Dauntless 18 motor height opinions?

[HillbillyGuy]

I took delivery, but have yet to splash. Have been spending these ill water days going thru everything, making adjustments, changing fluids and testing things. Pic is of where motor height is currently. The cav plate is exactly parallel with bottom of hull. This model has a cut out as seen in pic. While I can run and test this setup, making use of the the bad water days seems a time well spent. The current setup would seem to me to be conservatively low. I am not trying to race the thing, just find a nice grippy setup that is geared toward efficient. I have no desire to run on the edge so to speak. Did that stuff when I was much younger. For reference, the rule being used is exactly parallel with very bottom of hull and is 1-5/8 wide, putting the top of the water pickups a full 2” below the main hull, not the cut out. The current setup would seem to suggest for the cav plate to be anywhere near the surface of the water while running would mean the entire hull would completely out of the water. TY in advance for any opinions and suggestions.

 

[HillbillyGuy]

It seems obvious to me that the original rigging had it one hole even lower. I imagine the older fella had running issues and someone raised it one hole. The marks on the holes and the black trim having been trimmed are a give away to me.

 

[alldodge]

It's normal for the cav plate to be right at if not a tad higher

 

[HillbillyGuy]

Probably the smart thing yo do is run it obviously. Just hoped maybe a Dauntless owner might have an opinion here based on experience. TY for the response. It all needs to be resealed anyway IMHO.

 

[airshot]

Once you have the cav plate parallel to the bottom, then measure the distance above or below. Your cav plate appears to be below the hull. What ever that distance might be, is how much your motor needs to be raised up. Ideally, for most setups, is having the cav plate level with the hull. When to low it creates drag and slows you down, when to high above, it allows the prop to grab air and vent, causing the engine to rev up quickly and can cause damage. Let us know your findings......

 

[HillbillyGuy]

The hull has a cut out at the stern. In the pic its visible.the end of rule extends toward bow to the actual bottom of the hull before the cut out or step. The cav plate is exactly at the botton of the main hull before the step at rear of hull. The cav plate is lined up with bottom of hull right below drain if that helps make more sense. TY you kindly for the assistance and pic added

 

[airshot]

I can see better in that pic...looks like your initial setup is good to go.

 

[JimS123]

Eons ago, OB motors clamped on....only one height. Then I bought a new motor and it had a series of vertical holes. The dealer installed it where he thought it should be.

After reading about performance (not a lot of literature back in the 1970's) I raised it up one notch. Wholly mackerel, a super improvement.

To make a short story long, kept going up until it got worse. Then went down one notch. Trial and error is the key. But don't "think", what is good, you need to "know" based on DATA.

Both my current SeaRay and Boston Whaler came with the motor moved up. Based on prop slip, mpg and hole shot I'm not changing a thing. I think they must have done the R&D for me.