tunnel boat

[Roughneck]

Does anyone on the forum own a tunnel prop boat or have any of you fished out of someone else's? I am thinking of getting one, if you set them up right they will run very shallow. Thanks for any replies or comments.

[D10]

We use a tunnel Hull on our 20' flat bottom work boat. I love it! We also have a Jack plate on the transome. This allows you to Jack the motor way up and keep the prop engaged with the water correctly. It has worked very well for us. It is good in shallow water situations. I think it also helps us avoid some of the submerged stumps.

[Gindog]

I have a tunnel on my 16' boat but I don't have it set up right

[Roughneck]

We use a tunnel Hull on our 20' flat bottom work boat. I love it! We also have a Jack plate on the transome. This allows you to Jack the motor way up and keep the prop engaged with the water correctly. It has worked very well for us. It is good in shallow water situations. I think it also helps us avoid some of the submerged stumps.

D10, I have been reading about venting the tunnel to get more performance out of the boat. Is your tunnel vented. Have you heard of this, if not Google it. thanks Roughneck

[rockmike]

I have a jet tunnel and I have had a prop tunnel. Tunnels are great if you run shallow rivers and such. You lose some performance, and low speed steering is tricky, but it's worth the trade off if you need it.

[D10]

Our tunnel is not vented. I had not heard of it before. Interesting idea. To be honest the 60hp Evinrude ETEC pushes that 20 footer just fine the way it is. Even with a boat full of nets. We routinely carry 800 to 1000 pounds (including people) in our boat and it will get up on plane just fine. We are also not in that big of a hurry while we are working. Some times it is just nice to put around the lake.

[D10]

I have a jet tunnel and I have had a prop tunnel. Tunnels are great if you run shallow rivers and such. You lose some performance, and low speed steering is tricky, but it's worth the trade off if you need it.

I agree that slow speed steering it compromised, especially in a 20' boat. But the benifits outweigh this problem.