Boat performance or showing off?

luvmystratos · Post by **luvmystratos** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 6:55 pm

I've had 4 Bass Boats total since 1990 and I have always been amazed at how each individual Boat performed in rough and calm waters. The one thing that I could never figure out is why some of the guys running their respective Boats have such a big or high "rooster tail" "back spray"? Is this something that is a part of high boat performance or just showing off? I watched 6 boats come in at Berryessa a couple of weeks ago and each one had a tail higher than the next one. I tried it to see what the deal was and I didn't see anything in the ride but I did see the water pressure gage go up a few notches. Anyone have an explanation?

Dewayne · Post by **Dewayne** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 7:33 pm

Just guys over trimming. Some seem to think your guage needs to be at full trim to go faster. Usually if the rooster tail is higher than the motor you are loosing speed.

scott h · Post by **scott h** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 7:34 pm

Not an expert on this subject but read an article some time ago on this very subject. From what I got out of it a rooster tail that is higher than the top of your motor after you trim out is lost performance. Kinda makes sense and seems related to tires on pavement, you go faster when ur tires are hooked up than when they are spinning and smoking

just my .02

Hollywood · Post by **Hollywood** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 7:35 pm

But scot what fun is it not to smoke them tires if you got the ponies under the hood and in your wallet to replace them!

scott h · Post by **scott h** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 7:37 pm

Dang it Dewayne! one minute before me on this post one boat number before me at havasu

Whats next? lol

L.Hackney · Post by **L.Hackney** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 8:10 pm

What if your motor is a 455 olds. and your running a jet boat ?

Hollywood · Post by **Hollywood** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 8:15 pm

Then it is customary to have a 200foot rooster tail and it must be 50 feet high or your doing something wrong!!! LOL

luvmystratos · Post by **luvmystratos** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:27 pm

Thanks! You guys are a bundle of information when it is needed.

Terry Smith · Post by **Terry Smith** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 8:18 am

It also depends on the props that they are using like A High Five will give off A hug rooster tail as compared to A Trophy or Temptest. A lot also depends on how how the person sets up the boat weight distrabution,engine hight,trim etc..... Lighter boats such as BassCat,Bullet,Allisons don't have to run with A lot of trim if the boat is set up properlly to reach their best speeds as compaired to some of the heaver boats like Ranger that seam to need more trim to run at their best speed. "I am not putting down Ranger so PLEASE DON"T BASH me I ride in my partners every other weekend".Most of the time it is the driver has too much trim.

Terry

CharlieS. · Post by **CharlieS.** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:45 pm

Man ,Im glad some one asked this....(I guess I could have huh?) My Champ206 ....Wide open,its tail a few feet above the opti. When motor lowered to where its not, by the plate...wont run at correct rpm, when tinker with trim settings...no improvement . Back to the big rooster tail...only thing havent done..is unload and re-test...Oh well...Charlie

Rob T · Post by **Rob T** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:12 pm

Not an expert, but have driven a couple of different bassboats, including a Tracker ProTeam 185 with 90 Hp Merc 22p SS prop, and 6 inch manual jackplate, Ranger ZX20 with 225 merc/jackplate, and my current boat, an Allison XB2002 with 200 Hp Merc Race and 30p SS ET prop/ with 12" jackplate. The Ranger and Tracker liked a lot more trim for best speed and control, throwing roostertails at cowling or slightly higher heights for max performance (~48-50 MPH for the Tracker with a light load, ~62-65 MPH tops for the Ranger moderately loaded with gear - this boat likely needs to be repropped for better speed. The first time I took the Ally out, I trimmed up way too much (read roostertail even or 1 foot higher than cowling), and was nearly out of control from Chine walking at 60-65 mph. Found out that the Allison hull generates a LOT of lift due to hook being engineered into the back end of the boat - all Ally's have this in the XB2002 series - Darris knew what he was doing here, although at first it seem counterintuitive to do this to the hull. Combined with a high lift prop, things get squirrely real quick if you over trim just a tad. So, at 75-85 MPH I'm not throwing much of a roostertail at all, basically running the trim just above flat & the hull lift gets the boat so high out of the water at speed that overtrimming is a bad deal and causes a loss of speed and control. If I use a more typical tempest open hub prop instead of the ET race, I get less lift from the prop, and have to give a touch more trim to the motor to get the best performance. Load also has an effect - two people and gear cause the lower unit to sit a little deeper at a given speed, so a tiny bit more trim under those conditions helps versus when the boat is running lightly loaded. Understand, for a given prop/setup, subtle tweaking of the trim will not result in 10-20 MPH increases typically, but will allow better control and gains of up to 5 MPH without risking life or limb. The tradeoff is that high lift/top end props typically may give up some holeshot.
A bit long-winded, but hope this helps.

Good luck, and God Bless,

Rob T