Boat will not get up on Plane.. Grrrrrr.

[MaineNative71]

With two guys in the boat (16' 10" Aluminum, 50HP Yamaha 4-Stroke) it will not get up on plane... 4000 RPM's plowing water 9 MPH.  13p Prop.  I have had plenty of boats in the past so it is not an operator error..  If I have my buddy go to the front of the boat it gets up on plane and I can get 28 MPH @ 5500 RPM's.. Once on Plane he can return to the seat and it stays on plane... I wouldn't say the boat is overloaded and I mounted the trolling motor batteries approx in the front 1/3 of the boat..  I am thinking this may be a prop pitch issue..

Any advice, ideas or thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated...

Thanks Guys..

[FishingNewEngland]

I'm not sure if this will help but it's a product made by a buddy of mine.

http://www.thesmartrail.com/

[1fish@atime]

Sounds like pitch. I thought until reading it will get on plane that you may have a spun hub. Also take it you have tried the trim?  Long shaft on a short transom?

[Lifeguard]

This is supprisingly easy to fix.  Last year I bought a 2009 Legend Xcaliber with a Merc 115 HP 4-Stroke, and was amazed at how difficult it was to get the boat to plane, even with only a couple people in it.  It would take 15-20 secs, but once on plane it ran like a top.  I contacted my dealer about it, because I thought that maybe something wasn't right with the motor, and he sold me a hydrofoil.  A little sceptical I installed it and tried it.  Wow, what a difference!!!  If you buy just one accessory for  your boat, make it this one.  Planes instantly now, and also planes at a lower speed.  The bow barely rises anymore, the whole boat just kind of lifts and is on plane.  Doesn't seem to affect top end either.  My hydrofoil is a Stingray XP1, but they make several different models.  Go to Cabelas or Basspro and read some customer reviews on them and decide which one is right for you.

[J Man]

I had a problem getting on plane last year. It turned out to be an easy fix in my case. I have a 40 hp suzuki 2 stroke. There is a component of the mounting bracket that when engaged, does not allow the motor to drop to the lowest pitch. It is for running in shallow water in case the lower unit hits something. When i disengaged this component, and the motor was able to drop a little lower in the water (closer to the transom), and it got up on plane no problem. I am not familiar with your motor, but this might give you one more thing to investigate.

J-

[Jimmy]

If you have foam bouyancy, you may have waterlogged material too...

Pretty common if the boat is stored without a cover, etc.  Seems like it should get up and rip just fine with a 50-horse on a boat that size.  If its aluminum, you might want to take a peek under the floorboards?

9mph sounds like a really heavy boat to me- since it is still winding up the RPMs.

[slabspanker]

prop pitch had me messed up for a while

[KingPerch]

You beat me to punch buddy!!! I was going to say the same thing, had a similiar incident this past summer with water, forgot to remove the plug when we got chased off in a rainstorm!!!! --KP

[Jimmy]

Great minds, KPers...  Great minds...