No more porpoising!

[igneous]

Guys, just had to let everyone in on my planing/porpoising fix I did at the end of last year. I put a ss plate under the ride plate with some beveled spacers to drop ride plate down. Basically I put longer bolts holding ride plate with left over rubber shock absorber parts as spacer. That lets the plate act more like a trim tab and it works great....bow drops right away and the boat stays down much better. It extends about 4" past OEM ride plate.

 

[buckeye_paul]

Guys, just had to let everyone in on my planing/porpoising fix I did at the end of last year. I put a ss plate under the ride plate with some beveled spacers to drop ride plate down. Basically I put longer bolts holding ride plate with left over rubber shock absorber parts as spacer. That lets the plate act more like a trim tab and it works great....bow drops right away and the boat stays down much better. It extends about 4" past OEM ride plate.

View attachment 2

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I've been considering something like this, a different ride plate or something. My boat porpoises more than I like and I've already pointed the nozzle in the adjustable upward position on the lower pivot bolt which seemed to help some but maybe I lost some speed and I'm fooling myself about reducing porpoising as it seems that would tend to cause the nose to ride higher?

 

[Dr Honda]

For years, the PWC guys have been installing extended ride plates for that same reason.

Good job on that.

I don't have a porpoising issue... but when it's hot... I will have EVERYONE in the back seats of the islandia. (under the Bimini) and it makes it hard to get on plane. Wen we were out last Sunday... I actually told someone to go up front. I can force the boat on plane when all the weight is in the back... but it takes almost full throttle, and I have to run at least 30 mph. I may try to do that to my boat too.

 

[buckeye_paul]

Guys, just had to let everyone in on my planing/porpoising fix I did at the end of last year. I put a ss plate under the ride plate with some beveled spacers to drop ride plate down. Basically I put longer bolts holding ride plate with left over rubber shock absorber parts as spacer. That lets the plate act more like a trim tab and it works great....bow drops right away and the boat stays down much better. It extends about 4" past OEM ride plate.

View attachment 20731

I'd be interested to see a side and bottom view picture.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Did this mod have any other noticeable effects, such as planing speed or top speed?

Is that an oil drip there on the pump cone? (kidding!)

 

[biffdotorg]

I'm having to do the same thing, shuffle folks to the bow. We are all big kids, so putting 1-2 adults in the bow makes a big difference in handling. There are so many variables, that I would still love to put in a Place Diverter that has remote control, rather than a fixed solution.

There are times when the boat is just perfect, so I hate to lose that. Just Saturday, the wife and I were cruising with a 15mph tailwind in small chop. The boat just loved it and flew across the lake at a solid 55 mph on the dreamometer. So that is a solid 50+ mph on GPS compared to my previous tests. When the conditions are right, it rocks out. So I really don't want a perminent solution. This may be a happy medium though.

Thanks for sharing, and I too would love to see more pics.

 

[igneous]

Well, sorry guys....just sold the boat last weekend to get bigger one. Tryin to find an islandia or pontoon. Basically the bottom of the plate sits about 4" behind screws, so the entire plate is alittle wider than OEM ride plate and about 8" deep. I lowered the OEM ride plate and put jamb nuts between the OEM plate and the SS one. When tightened, it pulled the leading edge of the SS plate up close to the OEM plate and wedged it where there was little to no gap. It's amazing how quickly it drops the bow and turning response even improved...just wonder if widening SS plate may improve handling even more. I did this at the end of last summer and wish I'd done it when I first got boat. It didn't noticeably affect speed, if anything it planed quicker so seemed like it was faster. If you have passengers hanging out under the bimini you definitely need to do this...great improvement for free. Just need to source the SS plate and drill holes. For a first boat this has been a great learning experience and I do like jet powered.

I really appreciate all you guys expertise...great experience overall and don't like thinking about outboards/lower units. Definitely leaning toward Honda though. Cheers!

 

[Aquaman1]

I have been wanting to extend the ride plate, just like you did. I am not clear what you did with the rubber shock parts. Can you remember approximately the size of the plate. Where did you get the plate from? If you were to redo the plate how much wider would make it?

 

[igneous]

Actually that stainless was a perfect rectangular scrap piece I grabbed from model shop at work. I think it was about 8" X 12 or 13". I would have liked it alittle wider, maybe 15". As you can see, it's only a little wider than the OEM ride plate. If you click pic and enlarge, you can see the rubber (old shock bushings) I put in to make the ride plate lower and the SS plate is flush with it. Worst part was drilling the 2 holes in the SS.

 

[Aquaman1]

Check out my thread.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?66712-Challenger-extended-ride-plate

If the link does not work search Challenger extended ride plate