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SAMRUSH.
Ok, Yesterday wasnt a good day and should have stayed home. I took the wife and daughter fishing with me and the wife got her line tangles in the motor, that was the start. At the ramp I hit the key with my knee and broke it off in the ingnition switch and after loading the boat I noticed a bushing wore out on the powere tilt and trim bracket. What an evening at the lake, now that i got that fixed I went to the lake today and when I would get to a speed of about 63-65 mph the boat would feel like it was fish tailing and scare the you know what out of me as i trimmed the motor up. I ususally run the jack plate at about 4in. up and it runs just fine. Should i continue to raise the motor as my speed increases. Oh the lake was smooth as a sheet of glass when this happened to. This is the fisrt boat I have had of this caliber and I am still learning how to handle the boat. any advice with this problem is helpful. Thanks Allan
The last sentence in your post is the problem and the cure. Once you get some time behind the wheel and some experience at driving a high perf bass boat all will be alright. In your case I would not mess with the hydraulic jack plate until I get the driving part down. A little slip with the engine too high will make you mess in your pants! Drive and practice, drive and practice, and youll get the hang of it. Some times it will help if you take someone along that knows how to drive to give pointers. Good luck!
Whats a really good Idea is to have a one of the guys on here explain or post how to measure your Prop to Pad measurement, post your year,model,motor and prop, then the Pros on here can help you make sure your Starting off at the right heights for a Beginner…..Dont worry about asking questions on this board, thats what makes a Cat so special, this 24hour 7 day a week Boat Manual is the best tool ever, and they can sometimes diagnose and help with outboards….they will help you on what to do when the boat gets squirely,heres a VIDEO online that was on bassboatcentral.com, it shows and explains it, it also shows you visually how to make the Left Chopping Motions, its pretty cool, http://s88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/ … h=imgAnch1 I hope it works……Its also very very important to talk to a true pro like Ivan Williams at the factory about Weight Placement in the Hull, he can tell you how to destribute your weight per your hull etc…..These Bass Cats as Phil pointed out are a High Performance Boat, not a ultra performance boat like a Purpose built speed machine like a Bullet or Stroker, but they are not even close to a Cookie Cutter boat, where the bottom line is more important than truly straight strakes, concave pad reminescent of True Italian Race Boats, and a structure so strong that its warrantied forever! Excellent choice on your brand, like Phil said, be careful and learn slowly, Im still learning after 3 summers, but thats because I sell them and do not get to drive them on a daily basis, I wish, Hope the video helps, it helped me with my Checkmate Ski Boat……Brannon Its gonna SNOW SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Your Signature …
1. First Level your boat lowering the trailer jack. 1a. Put level in rear of the boat. 2. Level your motor by putting leveler on your cavitation plate. 3. Measure the middle of the “V” in your bottom pad. 4. Measure the center of your prop shaft. 5. Subtract Prop Shaft measurement from the Bottom pad measurement for Below Pad measurement.
Im reading this post as if he has a Hyd JP, if so measuring pad height is not going to do much good. If you have a JP guage that may help, but seat time is really the answer.
I think what Tom and I were trying to accomplish with the settings John is just a baseline for a New Guy to start from, now if someone can tell him to start at 1/2 on the gauge Cool, but I think for a guy to Fully Understand how these things work and Why they do what they do is a good thing…..Remember John, if your ever Up Nort, whether its for Pickin Cheese or Buyin Fresh Miller Lite, the doors always open and hopefully you bring your boat for a trip or somethin, I wanna talk with you about the Champ Years ( i find that company interesting), and have you show me the ropes on driving, Marty Stone was supposed to educate me at the dealer meeting, 1st he showed me on a Puma FTD,No gas,no nothin just us and 275hp, and when he says,” on a BCB you trim a Hair to far, when she feels like it may blow over, you bump her down twice or so and Boom, shes GONE!”, that freaked me out, 78.4 on the GPS was way fast for me, especially as a Co-Pilot, then we talked about High Speeds and Wakes, Wrong question for me to ask, so while going 75+ Literally he took me over what he called “Chop” 1 1/2 foot rollers and dude, at that speed It felt very hairy, but once we were on smooth chop he showed me how controllable a BCB hull is by making her “Drift” left then right, all along at 75+…..Long story short, Learn the hull, how to set them up, and weight placement and go slow, and then she will be a piece of cake…..Have a good night guys, BrannonYour Signature …
On hyd jp, start with plate down on takeoff, then as you go to wot ,gardually lift engine, as soon as you feel tail walking, bump down to eliminate problem and run at comfortable level.BAYOU BANDIT
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