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Have recently bought a Cougar Advantage Elite with a 225 Pro XS. Trying to get the proper setup for running the boat with minimum chime walking. Anyone know the proper setup for the boat? I.E. Jack plate setting etc.? Starts to chime at or about 66 mph. Thanks!
Motor can be too low. Wrong prop. Bad balance (horizontal). Sloppy motor mounts or steering. Excessive set-back or not enough set-back. The list goes on and on. Most of the time the ultimate fix is acquiring driving skill, which is a matter of time. BTW it is “chine”. The more you drive, the better your overall boat control gets. There are dozens of old threads here about conquering chine-walking. Any of them will get you going in the right direction.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
… and most of them end with go get some more skills. Most V or Pad-V boats will chine walk if you get them going fast enough. A few seem to get over it if you go even faster. Some just get stupid dangerous. For myself, I just like to trim down slightly and go. Costs me a tiny bit of topend, but I dont run much more than about 25 miles from my main launch point so its no big loss. Also BCB recently mentioned some BCB hulls will catch air if trimmed up to max. Yes deep set and max trim can make a boat do all kinds of dangerous things.–Bob La Londe Forums, Free Lures, Product Reviewswww.YumaBassMan.com CNC Molds N Stuffwww.CNCMOLDS.com
From my experience, the lower the motor, the more chine I get. The higher you go, the more steering torque kicks in. Youre right about the prop shaft height, 3.25 to 3.5 below pad should be the range youre looking for. Measure with the motor trimmed level to the ground to the center of the prop shaft….then from the pad to the ground and subtract the difference (yes the pad area below the drain plug).
Yes too low will cause what is termed as belly walk, that is the oscillation forcing the hull and the propeller slipping in the water as more bite comes the the entire circle of rotation. This is not seen on aluminum propellers in other types of boats as they have no real bite. BCB
Your over trimming. Once you get on top just bump the trim to control the hull. Many brands you regulate speed with the throttle, on a BCB you drop the throttle where you want and regulate speed with trim. There are several posts on how to here, probably dozens, just run a search of this page at the top right and you will get more than you care to read.
Could you be more specific? Im sort of new at this. Thanks!
Theres been a really good thread on this topic recently on BBC on the Triton board. May try a search there too.
Already read the BBC article on the Triton…..Tried to do a search here , and it just sends me back to this page….Help..Im technically challenged!! Thanks!!
Try these. Or do a search using ” cougar chine walk”. Just make sure you are on the main page for forum (when you see all the topics) before you do a search. Other wise you just search your own post. Its a little quirk. Can do same search in FAQ too.http://basscatowners.yuku…chinewalking#reply-76924http://basscatowners.yuku…i-setup-help#reply-99010http://basscatowners.yuku…-Prop-Setup#reply-117609Here are a few links to get you primed. Like BCB said, there is probably more posted on here then you care to read. But the basics apply to all hulls. Dont trim high, use your trim to control speed/walking. Seat time helps and dont expect to master it after a couple outings. Have fun, be safe.
Also, how many hours of seat time do you have in the new rig? For me it took 15 hrs to just get some sense of what was happening and to start correcting it before it began. Now at 20 hrs I am feeling a lot more confident. I was told when I got it that 30 hrs is a rough guess minimum to get a good solid feel for it, and I believe it. Good luck and stick with it. In a month youll be posting about how much fun it is to pass all your buddies on a tournament takeoff and wondering why you ever thought your boat had a chine walk issue.
We all have different learning curves so dont set your expectations to high in mastering the wheel to control chine walk. If you do you might get frustrated. Let it happen and enjoy the BassCat experience. Patience is a virtue.
There are lot of things to consider here. Having read your initial post, how much experience do you have running a high performance boat? Knowing this will help the owners guide you in your set up. Do you have a buddy that has run several high performance boats? Every bass boat, regardless of brand, performs with its own personality or characteristics. As Flyswatter mentioned, each of us has a learning curve. That learning curve may involve running crooked river channels vs fishing an open reservoir where you point the boat and go. Jack plate settings are very unique as well–what works well on one rig is atrocious on another rig. This to depends on many factors–driver and passenger weights, load distribution, etc.Instead of rambling anymore, may it be suggested that you get with someone that has a great deal of experience setting up a high performance rig if possible. The prop on your rig factors into this as well. If you do not have someone locally available to help, can you post your numbers–rpm, mph by gps, prop being run and a picture that shows your motor mounted on your jack plate. While this seems like a lot for you to post, this information will help some of the owners help if no is available locally.Enjoy your new rig. There are plenty of people out here that will try to help you anyway possible. You may also include which state you are located in.
Clem,,, Where r u located ? Having a completed profile will help us help you. We can get you some help if we know where you are. The Cougar AE is a great hull, and the 225 Pro XS will smoke on that hull if properly set-up and driven. Im currently running a 25p Fury on my 08, and loaded full running 70+, 5900+ rpms, and you can point and shoot, very little input necessary to drive. Its all about setting the boat up for your load and conditions. By yourself in my boat you have to drive the boat with minimal trim needed for best top end, as BCB stated. Seat time, and getting the “tour” from a good driver will help shorten the learning curve. Good luck, D.
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