Zodiac Problems

[ZackicBrown]

We just recently purchased a Zoom made by Zodiac (14 feet long)We put a 25 Yamaha on it .
However after testing it out I'm noticing that it seems the motor is sitting to high on the water, creating a skipping type deal of the propeller. Resulting in a max of quarter throttle.
The manual advises a short lower unit not a longer one...any ideas as to fix this?
Thanks

[6tmile]

Sometimes if you don't have enough air pressure in the tubes it will not get up on plane.

[jungleboy]

Had the same problem .The pontoons create turbulence at the back causing the motor to cavitate. I believe I put a anti cavitation plate on the motor to solve it (been a while and I've since sold the boat ) . They also sell the plates that bolt to the transom which are supposed to help. Good luck

[Buckhead]

You could always notch the transom so the outboard sits lower.

[jungleboy]

I doubt it is a transom issue but more a problem of the pontoon tubes sticking out behind the motor creating a water vacuum that pulls the water below the cavitation plate. That's why when he starts to get the RPMs up The tubes suck down into the water column and it begins to cavitate.

Cutting the transom on a Zodiac type boat is probably not a good Idea and would certainly void the waranty

[Hunt4Ever]

Had similar problems with mine, proper inflation pressure and tilt angle fixed that. I was running a long shaft 20hp.

[oldtreekiller]

Originally Posted by ZackicBrown

We just recently purchased a Zoom made by Zodiac (14 feet long)We put a 25 Yamaha on it .
However after testing it out I'm noticing that it seems the motor is sitting to high on the water, creating a skipping type deal of the propeller. Resulting in a max of quarter throttle.
The manual advises a short lower unit not a longer one...any ideas as to fix this?
Thanks

If the documentation recommends a short leg on the outboard and you use a long leg , then you have changed the overall design geometry of the hull and can expect poor and under certain conditions dangerous performance from the hull. Changing to a short leg is easy it just costs money.

Anytime you put an outboard on a hull you have to adjust the tilt regardless of the length of the outboard leg. To far forward and the motor tries to push the bow down and to far back from the hull the boat tries to stand on it end