Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › 1998 Jag. Learning to drive this thing…
BIGCATTER.
Okay guysI finally had my boat where I could run it. When I first got the boat the motor was jacked all the way down. In fact when raised for boat transport, it had ate into the top of the transom. Hole shot was terrible and didnt want to respond to triming. During instalation of my HB transducer, I understood why the previous owner had it all the way down..he had the transducer installed on the jackplate…the part that would actually move up and down. Raising it removed it from the water.I installed my transducer on the solid part and raised the engine about an inch. I also installed a SE sport 300 Hydrofoil. Holeshot is very quick. I start with the motor just trimmed off of full down. As it planes, it leans to the left..hard..I keep bumping up the trim and it levels off quick. If I continue trimming up it will start porpoising. But if I run the throttle up quick..the porpoising stops with increase in speed.At about 55 mph the boat started bouncing left and right..not chining..but acts like its getting hit with waves from the side…which the water was smooth.The only way I could get it to 60mph without the left to right bounce is to not trim it up very much, but the bow of the boat was still barely out the water. I know this is not trimmed correctly because a good wave would spin the boat with the bow so low.Keep in mind…the amount of up trim I have used is very little. Very small bumps in trimming it. It responds right away.Any ideas? I am new to the basscat family and know this boat is smooth riding and capable of more controlled speed.I have a 25 tempest prop with 1 exhaust grommet installed. I only have torque in the steering when it leans left, once I start trimming I have no torque in the steering.Last edited by Cajunhunter67 on March 31st, 2013, 5:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I have a 1999 Jag with a 225 Mercury Optimax and I have none of the problems you are talking about. I have the factory build sheet and my boat came with a 23″ Tempest Plus which is still on it. I have the largest plugs in 2 of the holes and 1 completely out. My prop shaft C/L is 3 1/4 inches below the bottom of the hull. I trim down all the way and have a great holeshot. I dont trim up until I get around 4800 rpms, then I just bump it 3 or 4 times. It never pulls or moves either way. As the speed & rpms pick up you can feel the boat lift as it gets more of the hull out of the water. When it gets up on the pad it is like the boat just frees up and it wil accelerate on up to top speed which is somewhere between 72 and 76 mph depending on conditions. I would say get rid of the hydrofoil, put the motor around the 3 1/4″ below the bottom of the hull. Then move the motor up or down in 1/4″ increments until you find the sweet spot. I bet you wont have to move more than a 1/4 ” or so to make it work. Also feel out on the angled part of the transom to make sure somebody has not sanded off the built in wedges in the fiberglass. They are put there to prevent the porpoising you are talking about however if you are trimmed to high it will still porpoise.Johnny
Thanks Johnny. It seems to be a issue of motor being too low by quite a bit. I may need to purchase some exhaust plugs. I have not even come close to reaching 65 mph before it becomes tough to control. As far as the porpoise it does it with very little trim…but as long as I stay in the throttle it doesnt do it. As I slow down If I dont trim it down…it will porpoise.
hmmm you dont suppose you have a XL motor instead of the standard L length do you? Look at your serial number to see if it is a XL.When it is set up right there wont be any porpoise when it is trimmed right. I can trim my motor until the rooster tail is above the motorand it still wont porpoise.Johnny
What is the engine on this rig?
Over on BBC he said it was a 225 Merc EFI
1 hydrofoil is not needed if your engine is running right. 2 rocking side to side, your jack plate is probably still too low. Should be about 3.5″ below pad to prop shaft center. Watch water pressure. 3 your boat would drive much easier with a 25 trophy. I have one for sale -$200 for A fellow Basscat owner. But at least borrow one to try. It will help. 4 last of all, it is easier to learn to drive with the trim than with the throttle. Run up to a comfortable speed at slight down to neutral trim and bump up trim to increase speed in small steps while learning to balance the boat. I have found that if the boat is set up right, the bow will sway side to side slightly when running wide out. This can be controlled with practice and steering input. if not cotrolled, it will quickly lead to the whole boat rocking side to side which is dangerous. If the motor is too low, the time between the bow swaying to the boat rocking is almost nothing and is even more dangerous.
Thanks for all the input. The engine is a 1998 Merc 225L. I measured the pad to prop height as best I could. Seems to be a little over 4 inches below the pad. I also read up on checking my hydraulic steering. It definitely needs bleeding. With it trimmed down, I can grab the engine and move the cylinder almost an inch either way.Seems that I have my work cut out for me. Seems the engine is definitely too low. I believe its part of the reason for the very quick chining as smbassman pointed out. Its isnt a slow chine…Im running, slowly beeping it, and the next second its bouncing side to side pretty fast. My wife was not impressed. Last edited by Cajunhunter67 on April 4th, 2013, 2:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
Haha. My wife isnt impressed either! Has nothing to do with my boat or my driving skilz though….
Cajunhunter67 wrote:Thanks for all the input. The engine is a 1998 Merc 225L. I measured the pad to prop height as best I could. Seems to be a little over 4 inches below the pad. I also read up on checking my hydraulic steering. It definitely needs bleeding. With it trimmed down, I can grab the engine and move the cylinder almost an inch either way.Seems that I have my work cut out for me. Seems the engine is definitely too low. I believe its part of the reason for the very quick chining as smbassman pointed out. Its isnt a slow chine…Im running, slowly beeping it, and the next second its bouncing side to side pretty fast. My wife was not impressed. If you can move the steering an inch in either direction by hand , what can it do under power from the other side of the same equation ?? — Get the steering fixed before you do anything else !! — Make one change at a time after that , so you can tell what effect each change has on the boat . — Takes time , but it will be worth it in the end . — Hoss
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