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Getting a pontoon boat to plane
A friend of mine built a custom pontoon boat roughly 34' long with
beautiful woodwork. It is powered with a 90 hp and he claims he had the prop pitched by an expert. He attains 18 mph so he is planing some but gets very bad fuel economy, I'd estimate 1 mpg. Underway, most people sit on the foredeck so she probably is bow heavy. Is there some way to get her to plane better? He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. |
Getting a pontoon boat to plane
On 11/1/10 11:15 AM, Frogwatch wrote:
A friend of mine built a custom pontoon boat roughly 34' long with beautiful woodwork. It is powered with a 90 hp and he claims he had the prop pitched by an expert. He attains 18 mph so he is planing some but gets very bad fuel economy, I'd estimate 1 mpg. Underway, most people sit on the foredeck so she probably is bow heavy. Is there some way to get her to plane better? He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. This might do it: http://tinyurl.com/367x6pm I don't know what a custom 34' pontoon boat weighs, but I'm guessing two tons or more. That's a lotta weight and length for a 90 hp outboard to "plane better." I doubt a lower unit wing is going to make a difference. |
Getting a pontoon boat to plane
On Mon, 1 Nov 2010 08:15:54 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote: He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. How is the running attitude - level, bow down, stern down? What about the size of the wake? If he's throwing a big wake and plowing a lot of water, he may need more power to get it on top. 90 hp is not much power for a boat that size. Many guys are running 90 hp on much smaller pontoons. We have some really big pontoons around here, 50 to 60 ft, used for running tours. They usually have a pair of 200s or more. |
Getting a pontoon boat to plane
On Nov 1, 11:15*am, Frogwatch wrote:
A friend of mine built a custom pontoon boat roughly 34' long with beautiful woodwork. *It is powered with a 90 hp and he claims he had the prop pitched by an expert. *He attains 18 mph so he is planing some but gets very bad fuel economy, I'd estimate 1 mpg. *Underway, most people sit on the foredeck so she probably is bow heavy. *Is there some way to get her to plane better? *He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. Maybe one of these would be the ticket? http://www.pontoonwaterglide.com/index.asp Factory "performance" pontoons typically have lifting strakes which help the toon plane. In their most basic form, think of taking angle iron (a piece of L shaped metal) and welding it to each side of the toons maybe a quarter of the way up the side, giving them some flat sutface area on each side, thereby increasing the lift. That would be tough to add to an existing toon. |
Getting a pontoon boat to plane
On Nov 1, 11:15*am, Frogwatch wrote:
A friend of mine built a custom pontoon boat roughly 34' long with beautiful woodwork. *It is powered with a 90 hp and he claims he had the prop pitched by an expert. *He attains 18 mph so he is planing some but gets very bad fuel economy, I'd estimate 1 mpg. *Underway, most people sit on the foredeck so she probably is bow heavy. *Is there some way to get her to plane better? *He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. Wouldn't happen to be this guy, would it? http://www.pontoon.net/fusetalk/foru...VIEWTMP=Branch That's just amazing. |
Getting a pontoon boat to plane
On Nov 1, 12:42*pm, I am Tosk wrote:
In article 684491dd-d398-4420-9784- , says... On Nov 1, 11:15*am, Frogwatch wrote: A friend of mine built a custom pontoon boat roughly 34' long with beautiful woodwork. *It is powered with a 90 hp and he claims he had the prop pitched by an expert. *He attains 18 mph so he is planing some but gets very bad fuel economy, I'd estimate 1 mpg. *Underway, most people sit on the foredeck so she probably is bow heavy. *Is there some way to get her to plane better? *He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. Maybe one of these would be the ticket? http://www.pontoonwaterglide.com/index.asp Factory "performance" pontoons typically have lifting strakes which help the toon plane. *In their most basic form, think of taking angle iron (a piece of L shaped metal) and welding it to each side of the toons maybe a quarter of the way up the side, giving them some flat sutface area on each side, thereby increasing the lift. *That would be tough to add to an existing toon. I like the setup someone (forget which poster) has on that fast toon... Down at the same lake as Tom iirc. Anyway, the strake is only on the inside of the outboard toons so it can get lift on takeoff and plane, but still corner like a round chine hull with no strake on the outboard edges of the toon... That's my Premier you're thinking about. It's not the fastest in a straight line, but I believe it's the most maneuverable pontoon. I can sling a kid off a tube in a heartbeat! :- |
Getting a pontoon boat to plane
On Nov 1, 12:47*pm, Jack wrote:
On Nov 1, 12:42*pm, I am Tosk wrote: In article 684491dd-d398-4420-9784- , says... On Nov 1, 11:15*am, Frogwatch wrote: A friend of mine built a custom pontoon boat roughly 34' long with beautiful woodwork. *It is powered with a 90 hp and he claims he had the prop pitched by an expert. *He attains 18 mph so he is planing some but gets very bad fuel economy, I'd estimate 1 mpg. *Underway, most people sit on the foredeck so she probably is bow heavy. *Is there some way to get her to plane better? *He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. Maybe one of these would be the ticket? http://www.pontoonwaterglide.com/index.asp Factory "performance" pontoons typically have lifting strakes which help the toon plane. *In their most basic form, think of taking angle iron (a piece of L shaped metal) and welding it to each side of the toons maybe a quarter of the way up the side, giving them some flat sutface area on each side, thereby increasing the lift. *That would be tough to add to an existing toon. I like the setup someone (forget which poster) has on that fast toon... Down at the same lake as Tom iirc. Anyway, the strake is only on the inside of the outboard toons so it can get lift on takeoff and plane, but still corner like a round chine hull with no strake on the outboard edges of the toon... That's my Premier you're thinking about. *It's not the fastest in a straight line, but I believe it's the most maneuverable pontoon. *I can sling a kid off a tube in a heartbeat! *:- This is in Florida. The boat seems to be almost completely level at speed. She does have "lifting strakes" but I think she needs more. She does sit too low in the water I think. I re-calced the MPG and got 1.7 mpg. I do not know the pontoon shape underwater. |
Getting a pontoon boat to plane
On Nov 1, 10:47*am, Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 1 Nov 2010 08:15:54 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch wrote: He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. How is the running attitude - level, bow down, stern down? *What about the size of the wake? * If he's throwing a big wake and plowing a lot of water, he may need more power to get it on top. * 90 hp is not much power for a boat that size. * Many guys are running 90 hp on much smaller pontoons. We have some really big pontoons around here, 50 to 60 ft, used for running tours. * They usually have a pair of 200s or more. I was gonna say. 90 hp on a 34' loaded w/ people on the bow end? it seems a chore for my 30' with an old 85 hp 2-stroke. But I can't imagine that rig. Mine sucks gas, too, so Frog's friend shouldn't feel too bad. Yeah, he needs twins or a conversion. |
Getting a pontoon boat to plane
On Nov 1, 5:51*pm, W1TEF wrote:
On Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:36:59 -0400, HarryK wrote: On 11/1/10 11:15 AM, Frogwatch wrote: A friend of mine built a custom pontoon boat roughly 34' long with beautiful woodwork. *It is powered with a 90 hp and he claims he had the prop pitched by an expert. *He attains 18 mph so he is planing some but gets very bad fuel economy, I'd estimate 1 mpg. *Underway, most people sit on the foredeck so she probably is bow heavy. *Is there some way to get her to plane better? *He does have one of those Dol-Fin things on the motor but I think he needs more planing surface along the pontoons. This might do it: http://tinyurl.com/367x6pm I don't know what a custom 34' pontoon boat weighs, but I'm guessing two tons or more. That's a lotta weight and length for a 90 hp outboard to "plane better." I doubt a lower unit wing is going to make a difference. This would do it. http://tinyurl.com/29cbqav*:) It should.... |
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