A boat faster with more weight in it???

[waterinthefuel]

Ok guys see if this makes sense to you. I have a 13 foot fiberglass boat with a 28hp engine. I love it because it's a stick steer. I've actually had people come by with 250hp 21 foot long 30000 plus dollar bass boats who said they would love to have my little boat, because it looks so unique because of its small size, yet its a V-hull.<br /><br />Anyway, when I am by myself my little boat scoots along well. However, when an additional adult sits in the rear, it scoots along MUCH FASTER! The top speed is incredible! There is actually LESS boat in the water when two people are in it, than with just me. Now keep in mind I am sitting way up front. I was told that's the worst place to put weight in a boat. Do you think my boat would run faster if I was in the rear? What is the deal?

 

[walleyehed]

Re: A boat faster with more weight in it???

That's exactly true....It takes more leverage from the engine to lift the bow with you in the front...It would be much faster with you in the rear as you "want" less wetted area of bottom. when you are by your self, you may want to move tilt pin out one hole and try it if you don't have power trim, that is....

 

[richg99]

Re: A boat faster with more weight in it???

Walleyehead has got it right. If you've ever watched a big bass boat fly across the water, you will see that it is only skating along on the rear "pad"...everything else is clear of the water. If you don't have tilt/trim on the motor, you may have to manually adjust the tilt of your motor depending on whether you are by yourself or have company. Also, you could experiment by putting one or more 5 gallon buckets of sand in the boat in various positions. RichG99

 

[MajBach]

Re: A boat faster with more weight in it???

One more thing to consider, how are you measuring speed: paddle wheel or pitot or GPS? My paddle wheel gives me about a 5mph increase in a right turn and about a 5mph descrease in a left turn. It can really go out of whack if I put the stern into the water with the trim. Pitot (an outboard pitot) is more consistant but still a little overzealous. GPS is the only reliable source above trolling speed.<br />You should be able to test your theory that you are indeed pushing the bow down when it's just you and lifting it when there are poeple in the back by simply changing the tilt of the motor. If it is true that you are plowing a little with just you, the boat should go even faster with the motor trimmed out and just you aboard.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: A boat faster with more weight in it???

I use a GPS to measure my speed. I get 26.5mph alone, and I know it's faster with someone out back.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: A boat faster with more weight in it???

My old boat was like that, but I didn't really notice it until a friend was with me. He went from the passenger seat and sat on the back seat, and the speed increased. I kicked the motor out one hole, and that was that.

 

[BigRagu]

Re: A boat faster with more weight in it???

Hi Everyone,<br /><br />Please keep in mind that when a boat is heavier, the more sturdy it is!<br /><br />BR

 

[SeaHorse]

Re: A boat faster with more weight in it???

Good show Waterinthefuel !! Nice boat.<br /><br />It's nice to know there are others who are not bitten by "two footitis" and realize that the smaller the boat, the more fun it is. <br /><br />I too have a 13' fiberglass boat and it goes pretty good since I traded the 40 hp for a 70HP. Now when it flies over the wave tops it gets much better "air" than before. This eliminates all that wallowing up and down like the bigger boats. It's kind of a half boat, half airplane configuration.

 

[tmeo]

Re: A boat faster with more weight in it???

I used to have a little 2.6 meter RIB. I found that if I sat in it on my own at the back, it used to go quite slow with the bow so high in the air I couldn't see over the top of it. I found that if I got someone to sit near the front it would go much faster; I couln't get it to plane unless someone was at the front. So, I bought a tiller extention and always sat at the front. With the weight at the front it used to sit really flat on the water. I thought it might have been something to do with how deep the prop was in the water, and the water resistance from the shaft on the OB.