boat takes a long time to plane out

[luckyc1423]

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I recently bought my first bass boat. It is a 2004 Triton with a 90 HP mercury.

I have had the boat for about 4 months. The boat has always taken a while to plane out but I never noticed it until a buddy of mine mentioned it.

My boat takes around 30 seconds to plane out at WOT. We are talking a full 30 seconds sometimes longer if I have more people in the boat. I have played with all trim levels. if I have the trim in the middle spot it will take closer to 45 seconds to plane, with the trim all the way down it will take closer to 30 seconds to plane out.

Another issue is while trying to plane out it doesnt seem like the motor is trying to work very hard. The RPM's are low (I dont know the exact number). When the boat finally planes the RPM's just ump and you can hear the motor working.

Wouldnt the RPM's be the hardest and the motor be working the rpm's to plane out the boat?

A buddy of mine wanted me to pull him on a tube but there is no way it would pull him on the tube. it takes for to long to plane and get up to speed that he would be dragging in the water.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

Engine running properly + no water logged problems and proper loading in the hull + propeller + trim = good performance.

If you do not have a tach we are in a tight spot. Need to know if your motor is attaining WOT rpms.......... I doubt you are water logged but there could still be water in the hull.....get it up on a trailer and get the bow up HIGH with the plug pulled.

There really are just too many factors involved and not enough facts to work with.

Do you have tilt and trim or are you just using the pin? With the pin removed which is the lowest spot the bat shoud plane but will also plow water.

What prop is on the boat now?

What is the boat rated for in HP? If it is rated for 200 then you are under powered...... if it is rated for 150 HP then you are still slightly underpowered at 60% where the boat and motor should be 75% or more so a 120HP rating and it is okay.

Is this a new problem?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

What pitch prop do you have on it. It sounds like the pitch is too high. What length bass boat? What year Merc? 2+2 engine?

 

[luckyc1423]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

Engine running properly + no water logged problems and proper loading in the hull + propeller + trim = good performance.

If you do not have a tach we are in a tight spot. Need to know if your motor is attaining WOT rpms.......... I doubt you are water logged but there could still be water in the hull.....get it up on a trailer and get the bow up HIGH with the plug pulled.

There really are just too many factors involved and not enough facts to work with.

Do you have tilt and trim or are you just using the pin? With the pin removed which is the lowest spot the bat shoud plane but will also plow water.

What prop is on the boat now?

What is the boat rated for in HP? If it is rated for 200 then you are under powered...... if it is rated for 150 HP then you are still slightly underpowered at 60% where the boat and motor should be 75% or more so a 120HP rating and it is okay.

Is this a new problem?

Ok I know I wont have all these answers as the boat is at my lake house and im not real familiar with everything. Ive always owned jet skis not boats. but ill try to answer what i can.

The boats sticker says it can handle up to 120 HP.
How do you determine what type of prop is on the boat?
What is the pin? Also tilt? I am using trim only. i have to pretty much trim all the way down to get it to plane then i trim back up for speed.

Im definietly not water logged as thats something i was thinking about (maybe to much weight in the rear). I drained everything and the boat still acts similiar.

The main thing is i am WOT and the RPM's are lower, its not until I plane out when the RPM's pick up.

 

[luckyc1423]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

What pitch prop do you have on it. It sounds like the pitch is too high. What length bass boat? What year Merc? 2+2 engine?

90 HP mercury 2 stroke.
Not sure about the prop, how do you tell?
I believe its the 18 footer.

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

Foam, wood can hold a good amount of water .... prelude to rot also

get as much weight forward as you can, can help...90 (and 120max) seems low for a 18'...

 

[82rude]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

Look on the side of the prop there should be something stamped on there such as 14 x 17 p or maybe just 17p lets say for example.i just got rid of a boat a couple of years ago that with my 90 evinrude and all gear would still get on plane pretty fast even though to my utter shock when i took it to the dump the boat weighed in at 1900lbs.huge for a 17 foot boat but i bet you it had 900 lbs of water logged foam in it.mine was rated for 130 .just taking a wild guess but anything over 17 pitch is over proping your rig.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

90 hp is okay since you are at 75% of the rating......

We are going to need photos. Trim the motor down as far as possible while on the trailer and send a side view picture. The motor should appear to be tucked in towards the boat tight.

Yes you might have a 2+2 motor from Mercury so a serial number would help and number of cylinders.

You look at the prop hub and there should be numbers stamped in the hub such as 13 x 21 etc

 

[luckyc1423]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

90 hp is okay since you are at 75% of the rating......

We are going to need photos. Trim the motor down as far as possible while on the trailer and send a side view picture. The motor should appear to be tucked in towards the boat tight.

Yes you might have a 2+2 motor from Mercury so a serial number would help and number of cylinders.

You look at the prop hub and there should be numbers stamped in the hub such as 13 x 21 etc

ok, ill take these pics this weekend.

 

[Solittle]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

Could be any/all of the things mentioned above but for me I would look at the engine. We really need the rpm at WOT to give you any real solid input. I'm guessin that you have a dead cylinder. I don't know the merc 90 but if it is a four I'd guess it is runnin on three.

 

[Silver Eagle]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

A 90 hp mec two stroke has 3 cyliders. It should run at 5500 rpms wot.That's how my 07 runs.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

Silver, Merc made 6 cylinder 90HP motors, 4 cylinder 90 HP motors and 3 cylinder 90HP motors, depending on the year. He likely has a 4 cylinder motor, but it could be a 2+2 motor with transition issues.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

Take a prop wrench, socket with you. Not all props are stamped on the side with the pitch. You may have to remove the prop nut and look under it to find out what size prop you have. Sound like your prop pitch is to high, just guessing without more info. The least info needed is the RPM at wide open up on plane. GPS speed would be important to. Not unusual to trim the motor down for starting and then trimming up to reach the best speed and RPM at WOT or cruising speeds. Sounds like you have that part figured out.

 

[444]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

I agree, either your prop is way too high of pitch or your engine is having issues. We'll need to know your rpms. FWIW my boat goes from a dead stop to full plane in 2-3 seconds. With a 90 on your boat you should be able to tow a tube no problem and time to plane should be a fraction of what you have.

 

[joe009]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

you could try a hydro foil,i put one on my motor and it made a big differance

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: boat takes a long time to plane out

Let's help figure out the cost free variables such as set up, motr and establish what the true issue might be before you spend money on props or foils.

However, if you want to make a great investment today........ be sure if you do not have a good repair manual for that exact motor in your library that you purchase one.