no highjacking or disrespect intended.

I just thought that maybe everything was inter-related, and if I understood why people were doing the things they were doing to get a specific reaction out of their boat it may help me understand the concepts better.

Kind of like teaching a man how to fish vs. giving him a mackrell.

Don't take anything I say personal. I am much better in person than typing. I tend to think I need to remember real grammer and be PC when typing. Hard for me to do !

You are right, they are related, but set up for those special bottoms should be addressed by the boat builder who designed it. It is not like an average boat. I would say once a person is ready for a sort of tricked out boat they will have a good idea of what set-up is. When I was building and selling for the masses I always asked the customer what he wanted. It was almost always answered a fast good handling boat. I delivered a great handling boat that was fast around the track... Hint. Hint. I also would tell them where to set it up at based on their weight and the balance points I built into the boats. I built a custom boat for the persons weight and engine and speed that was ranged for that class.

I have built a few boats that have some things done to them that are not average. These boats have won a lot of races, but it takes the person that understands the concepts and the limitations. This would be the voice of experience, lots of experience.

Have at it guys, if you start with the basics and keep it simple, you will do well. Remember, NEVER change more than one thing at a time when testing. if you do you can't tell if it worked or not.

Tip of the Day - TAKE SERIOUS NOTES when testing. Keep the kids out of that notebook, and lock it up. Treat this notebook like you would your diary. In other words, you need to be serious to be taken seriously on the race course.

If anyone wants to add specifics, have at it. Lots of knowledge on this website. What works for me might not work for all.

[Raymond]

Jam up thread Dave; keep it comming. Its threads like this and the building threads that I find the most interesting; straight boat talk, no politics.

[dwestby]

what about a runnabout

Do not want to step on this thread but how about a runnabout. what happens when you start moving the side fin up and the tail fin down or verse vice a you know what I mean maybe where do you start stock or Mod dennis

[HydroKyle93R]

Runabout fins

Dennis, from my limited experience testing the 750r, I believe the magical number for the skid-fin was about 3.5" under the bottom of the boat. This measurement worked well in smooth and rough water.

I believe that the rear fin was about 1" under the bottom pad, or less depending on how high the engine was. I would say with a 1/2" prop shaft depth, and 0 degrees tuck, the rear fin would be closer to 1/2" or less under the bottom. The higher the motor, the deeper the rear fin.

It would be nice to hear from other high-cc Mod Runabout owners on their experience, as well as someone experienced with running a Stock Tohatsu

[Systemoverload]

How does choice of prop affect boat setup? Is it much? Like going from a round ear to a cleaver, same pitch & diameter, for example.

[HydroKyle93R]

Cleavers vs. round ears

I've noticed that, due to the higher rake, the cleavers tend to lift the nose of the boat more so than that of their round-ear counterparts. I would compensate for the difference in the attitude of the boat by either moving forward, or taking a small amount of tuck out, depending on the water conditions. The change in set up is dependent on driver ability and is boat-specific. This is something one will have to tune on each individual boat.

[Dave M]

Runabouts

The side Fin on bigger CC runabouts. Depth is different for each boat. The shape of the fin has a little something to do with it too. But in all cases location is the key. This is true for both Side Fin boats and roll up.

An okay starting point would be roughly within the location of the throttle, preferably just behind it. This is if you place the throttle in a normal common place. You would have to refer to current rules for any requirments as to depth, and location. I think there is one or two regulations in Stock and maybe even in Mod.

For depth, to deep it drags, to shallow you will pop it out in the corner under stress. Testing is a key factor, as each boat handles different. Some with lots of experience can hop in and make it work with body movements and throttle usage without testing. This is true with side fins.

For roll up runabouts, I defer to the experts. I raced them as a kid, but it has been a couple years.