Hull ext./Pod

[midlifecrisis]

I'm interested in having a pod fabricated for my boat. I've read up on most of the posts regarding this and it all sounds very positive.

The boat is an Hourston 18 footer with splashwell. I would like the pod to follow the bottom V of the hull and the reason is to add to the length of the boat as well as give more fishing room.

Would a 30" extension make the boat handle like a 20'6 boat?
I can't buy a new boat and would like to smooth out the seas a bit for the sake of my back.

Also, the boat has a "belly" fuel tank and the bow feels light. Any advice on weight distribution? Have any members had one of these boats with a fuel tank in the bow? How did you're boat handle?

Thanks in advance.

 

[danthewire]

Can't help you on the pod or any of that,but I had a 17.5 Double Eagle,had the same feel of a light bow.I tried trimming the motor to push the bow down and it just seemed to bounce off of the chop we put a 10 gallon tank up in the front and the boat felt and handled much better.DAN

 

[nahmint]

We have recently purchased a Hewescraft Searunner 220 with a hard top and extended transom. I'm certainly not an expert, but we test drove alot of boats with/without extended transoms and were very impressed with the improved performance and ride of the boats with ET's. The ET on our boat IS an extension of the bottom of the boat... so our 22' is 24'3" overall... and my observation is that it does perform like a 24' boat. Based on our test drives, I think your design notion is a sound one (having an extended bottom)... especially for handling and smoothing out the ride. I think the addition of an extended transom might even help to address the weight distribution issue that you have raised... may give more buouency to the stern of the boat. Our boat also has a "belly" fuel tank (85 gallons).
We're just beginning to put the boat through its paces.
Good luck with your project... hope you'll keep us updated it you go ahead with it.

 

[Down 10]

Try contacting Hourston in North Van, they should be able to help, a friend of mine bought a mid 80 s Grady 232, from Brant in Van, he put on his own pod and a single 225 Honda, boat runs great, except in a big following sea, the bow wants to plow he added too much lift in the stern.

 

[wolf]

Down 10 how did he solve that problem??just curious as have heard of so many different problems??? thanks

Wolf

 

[midlifecrisis]

Thanks for the responses.

I think first thing I will do is run the boat with sandbags in the bow to see how she handles. Seems to me that the weight distribution thing is the key to the pod working. If the boat runs good, the pod may work really well for me adding lift to the stern and solving the weight issue, just have to be careful not to overcompensate!

If, for example, 80 lbs added to the bow works to balance the boat, would it be safe to assume that 80 lbs of buoyancy added to the stern would have the same effect?

I'll update if this project goes ahead. Thanks again guys, the experience on this forum is definitely and asset

 

[SIR]

We have a podded 20' boat that was still a little hard to get up onto plane with a full load so we also put an extra fuel tank up in the bow and it helped significantly. On smaller boats you just have to watch your overall weight load as you load the bow. I figured if I was carrying extra weight it might as well be usefull so went with the fuel tank.

If you end up going with a pod one thing to watch in the design is the hieght of your intakes/exhausts above the water as there is a concern for swamping in heavy following seas with low mounted engines. If you have the option of using a higher mounting bracket on the pod and an extra long shaft outboard go that route as having the motor higher above the water is always a good thing. Mine is mounted low and I've buried my outboard up to the Mercury stickers on the cowl when being stopped to pull prawn traps in rough water - it makes you a littler nervous watching it bob under...

You don't need to raise the whole pod (which would increase the cost of your pod significantly) just use a beefy double walled mounting bracket with round tube welded between the plates for your outboard mounting bolts. A good pod guy will help you with this.

Another thought would be to spend the few extra bucks and extend the hieght of your transom to the hieght of your sides as you remove the splashwell as you'll end up with a more seaworthy boat for not that much money. With a 30" pod you'll still have plenty of room to fully trim up the engine without hitting the transom. Narrower pods sometimes require a cutout in the transom to enable a full trim-up. Also think about integrating a drop in ladder into your pod design and if you want to have the option for a kicker in the future you want to build in the kicker mounting plate in the original design as its harder to ad later.

 

[salmon9]

Look at installing trim tabs (Bennett or Lenco).

 

[beemer]

Trim tabs are the ticket. Engine trim is not usually enough to stop the slapping or snow plowing. Trim way up in a big following sea . Trim down/slow down in a big head sea to stop the slapping. All boats are different but trimming properly can usually correct most problems. Adding a pod may make your boat stern heavy and unsafe in big water. beemer

 

[dss]

if intrested dss weling in duncan fabs pods we hav done 2 for kelly ( last chance charters ) on his last 2 hourstons.any questions please call Larry @ 250-715-1159

 

[Last Chance]

I'd reccommend DSS any day. Great work!

 

[Last Chance]

quote:Originally posted by C.S.

dss...I have a 23 Hourston I am rebuilding and will tow it down to you guys when the time comes,but a few questions.Do you have room for the trim tab rams under the pod or do you cut holes?And do you powder coat there?

L.C.did you have any problems in a following sea with the 23H?

I had to shorten the tabs a little bit but my pod was for twins, a single engine pod you'll be just fine with the regular trin tabs. ANd it was very safe in a following sea, it never broached on me.

 

[dss]

quote:Originally posted by C.S.

dss...I have a 23 Hourston I am rebuilding and will tow it down to you guys when the time comes,but a few questions.Do you have room for the trim tab rams under the pod or do you cut holes?And do you powder coat there?

L.C.did you have any problems in a following sea with the 23H?

 

[dss]

quote:Originally posted by C.S.

dss...I have a 23 Hourston I am rebuilding and will tow it down to you guys when the time comes,but a few questions.Do you have room for the trim tab rams under the pod or do you cut holes?And do you powder coat there?

L.C.did you have any problems in a following sea with the 23H?

dss here no probs with trim tabs powder coating available. call me at 250 715 1159 thanx larry