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New motor setup problem

H

Hazard

New member
Hey all, I have an 82 Checkmate Exciter and it had an Evinrude 115 on it. Boat is ~20' long. Ran great with the Evinrude, but I upgraded this past weekend to an 86' Johnson 175hp motor.

The transom height on my Exciter is 23" and the shaft on the new motor is 25". Here's my issue, I put the new motor on and i lined up the fin (i think its called the caviation plate or whatever that fin is above the prop) with the botom of the boat. The motor is mounted in the top holes.

Well, i took it out for a trial run today and man does it have alot more power! :thumb: BUT, I had alot of water coming in from in-between the transom and the motor up into the transom "well" area. There was also a large spray of water on either side of the motor at any speed almost as if something were dragging in the water.

Not to mention that when I trimmed the motor, the boat got immediately unstable. Any thoughts? Does it need a jack plate? Is 25" too long?

Help!
 
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That transom is designed for a 20" shaft even though it is higher than regular hulls (probably 22" actually). That is why you are getting spray. That motor is designed for a 25" transom. A jackplate would probably get it high enough but it is not really the right solutiion. Is it too late to swap it for the right shaft length motor?
 
Mark said:
That transom is designed for a 20" shaft even though it is higher than regular hulls (probably 22" actually). That is why you are getting spray. That motor is designed for a 25" transom. A jackplate would probably get it high enough but it is not really the right solutiion. Is it too late to swap it for the right shaft length motor?
Click to expand...

Yes, too late. I own the motor now. I guess if I can't get it right I could always sell it, but would like to make it work first.

Jack plate may work?
 
You can 'make it work' with a jackplate but make sure you get one with as large a vertical travel as possible. If your cav plate is even with the bottom, that motor needs to come up maybe another 5 or 6 inches.
 
Mark said:
You can 'make it work' with a jackplate but make sure you get one with as large a vertical travel as possible. If your cav plate is even with the bottom, that motor needs to come up maybe another 5 or 6 inches.
Click to expand...

hmmm, ok. Good advice. I guess I'll try lifting the motor on the transom first, then I'll get a jackplate if that doesn't fix it.

Maybe I should consider another motor.
 
Lifting the motor as high as possible will help some. That hull will always run better with a Jackplate regardless of the motor. I would go with a 8" manual. At the end of the day you are going to want to swap that motor for one with a 20" shaft if you want maximum performance.
When Honda first came out with the 225hp it was only in a 25" shaft. They tested it on a 21' Pulsare and jacked it to the top of the CMC 6" jackplate. They only got it to 62 mph, at least 5-8 mph less than what it should have been.
 
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