weight displacement

[rehcuob]

Ok I have my Lund 1775 impact equiped with a 115 4 stroke merc and a 9.9 pro kicker four stroke. It does seem to hang a bit low in the water with the 2 motors on it. Would i be smart to add some weight to the front end of the boat to offset this? If so how much? Thoughts anyone?

[SeaCatMich]

If the boat is noticeably stern heavy then I'd suggest making some adjustments.

If you don't have anything to balance it and it is getting too much water in the splashwell at rest or slow speed, then you might want to look into some trim-tabs. They act like flaps on an airplane to lower the bow when under power. Had them on V hull boats in the past and they are great for making the boat run level with different load distributions and also allow you to compensate for quartering into waves and still run level.

My boat is rated for dual 90 hp outboards... so that is what I bought on it. BUT since it is a '96/97 hull the rating was for 2 strokes, not the Honda 4 strokes I bought with it in '99. The 4 strokes are about 200# each heavier than the same power engines in 2 strokes. Consequently the stern sat about 2" lower than it is supposed to and that put the outlets for the deck drains right at the water level and water comes in rather than draining out.

To try to solve the problem I moved the batteries (4 @ 50# each) from under the rear jump seats near the splashwell to under the center console. That helped, but when you get one or two people in the stern it still does not drain like I wish it would. So I have a couple of rubber plugs that I use to keep the water out. I'd like to move some more weight toward the bow, but there really isn't anything else for me to shift.

[danthebuilder]

How high are your splash well holes above the water? Do you keep your cooler up front? Spare gas tank? i'd probably add something like this to your boat. http://www.wavewackers.com/

[SeaCatMich]

Your 9.9 4 stroke probably is around 90 to 100 pounds. I would think the boat is designed by Lund to not have problems with 100 extra pounds on the rear -- that is much less than the average guy standing back there. Do you have other extra things in the rear? If not, I think I would talk to a Lund dealer as this doesn't seem right.