How would you keep a small boat balanced?

[distrbd]

By the time I put the 50 lbs motor, the gas tank and the weight of myself in that 14' aluminum boat, the bow of the boat sticks too high in my newbie opinion, I have heard the best position would be to ride the boat as horizontal to the water surface as possible .
The only possibility seems to be:A= if I put some dead weight in front of the boat or B=buy a very small light weight motor.
How would you do it?

 

[cptrick3]

Put a passenger as far forward as possible.

 

[ronboonville]

Dead weight. I use an old gym bag with old tire chains and sash weights inside. any type of bag with handles.

 

[newt5005]

Hi- I had the same issue, years ago in a small Sea-King with a 5.5HP outboard. The thing wouldn't plane unless I sat in the middle seat and reached WAY back so I could reach the tiller handle. One of the solutions I came up with was getting a very long fuel line and putting the tank in the front of the boat. Adding "extra" ballast in the front didn't work for me, as it would have over weighted the thing.
Hope that helps a little.
mike.

 

[eddie haskell]

This is why a center/side console was invented

 

[gm280]

Fuel tank and/or a battery, if you use one, up front should help as well...

 

[distrbd]

Thank you all, I'm going to add a heavy cooler and see how it works,the thing is I thought a light weight motor would help but I'll try the dead weight first if it doesn't work I'll have an excuse to buy a 4-5 hp motor.

 

[jcfitzgerald]

You could put the battery up front and use a bow mount trolling motor.

 

[airshot]

Just move you accessories toward the front. Had one some years back, mounted the fuel tank on one side and the battery on the opposite side about in the middle by the center seat. Kept the anchor in the very front inside a plastic bucket, my 14' had a 9.9 and it balanced perfectly with just me in it sitting in the tiller seat in the rear. Kept the cooler forward out from under my feet so I had plenty of room.

 

[fishrdan]

Move forward what's in the boat: fuel tank, anchor, gear,,, and even yourself if possible. You'll have to experiment with placement as it's a balancing act, too far forward can be bad also. On my 14'er I have the extra weight midship, in the middle seat and then just forward of the middle seat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

tiller handle extension....

 

[JimS123]

Boats are designed to have the battery, gas tank, etc. in a certain place. Moving them forward just makes the usable space less usable.

Adding dead weight to the bow is rediculous - all that does is make the boat go slower and waste fuel.

Adding a passenger is sometimes feasible, sometimes not. What if no one is available or you just want to go by yourself?

Replacing the motor with a smaller one is another no-brainer - see the dead weight option.

This is the classic example of where a DoelFin will solve a design flaw, providing a positive improvement with no down side. Adjust the motor height appropriately and you'll have an optimum rig.

Of course, this is all assuming your motor trim angle is set properly and your motor is propped to run full spec rpm at wot...

 

[southkogs]

tiller handle extension....

+1 ... You and the gas tank move up a bench, it'll smooth right out.

 

[distrbd]

Thank you all for very thoughtful comments, I like the combination of 2 ideas,first I'll add a small 3-6 hp motor,there's one available 2006 Yamaha which weighs under 30 lbs, then I like to find a handle extension , I'll see how these two improvements change the way the boat rides.

 

[Silvertip]

You might have the trim pin set such that the thrust from the engine is making the bow rise. Set the pin so the motor is tucked in closer to the transom. Although the boat may still sit a bit bow-high at rest, it should come down under way. Trim too far out = bow rises. Trim too far in = bow plows. But with 5 hp, lots of weight in the stern and a small boat, there isn't much you can do.

 

[smokeonthewater]

My first boat was a 12' aluminum with a '56 Evinrude outboard...

I built a small carpeted deck in the bow and made a small box at the very front for a cheap radio... I put two small speakers in the vertical panel at the back of my little deck and a swivel fishing seat on top of it with no pedestal... I put a deep cycle batt under the deck with a hatch to access it and put the fuel tank between it and the middle seat when alone and got my best performance 1-2 notches above full down trim depending on fuel level in my 6 gallon tank or in the back if I had a passenger up front and usually 2 notches above full down but it would rarely plane w two people in it.

With a small boat you ALWAYS have to adjust the load to distribute weight correctly...

Even with no motor you wouldn't do well at all to put all of the weight in one end.... There's a reason oar locks go I'm the middle of a row boat.

Think canoe.... By yourself you sit as near the middle as possible (ie backwards in the front seat or in the middle seat if it has one) but with two people you sit at each end.

 

[BigSkyMercGuy]

Keep that anchor up in the bow. Also, my whole boating life I've put a 10' length of fuel line on the tank, and wedged it up front. thread the hose under the seats to the back. Then teach the dog to sit up front!