20ft Hourston issues

drilleryells

drilleryells

Member
Hey Guys just thought i would pick the brains of other Hourston owners. I have a 20ft. Hourston with a 175 on a Pod. Its a good boat in the rough, but it has some issues which i hope can be rectified without breaking the bank. it runs well at about 3800 Rpm which is about 18-20 mph. In any kind of chop it starts to porpoise and the trim tabs have to activated which is fine but then it has steering issues( think tank). I have a feeling it is a bit stern heavy as i have added a new kicker, the fuel tank is at the back, batteries, lead etc. i can move the lead to the front which is only about 60 pounds. Is there any other fixes that will help? thanks in advance Driller
 
DOEL-FIN® HYDROFOIL or similar product will help with porpising, alot of podded boats have this problem i had a podded boat it did the same thing as soon as i installed the fins on the cavitation plate it corrected it same goes for a buddies boat . as for using the tabs once you force the bow down you get something called bow steer and its dangerous not to mention that tabs shouldn't be used when in trailing seas.i think you can pick a set up for about 50 bucks.
 
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Thanks Combover, I have heard the same from several people, just checking to see if there were any other opinions out there, off to buy a fin... Driller
 
Addicted did the same I gave him one which I custom bent up out of stainless hes liking it alot.

Good luck Wolf
 
This is a common problem with the older converted inboard to pod hulls, not just Hourston boats. The hulls weren't designed for that much weight extending out from the stern.

If you install a fin on the cavitation plate then make sure that the fin rides on top of the water when you are on a plane. If the motor is too low in the water and the fin doesn't clear the surface then you will get major drag and the boat will handle like crap.
 
The fact that the motor is farther back than the trim tabs may have something to do with it.

If you are porpoising, is it because your motor "trim" angle is off a little?

I don't like the Doel-Fin rig because it forces the engine shaft to take all the force.

I would work on getting the correct fixed angle for the engine first and then leave it at that...and noodle a bit with the tabs later.

If you keep resetting both all the time you may end up having them work against each other....because the tabs are farther ahead it could mess up you steering if engine and tabs are opposed by a country mile.
 
the fins work fine and the only time i've see them fail is when a boat is way to heavy for the power and then they just broke off damaging the cavitation plate. they don't but any extra stress on any shaft and many performance boats also use different styles of these fins. there is however wedges that can also be used to steepen the trim angle of the mounting position they require the engine to be removed and remounted with the wedges in place.
 
I did a similar pod conversion on a double eagle
when the pod was designed by me a didn't give it enough negitive trim and fixed it with 2"uhm plastic wedges
works great now
 
Driller, after running into u yesterday & having the pleasure to discuss simular problems with identical boats...keep me up to date & let me know how you rectify the proplem...mine seemed to perform well after the refit but now has some porpoising problems...granted i seem to have had some trim tab issues.
Also read pros/cons about Doel/phin hydrofoil so the verdict is still out on that one...any additional help input/pm's would also be great ...thanx sammy
 
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Nice to meet ya man, dont get me wrong I am very happy with the boat and if i keep keep the throttle back it does not porpoise, i will keep ya updated when and if i change anything Driller
 
drilleryells said:
Hey Guys just thought i would pick the brains of other Hourston owners. I have a 20ft. Hourston with a 175 on a Pod. Its a good boat in the rough, but it has some issues which i hope can be rectified without breaking the bank. it runs well at about 3800 Rpm which is about 18-20 mph. In any kind of chop it starts to porpoise and the trim tabs have to activated which is fine but then it has steering issues( think tank). I have a feeling it is a bit stern heavy as i have added a new kicker, the fuel tank is at the back, batteries, lead etc. i can move the lead to the front which is only about 60 pounds. Is there any other fixes that will help? thanks in advance Driller
Click to expand...
Hey driller curious to see how you resolved this issue and what length of leg you are running in the 175hp? also what the weight of the pod and outboard togther compared to the old in -board that theese boats were designed for.? I just purchased a 1978 20ft hourston for my first project but am well experienced in boating and marine enviroment in general, I know this is a old thread but curious if your still around!? Cheers!
 
Brett said:
Hey driller curious to see how you resolved this issue and what length of leg you are running in the 175hp? also what the weight of the pod and outboard togther compared to the old in -board that theese boats were designed for.? I just purchased a 1978 20ft hourston for my first project but am well experienced in boating and marine enviroment in general, I know this is a old thread but curious if your still around!? Cheers!
Click to expand...

full floatation pod needed.

otherwise wedges and tabs on the small pods.
just what i have seen on most set ups.
 
trophywife said:
full floatation pod needed.

otherwise wedges and tabs on the small pods.
just what i have seen on most set ups.
Click to expand...
Whats your reason for full floatation pod requirement I have aefdn both that people like equally? My understanding is that if you place the pod correctly and right weight you should have no issues. With the gas tanks being forward I belive the trim of the boat overall should sit ok with on outboard and aluminum pod weighing around 600-650lbs compared to the 800lbs of the old inboard. With it hanging further aft off the boat should even things out nicely, although I haven’t done the calculations which I am going to do.

Love any info you can provide!! trying to learn

Cheers man
 
Check if your motor is mounted high enough. When I first podded I had it a hole or two low and particularly at speed the boat started to get squirrelly... Once I raised it up it rides much better. You are pretty heavy on the stern too.... I pulled my old kicker off this year and the first run it did seem to make a difference. I'm not putting one back on for the time being.
 
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