Tinner won't plane, any ideas welcome?

[barbless]

Had a 12ft Harbour Craft deep "V" years ago with a 6hp on 'er. Had a real hard time to get it on plane. Bought an extra long fuel line, moved tank to just in front of center bench and everything else to the nose. Even with me sitting in the back and leaning as far ahead as possible sometimes it would plane. Then someone said take a piece of PVC pipe about 4ft long or so that fits about 4 inches on the throttle handle and notch an "X" in that end about 3 inch deep, put it on the handle of of the throttle and use the clamping device of your choice to hold it in place, sit on the middle bench and throttle up. It worked for me with that little 6hp. You will of course lose some tight turning ability. Use some of the other ideas that have been posted they should also help. Trim down by using sliding pin to lower engine should make a difference. That's a good one. Hydro Foil? Sure worked for my 150 2 Stroke on the 17ft Sylvan. Get's her on plane within a second. It was like " WHAM", giddy up and go. The nose use to stand almost straight up for 10 seconds. Scary. Until the addition to the cav plate. Hope you figure it out. Lots of great info from the members.

[Joe Black]

id add to the above is use a hose clamp or something that you can tighten the pipe on the handle.

If that set up wiggles loose while you are going full out, you'll find yourself 4' from a tiller going full speed behind you. not a good situation. But the set-up will definitely get the job done.

[thing]

Originally Posted by EZM

The reason so many guys, and please don't take offence at this, can't get their 9.9 to push a 12 or 14 foot tinner that's under 300lbs on plane is because they just mount the outboard without having a look to see if it's set up properly.

Having weight distributed properly certainly helps, and there is no doubt it's a major contributing factor - but if the leg isn't sitting at the right height you can distribute all the weight anyway you want and it won't get on plane.

I've had a few small tinners in my time and this adjustment is critical.

I bought a boat 14 Lund ( with a 9.9 merc) from a guy that said it wouldn't plane. I took it home adjusted the leg, loaded the boat up (2 of us) and she planed just fine.

Look ......... a 9.9 is just about as small of an engine you are going to want. a 20 hp or 25 hp is going to much better as it has enough power to overcome a poor set up or poor weight distribution - but to say a 9.9 won't plane with one guy in the boat likely means there is an issue with the set up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH3vrWKHwno

Care to elabroate?

I have two 12 footers than I use with the same 9.9.

My smaller one, 15" transom height, 43" wide. It will plane no prob.

My bigger one, 16" transom height, 60" wide...I won't...not even close.

[abhunter8]

Originally Posted by trouty

It's max rated for a 15hp. Weight is 225lbs so might be the 12' with three benches. Transom is 20.5" and shaft is 17.5". I will have to get a jack plate or get a longer leg. I think adding weight to the bow will help too if I am solo. Thanks for the advice.

You need a longer leg. I had a heavier boat than that with a Suzuki 9.9 2stroke and it planed that boat no problem with one or 2 people in it. I bought a similar boat recently a princecraft ungava and a brand new Honda 9.9 4 stroke and that motor would not plane no matter what I tried. Wish you the best and happy fishing.

[huntingaddict]

Get a fat fishing partner and put them up front lol

[thing]

Originally Posted by abhunter8

I bought a similar boat recently a princecraft ungava and a brand new Honda 9.9 4 stroke and that motor would not plane no matter what I tried. Wish you the best and happy fishing.

Does it plane with the longer leg? I have the same boat.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by thing

Care to elabroate?

I have two 12 footers than I use with the same 9.9.

My smaller one, 15" transom height, 43" wide. It will plane no prob.

My bigger one, 16" transom height, 60" wide...I won't...not even close.

There could be 2 things going on there. The extra transom height (16") on the second boat is bringing your cavitation plate up an inch - but sometimes and inch or two makes a big difference. You want your cavitation (ventilation) plate just below the bottom of the hull for best initial results (on a light boat) in most cases. I like to see about 1" below the hull. That should put you right where you want to be.

The width of a 60" boat (again the second boat) is going to be a little tougher to bring up to speed (assuming it creates more drag due to the larger displacement and width of the hull AND is likely heavier as well) and would tougher to get on plane for sure.

Ultimately - a bigger motor is the best answer - as more HP erases the sins of a "less than ideal" set up on many boats - but not everyone has the extra cash kicking around to upgrade the motor or buy a second motor.

I would drop your motor to the "trimmed down" cruising position and see where it lines up. If it's high, try and dropping it somehow. A small jack plate is a good investment in my opinion.

Keep in mind if you are too low, it can also create an issue.

When working with a boat/motor combination that is "minimum HP" you really need everything set up properly to take advantage of any benefit a good set up can give you.

The first 15-20 years I probably bought, sold, set up and played with dozens of boats and I can tell you, with assurance, a 12 to 14 tinner, that weighs around 300lbs or less, even with a guy or two, should be able to plane with zero issues with a 9.9.

[Bobby B.]

After reading what EZM wrote about outboard placement, I went out and checked my own set up. I have a 14 ft Naden Canadian Laker with a 2013 Mercury 30 hp. My cavitation plate is at the same depth as the bottom of my transom and my Merc is positioned at the lowest pin position. The prop is a 3 blade, 9.5" diameter with 11 pitch.

When I first ran my boat, sometimes it wouldn't get up on plane with only me in the boat. It would if there was me in the back and a passenger in the front. In addition, with only myself in the boat, my boat would porpoise at speed. I did not want to add weight to the front as this did not seem the best solution for me.

After conducting my research, I decided to buy a set of Smart Tabs. The model I chose was the Pro Troller http://www.nauticusinc.com/nauticus_pro_troller.html The installation was simple, quick, and easy. Now, I can troll slower, get up on plane effortlessly, and plane at lower speeds.

Hope this helps.

Bobby

[thing]

Thank you EZM for your post.

I just assumed that my heavier 12 footer wouldn't plane with a 9.9, if you insist that it will. I will try. I'll grab the taper measure and methodically compare measurements on each boat. I will purchase a jack plate if that is what it takes. I must admit it never occured to me to use one with a clamp on motor though.

FWIW, the heavier boat performs better while the trim is set to the second position, not the lowest.

[Penner]

My father owned a 12ft Springbok tinner with a S/S 9.9 Johnson. Could not get the boat to plane without significant weight in the front and even with weight in the front the boat was still not at an ideal plane.

Issue was motor position (vertical position) and in this case, the 9.9 motor was sitting to low in the water and needed to be elevated about ~3/4" higher. Wedged in ~3/4" piece of wood in between the top of the transom and the bottom of the motor mount and problem was solved. Still have the boat and motor. Still use the wooden wedge today for that boat.