85' Bayliner Wont Plane

[tdunakey2951]

Ok my dad bought a 1985 Bayliner a few years back but then a few months later he passed away. So now I have decided I'm going to try and get it ready and start using it for me. It is a 14.4 foot 1985 Bayliner with a Evinrude 55 2-Stroke engine. Everything runs on it fine but me and my mom have taken it out a few times this past week and it wont plane unless someone sits out on the bow for a few seconds then it will drop down and go I have tried to set the trim in all five different holes and it does the same thing just the bow comes up a lot more I mean it runs fine if someone sits out there for a little bit with two people with me and my mom probably no more then 380lbs. But if we get more then two people you cant get it to plane no matter what. I'm 16 have no idea where to start or what to tell you what you need to know I'll tell you I just don't know what to do.

 

[tdunakey2951]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

Anybody?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

welcome to iboats, we have quite a few young teen members. where has the boat been stored, inside garage, outside covered, outside uncovered?

 

[tdunakey2951]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

Covered but in a building with no door and holes in roof so basically outside covered

 

[109jb]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

My father in law had a 15 ft bayliner of about the same vintage with about the same size motor (50 hp Force I think). It wouldn't plane well either with my BIL and I. To get it to plane one of us would have to hang out over the bow also. It wasn't my boat and nobody ever went very far to figure it out. Boat got sold about a year after I joined the family. I guess it could have been waterlogged foam adding a lot of weight, or it could be just the design itself. Can't help in that regard. What can you do about it? Well you could try trim tabs or a hydrofoil. Many swear by the smart tabs. I personally don't have any experience with tabs. I have put hydrofoils on several boats and they do help to plane out quicker and allow slower on-plane speeds. Some have mentioned adverse symtoms with foil use, but I have not had and adverse experiences other than a couple mph top end loss. By and large, the smart tab users speak very highly of them and the customer service provided by the manufacturer. Foils are a bit cheaper. Either should help your problem, but since it appears you don't have power trim, the smart tabs might be the better choice.

 

[roscoe]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

Bayliner made a very poorly designed boat when they made that 14 footer.

I have heard many complaints about it. Most frequent complaint - can't plane.
Too much weight in the back - by design.

Move as much weight forward in the boat that you can. And remove any extra weight such as extra fuel tanks, anchors, coolers, etc.

 

[JoeCrow]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

I have an 86 Bayliner..
Smart Tabs
Just over $100 on e-bay
They solved all my problems, planing, cornering, even topped out better

 

[tdunakey2951]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

I'll probably end up buying the smart tabs. As for moving everything all it would be is the gas tank and battery everything else is up front and I don't know how I would go about moving the gas tank and battery to the front if that would even be possible.

 

[tdunakey2951]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

If I were to buy smart tabs would these be a good choice for my boat?

http://www.nauticusinc.com/smart_tabsSX.htm

 

[Willyclay]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

Before you start spending money on "fixes", you need to do a little detective work to make sure you are fixing the actual problem(s). The experts on this forum, which I am NOT, can help you with everything but you have to be their eyes and ears. In my opinion, the two most important questions to be answered are: 1. Is the motor performing properly? and 2. Is the floatation foam saturated with water?

To check motor performance, you will need to provide RPM and speed data. Water in the foam is a little harder, but some options are to tilt the bow high and see if water drains out the bilge, remove foam core samples from any access points or determine the actual weight of your boat by taking the trailer to a certified truck scale once with the boat on the trailer and once without. Good luck!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

walk all over the deck (floor) of the boat, see if you feel any soft spots. again as said tilt the motor up, and raise the bow as high as you can, and leave it for a while, and see if any water collects in the stern.
how mechanical minded are you. we have some 14 - 17 year old member that are very mechanical. nothing this will help me help you. or do you have a friend to help?

 

[tdunakey2951]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

I think the motor is fine because once it gets on plane it runs fine and is fast. With the water logged foam part, I'm sorry but was is the flotation foam? I really don't think its any of that because when it takes off it does act like theirs is a lot of weight in the back. I always thought there was a lot of weight because our bilge pump didn't work but we got that fixed but it still does the same thing.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

this is what your boat looks like cut in half. if water gets under the deck, the foam absorbs it. i have taken 500 lbs, of saturated foam out of a boat before.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

look on the motor for the model # should be on the transom mount. this tells me exactly what you have.

 

[oops!]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

STOP, do nothing until you have actually identified the issue.

First, what are you seeing for RPMs at WOT (Wide Open Throttle).

Second, what do you have on it for a prop.? (Size and pitch)

It really sounds like you may have too much pitch on the prop.

And finally, was the engine tuned recently? (No, don't care how well you *think* it is running.)

yep....

walk all over the deck (floor) of the boat, see if you feel any soft spots. again as said tilt the motor up, and raise the bow as high as you can, and leave it for a while, and see if any water collects in the stern.
how mechanical minded are you. we have some 14 - 17 year old member that are very mechanical. nothing this will help me help you. or do you have a friend to help?

the above^^^^^^ is a qiuck easy check

Before you start spending money on "fixes", you need to do a little detective work to make sure you are fixing the actual problem(s).

determine the actual weight of your boat by taking the trailer to a certified truck scale once with the boat on the trailer and once without. Good luck!

hi welcome.......lets start with the quick easy things first
run out to the boat......... on the prop....there is numbers.....like 14x18....
tell us what you see......
then do as td said......feel the floor for soft spots...(walk on it)
even do the truck scale thing....thats a good one.......and can be done with no cost to you.

as far as the foam.....lets hope its not that.....but eliminate other things first before you truly start walking down that road......(people have mentioned your comments on simmelar boats....so lets hope things are the same on yours)

 

[tdunakey2951]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

I can't tell you the RPM's because it doesn't have a tachometer
I can't tell you the prop size because there is nothing on the prop
The Engine Model number is 55773D
The Engine Serial number is E0004366
I went out and checked for soft spots there were none
I tilted the boat up a little bit of water came out the drain hole but we have just taken the boat out the past three days and it rained on it last night

The guy we bought it from said he just had the engine tuned up but thats been like 3 years since and has only run just these past few days and starts and from what I see runs fine. The guy said when he bought the boat the bow always rode high and he said he checked everything and put all new carpet in it before he sold it to us.

I am mechanical I just got done rebuilding my car by myself so I'm familiar with CAR and TRUCK engines not all that familiar with boats.

 

[Willyclay]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

If you have the skill set and the tools necessary to rebuild your car, then you can handle most everything involved with repairs and maintenance of your boat. The great news is Tashasdaddy and other "experts" are trying to help you, so just stay tuned and try to handle one piece at a time. Regarding no tach, something as simple as a Vibra-tach or Insta-Tach will do the job if you can borrow one. The prop info may be on the hub and not visible if you did not remove it. Probably wouldn't hurt to pull the prop anyway and grease the prop shaft eventhough you are in freshwater. Good luck!

 

[oops!]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

ok....if there is no soft sopts....take the gas can out of it....all fishing tackel....just bare boat.....and weigh it.....we may have just side stepped a land mine!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

let's forget the boat for a few minutes. we don't want him to burn, up the motor, or do any damage.

your motor is a 1977 now that i know you can turn a wrench. we need to check the spark, and if you have a compression tester, check the compression. the reason for this, is i want to make sure you have a good base line. these motors will run on one cylinder, and that can cause damage to the other one. if you can do that, we can get on with the other stuff.

 

[tdunakey2951]

Re: 85' Bayliner Wont Plane

Where exactly would I go about getting a compression tester and if I would end up having to get new foam roughly how much would it cost