something to ponder

i have a 10 ft pelican pontoon that is a blast to fish from just love it to death and everyone else that has been in it says the same thing but i went from a 36 lb motorguide troller to a 55 lb minn to get little more speed and it seems it didn't help me out alot for the simple reason i sold the 36 to a buddie of mine he has it on a fiberglass flatbottom 10 footer and he can just blow me away ( run off from me ) and i don't know why i thought the pontoons were a boat that didn't need alot of power.
and we all about the same size.

i even thought about putting a peice of pexiglass between the pontoons to help it maybe stay up or get up on plane just don't understand .
any suggestions ?

thanks,
Scott

Pontoon hull are a displacement type hull which means they must move the water out of their way to make forward progress. Flat bottom hulls are planing hull which means they will go over the water rather than have to push it aside. It takes a lot more HP to get a displacement hull to gain speed. My friend has the exact outboard motor as I do. His is on an easy to plane flat boat and mines is on a not so easy to plane bass type hull. He get 10 MPH better than I.

From the bayou,
"gene"

Do a search on displacement hull theory to get a detailed answer to your question.

The short answer is boat length and wave interaction. A longer boat has a higher maximum displacement hull speed because the wave interaction is not as bad. The curve of thrust vs. displacement speed is exponential which is why higher thrust only produces a modest (if any) increase in speed as you approach a boat's maximum displacement speed.

And Yes folks....

He IS a rocket scientist

....and I'm only a Cajun. "RCA"

From the bayou,
"gene"

The Trouble With These Boat Are The Flat Front And Sides As The Wind Plays A Big Part In The Boat. They Pust A Lot Of Water.

Hot rodding a pontoon.:):)

Don't let a friend beat you like that. Spend more money.:p:p:p

Add a Kipawa propeller and a Kortz nozzle to the Trolling motor for more power.
Go big or stay home.

In my younger days, when I was modeling, I made a toilet seat (lid) fly. Just takes more power if you want to prove a point to someone.;)

research..research.research.

Wave interaction between your pontoons is a contributing factor as well. Waves coming off the inside of each pontoon hit each other and the opposite pontoon. This creates extra drag to overcome the Jon does not have.

...:::Victory Marine LLC - We Sell New Lund Boats:::...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cane Pole

Hot rodding a pontoon.:):)

Don't let a friend beat you like that. Spend more money.:p:p:p

Add a Kipawa propeller and a Kortz nozzle to the Trolling motor for more power.
Go big or stay home.

In my younger days, when I was modeling, I made a toilet seat (lid) fly. Just takes more power if you want to prove a point to someone.;)

research..research.research.

---

I don't doubt this for a second....:D

I'm with CP, get you a 25HP cowling and slap it on a 50HP Mercury and do donuts around your buddy just cause you can. :)

Wannabe...

ok let me see here after putting awaythe dictionary and letting my brain cool i think i get what everyone is saying because the pontoon has rounded toons that it has to move twice as much water as compared to the flat bottom that is floating higher in the water am i correct?
if so what could i do short or a new boat or new motor to help out with the boat speed . i'm not a speed fanatic on the water i save that for the 1/4 mile asphalt.
but just looking for the best out of my boat if i need to lol.
oh and also they are electric trolling motors not gas lol.

thanks,
Scott

There is not really much you can do to increase speed. You may try a "wedge" to reduce drag on the front and back of the pontoons if they are just rounded now but the gain will be minimal at best.

I understand what PanMan is saying, but there ain't no substitute for horsepower.:)

Look at the shuttle. It's not too aerodynamic. It don't even look like a rocket, but it got gillions of pounds of thrust.

I ain't much help cuz Ima hasbeen.

... but if you consider it from the standpoint of a trade-off, you come out WAY ahead of your buddy. Sure, he may be able to run a little faster than you, but you can safely square dance on that Pelican (that is, if you folks in MD square dance :)), and if your buddy's boat is as stable on the water as most 10' flatbottoms, he will have to be careful about sneezing hard. :D:D:D

well guess you got that right spec you could bounce around on the ole girl she is very stable for a 10 ft long 4 ft wide peice of plastic .
just kinda had me frustrated that he was out running me but i fish alot with his brother and as a team we can beat the pants off of them when it comes to catching lol.
guess thats what matters most .

and just to let ya know i can square dance haven't done it for years but i can widfe to young to try lol.

thanks,
Scott

Here is a little experiment most folks can try that demonstrates how important hull length at the waterline is to displacement vessels. It is best to use GPS to determine speed.

Sit in the back of the boat (raising the bow) and make a couple of runs at WOT with the TM. Record and average the maximum speeds.

Now move to the front of the boat. This pushes the bow down and increases the hull length at the waterline. Repeat the TM WOT runs.

The boat should be faster when the bow is pushed down. My 14' Jon was over .5 mph faster when I moved up front. Hull length at the waterline is the major contributor to speed in this case. A minor contributor is reduced base drag at the stern when the bow is pushed down and the stern is raised a little (there is less turbulence from the back of the boat).