my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

[CATransplant]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

No tiller extension. Most people with these boats mount their seats or sit on the side of the bench seat. By moving my folding seat about 10-12" ahead of the bench seat and putting it in the center of the boat, I just drop one arm behind the seat and the tiller handle is right there. I don't even have to look for it. It's perfect. Even if my seat was another 6" further forward, the position would be just right.

The fuel tank you see is on a shelf that fits between the center bench and the front seat. I have a similar shelf between the rear seat and the center seat, which holds my tackle box out of the way.

Battery is in a battery box on a wooden platform just behind the front seat. The platform is screwed to a crossrib and the box is screwed to the platform. No movement. Cabling is made of an 8' jumper cable.

My fish locator is mounted on port side of the bench seat at the rear. The winch for the AnchorMate is mounted on the port side of the middle seat. I have removable rodholders on both sides close to the center seat, where they can be reached from either seat, and vertical storage holders on the starboard side just to carry rods.

It took me a year to figure out the whole setup. Now, my space is about as well setup as it can be, and the boat still planes out with the 6hp.

The thing's ugly as a mud fence, but I'm going fishing, not picking up girls.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

Do you have an anchor on board by the bow? Two or 3 feet of heavy duty galvanized chain plus the advise CAT and others have above might be just the ticket.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

Completely agree with CAT....but....I have a 12 footer and a small pontoon that are just "ferry" boats to get to my cottage on an island.
Two O/Bs that I alternate between them, Evinrude 6 and 8 HP.
When the kids were smaller (say 8 and 6 yrs old & LT 100 lbs) the 6 HP on the 12 ft.would zip them around on plane no problem....either solo or together, but planing with me solo was tough for it (180 #) and it really was all about weight distribiution, moving ahead in the boat a bit and stretching your arm.......and with me and another person, either adult or even one of the kids, not happening.
The 8 HP is enough extra that it planes no problem in all the above situations, and with one of the kids solo, now ~ 120 #s it goes like stink.
The 6 or 8 both move the pontoon OK as weight is easier to adjust.

This just to say that you don't have to go much bigger to solve the problem outright, but weight distributiion should be a completely workable fix also.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

It's all in the loading and weight distribution as said several times. Should plane out with the 6 hp but a 9.9 and good loading would most likely cure all. If you can get the bow to drop on plane without to many acrobatics you are there.

 

[River - Runner]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

The fuel tank you see is on a shelf that fits between the center bench and the front seat. I have a similar shelf between the rear seat and the center seat, which holds my tackle box out of the way.

It took me a year to figure out the whole setup. Now, my space is about as well setup as it can be, and the boat still planes out with the 6hp.

Cat...
Thanks for sharing your setup. I'm into small boats also and I'm thinking of several reasons for your fuel tank and tackle box shelfs or is it just to get the tank and box out of the way?
As for me, I keep my fuel tank and tackle box down, low on the floor.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

The main reason for the shelves is to get the tackle box and tank up off the floor. Foot room is really limited in small boats like that one, and I got really tired of kicking the tackle box. I wanted the tank farther forward, but I do fish with others sometimes, mostly kids, and I didn't want them having to work around a fuel tank at their feet. Given the curvature of these aluminum boats, anything on the deck tends to migrate to the centerline of the boat, and that's where my feet go.

It's a personal thing, though, and might not be ideal for everyone.

The only real drawback is that it makes fishing off that side a little more of a hassle, although I manage OK. I just usually fish off the port side.

 

[bowman316]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

Just a tip, For a tiller extension,

Use a pvc pipe.

Try to get just the right diamater so that it will slide tight over the handle.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

i dont mean to sound ignorant here but i am new to boating. if i got a bigger motor would it be heavier and make the front go even higher? i used to use a 3hp and never really noticed this problem. Thanks Dennis

Is the 6 a 4-stroke? Can't see that much diff between 3 and 6. More HP should hold the bow down better irrespective of the weight.

Hydrofoil may push the bow down, but once you are planed it's power robbing effects might cut your top speed a lot.

my 2cents

 

[grego]

Re: my boat doesnt do well with just me in it!

The thing about an extension from tiller,to mid seat, is the wide turns. The advantage of sand bags are that you can move the weight as needed. in chop you can get more speed by simply moving weight. The new wet-jets have a water blatter that can be filled by a pump up front, to make for a smoother ride it choppy water.