Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

[fdesbois@hotmail.com]

Hi Guys.<br />I own a Tracker V14 Laker with a 25hp yamaha 4 stroke. My problem is that the boat sits very low at the back and water has come in several times when the waves get over 2 feet.<br /><br />I've relecated the battery and fuel tank in the front but still sits very low. Now I think my only option other then losing weight myself is to find some sort of backsplash to put on the transom or trade my motor in for a smaller and lighter 2 stroke model. My motor weighs about 165lbs...<br /><br />Does anybody know where I could get one of these backsplash???<br />I memory serves me right I remember see one attached to a boat on a fishing show I watched a few years ago. Bob Izumi I think.....<br /><br />Thanks for any help.....spring is coming and the ice will be off the lakes....Yahoo.....

 

[steelespike]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

I have an old 17 ft Crestliner utility with 50 Merc, tiller steering and a 15 inch transom.This boat was used as a fire boat with a gas drive pumper and needed to be backed and manuvered without flooding.They added a vinyl skirt across the cutout that snapped to the transom across the inboard side of the clamps carefully made and attached this was pretty helpful though not necessarily bone dry.<br /> Depending on your set up you may be able to raise the motor an inch or so and add a strip along the top of the transom to fill in the space.Raise it a little at a time till just before ventilation becomes a problem use 1/4 inch sticks to set the height until you get your max.Be sure the clamp has a good bite and it pumps water correctly.This also may help your top speed a little.<br /> A tin shop could probably fashion an aluminum tray to go across to catch the splash and return it to the water through a couple of drain holes<br />in the transom.

 

[fdesbois@hotmail.com]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

Thanks for the ideas....the tray idea makes a lot of sence. <br />Measuring the motor for height...There are a few fins on the lower end of the engine. Is there a way to measure??? top of prop from bottow of the boat.....<br /><br />I forgot to mention I have a severe handling problem. When going flat out the boat jumps out of the water,not just a little a lot. I tried putting on a hydrofoil on the motor but the the speed is awful....I heard about smart tabs, are these as good as what they say???

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

Wave Wackers probably has a size for your boat. Check out their site ( www.wavewackers.com ). <br /><br />Is the boat porpoising (bow bouncing up and down above a certain speed)? This is usually a symptom of a bow that is too light or a hull bottom that is not straight. Before you do anything, experiment with weight distribution. You can fill a one or more 5 gallon buckets with varying amounts of sand and see how that affects it. <br /><br />Smart tabs do work well.

 

[fdesbois@hotmail.com]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

That Wave Wacker looks interesting and if memory serves me right, it was something very similar that I had seen on the fishing show.<br /><br />As for weight distribution. I have already relocated both my fuel tank and my bettery in the fromt of the boat. I order for the boat to stop jumping around I must have one of my 200lbs friends sit in the very front of the boat.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

Raising the motor as suggested on the transom may help that problem. Where is the cavitation plate height in relation to the bottom of the hull??

 

[fdesbois@hotmail.com]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

Ok I went out, dug through the snow and measured my boat. My trim bolt is at the first hole therefore the engine is trimmed all the way down, even to the point that it is angled leaning towards the boat.<br /><br />The front of the cavitation plate is 7/8" lower then the bottom of the boat and the rear of the plate is 3" lower.

 

[fdesbois@hotmail.com]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

Please go to : http://www.freewebs.com/vstar_rider/toys.htm <br /><br />I have uploaded 2 images of my boat. Maybe these will give you a better understanding of what my boat looks like.<br /><br />Thanks

 

[steelespike]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

From the demensions you give it is hard to believe you can get the bow out of the water at all.<br /> It appears the plate is is angled down toward the rear at the rate of over about 2 inches per foot.Normally it would be approximately paralel<br />with the keel of the boat.Sight along the keel of the boat if there is a rocker in the keel in the 3 to 5 feet in front of the transom it will be difficult to get it to settle down.As I said raise the motor a little at a time.You also might try distributing the weight and trim the motor so it can hold the bow up.Normally the boat would run with maybe 4 to 6 ft in the water at full speed.What horsepower is the boat rated for?

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

I think it is simply too much weight in the back of a small boat. <br /><br />If you want to spend the money, smart tabs (or similar) will help.<br /><br />A hydrofoil may help, but as you noted the tradeoff may be speed if the engine is low enough that the hydrofoil creates drag when the boat is on plane. <br /><br />Welcome to the world of boats! Everything has tradeoffs.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Tracker V14 Laker - Backsplash????

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