planeing question

I have just purchased a 17 foot champion with a 150 black max , I am a rather large man ( 275 ) and when I take off I feel as I am riding a wheelie (don't like that feeling anymore ) cannot imagine what it is going to be like when I have a fishing partner with me , would adding one of those dolphin fins to the motor help put it on plane quicker ? would adding jack plate help ? what are the possibilities of adding weight under deck of bow or would that compromise the ride after it is up and running ?

Hydrofoil will help that. I had a 15’ ski boat many moons ago and it wouldn’t plane off quick enough to ski behind it. Hydrofoil solved that.




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Tilt the motor down as far as it will go before taking off. As soon as it gets on plane start tilting it up until gets easier to steer. It took me a long time to get use to that but what a difference.

My last two boats were funny about weight distribution. Had a Javelin bass boat that wouldn’t get on plane with a second person in the boat unless I had the front livewell filled. Adding a third person, someone had to hop on the front deck until it came out of the hole. Moving TM batteries up front solved that issue but eliminated almost all of my storage space so I moved them back. My 20’ aluminum Triton would jump out of the hole, but would porpoise without some weight redistributed up front. Moved a couple things forward and added 100lbs of weight up front for ballast and never again had an issue with it.

The subject of hydrofoils is a debated topics among fishermen, but I have personally benefited from them on my boats. I added an older stingray on a Johnson 115 and a newer design stingray on a Mercury 115 4-stroke. Both performed better with the fins mounted on my boats.

As stated above, yes hydro foils can help. As can moving weight around. I've done both, on different boats.
What have you tried?
Is the prop to pad correct? How's the prop?

Sounds to me like your prop isn't correct.

A 4 blade prop of the proper pitch and the right combination of vent plugs (if needed) should cure it.

For about $125, you could try a SOLAS Amita 4, a 4 blade prop, 14x23 RH 15 spline, part no. 1513-140-23 - that's my best guess at a match for your boat/motor.

If it doesn't work, and puts the rpms up too high at wide open throttle, you can always keep it on hand as a spare. If you have to go up to a 24 or 25 pitch, you'd probably have to go stainless which is normally $300+

You have plenty of horsepower for a 17 ft boat, your prop just isn't matched to the setup very well.....the previous owner was probably trying to max out the top speed, putting the correct prop on there will reduce your top speed by maybe 3 or 4 mph but you'll save a lot of money on gas since the motor won't be working as hard and your takeoff and handling will be so much nicer.

Try the Stingray. You will probably be amazed at how well they work. Unless you can do a prop swap, the foil is the cheapest way to go.

Jack plate is more for peak performance at cruising speeds to WOT. Hydro foil will help but really your type of boat shouldn't need one. If you aren't trimming all the way down, you should try that first.

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Originally Posted by scout-j-m

Hydro foil will help but really your type of boat shouldn't need one

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I agree, if the boat needed one it would have come from the factory with it. Hydrofoils are a band-aid for an improper setup.

Stingray and managing your tilt/trim as mentioned above should remedy your hole shot/plane issue.
My Astro is very sensitive to trim adjustments - both for getting up on plane as well as tighter turns (When needed!). I figure that's why they put it right there at my thumb. I remember older fishing boats of my Dad's that we all knew to move up front on take off, get on plane, then move back where you were...