pod position

[coholips]

Looking for some input on best position to mount pod/swim grid I'm getting fabbed next week. Should I have it built to follow the lines of the hull and act like a true extension of the hull or is there a benefit to mounting an inch or two above the bottom of hull like the Armstrong style brackets. My boat is a 20 foot Glasply hardtop and it will be getting power from a 175 Optimax Saltwater Series XL (25") leg OB. Thanks

 

[Swailfish]

If mounted higher than the bottom of the hull the prop runs in less turbulent water, therfore is more efficient. This also allows for the engine to be mounted higher out of the water, by about 1 inch per 12 inches of offset. Just make sure the offset is enough to allow the engine to trim up fully.

 

[coholips]

Hey Swailfish thanks for the info. Here's a picture I found online of how it would be done if mounted flush to the hull. Do you still see issues with motor height adjustment? This picture is based on the same hull as mine. Thanks again and appreciate any more feedback...

 

[wildthing]

lee
wanna trade them seats for some nice todd ones
with built in arms rest ?
and the old four pot has give up eh....lol

should be out fishin

 

[coholips]

Hey John, thanks for the offer on the seats but I'll pass. Ya the ole 470 is out of the boat and going to a new home. Really looking forward to outboard power again, I never really felt comfortable running inboard power. Been hitting the beach for ho's while the boat undergoes its conversion.


Cheers, bro

 

[Swailfish]

No issues with the mounting height with a flush pod, it's just nice to get the power head a little further out of the water. Also extending the hull will change how the boat rides while on the step, might be a good or bad change, depends on the weight distribution and pod size. Always nice to see a similar boat done to get a better idea how the finished product will perform.

 

[coholips]

So this would be the way to go?

 

[SteelyDan]

Nothing wrong with an armstrong bracket. You can keep your drain plug with no problems that way. We had our pod built as a hull extension and the boat drains into the pod and out the back so the pod is essentially part of the hull now. Ours also comes flat of the hull as a hull extension and it made the boat ride substantially better, it doesn't pound any more at all. It acts like a big trim tab.

 

[coholips]

Thanks for the input SD. I think I am leaning towards the "extension" style flotation pod as my Glasply is really stern heavy with its 3" thick transom and I think this will also level out the stance of the boat as well as improve overall ride. Any more comments would be really appreciated.

cheers

 

[coholips]

Sent you a PM Dan.

 

[Swailfish]

A hull extension will definatley give your more stern lift, either way you're gonna have a huge back deck and that'll be sweet fishing machine.

 

[Earl Ledge]

Pod extending hull

I had a Double Eagle 17 I used for years, a 1970s model hull. I put a pod on there that was flush with the hull bottom and ran with a Yami 150. The boat would porpoise if the slop was just right and I quickly installed trim tabs to help counter that. However I always wondered how the hull would have handled if the pod was full width of the transom instead of just the middle third or so. My curiosity never led me to actually modify the pod, but my thinking is that with a 20 foot hull (meaning 17 or do fiberglass and three feet of aluminum pod) it would help to iron out some of the lumps and keep the nose steady.