Finally pulled the trigger and got my 1st Surface Drive.
Since 1988 I had always run Long-Tails. GD 11 HP, MB 25, MB 35 and a BW 40. All good motors.

Picked the Motor up yesterday at WC Customs. The whole ordering process was solid and the communications throughout was fantastic. As my boat is older, they went out of their way to sure up the transom and now it's solid.

The Motor is a GTR 40 HP HD stock. CA57 prop.
Weather was overcast with a good 10-15 MPH wind out of the south. Good chop when out in the open.

Boat is a 2000 Lowe Roughneck 17/60 with pods attached to the back..
I love this boat as I hunt mainly out of it. It is extremely stable with 3 guys pulling up on a bird.
It has an open design and a short front deck, enough for the dog.
It also has 2 pods in the back inside the boat and I have pulled the foam from those and store my batteries in them.

On this maiden voyage, it was me (200), dog (75), full 6 gallon tank in the back. Both batteries are in the back.

I pushed off and engaged the reverse, something I was not used too. Loved it. It pulled the boat fine.

I then took off and got 150 yards out and the motor quit, Gas line was cramped off. .
I fired back up and ran it about 3500 RPM and played with the trim to get used to it.
Boat jumped on plane and I ran it 20 mph for a good run.

I was going east and the wind was coming from my right. I noticed the tiler wanted to pull left and thought it was just the wind. I then traveled with the wind at my back , in my face and to my left and still had the hard tiller pull. The pull was greater with higher RPMs.

When I opened it up, I hit 27 mph constantly and had several spikes at 28. I couldn't hold it there as there was to much tiller pull left. Max RMPs I saw was 4300.

I played with the trim in several positions and felt it ran best with the cavitation plate just above the water.

I ran it sitting down mostly as my grab bar is just not in the correct position. But sitting down the handle feels high.

Most comfortable speed was 20-21. Now for me, with a Long-Tail background 20 was crazy fast enough for me. My best Long-Tail speed was my BW 40 hp when I hit 21 empty with the wind at my back.

Nice to be able to turn without the handle being ripped from my hands.

Overall I was very impressed and happy with my first run. I plan to take it out on a calm day to see if this handle pull is still there.

If the motor still pulls to the left(Away from me if I hold it with my left hand) which way should the motor be moved? To the left or right?

How high is the rooster tail? If it's not roughly as high as the motor, or maybe a tad higher, you aren't trimmed up high enough. If it is and it's still torqueing that bad, bend the skeg some so that it fights against that torque. Also can shift the motor the direction it's trying to turn. In your case, to the right. A little at a time until you're happy.

#CFFITR
#mudmotor>physics

You were only getting 21 with the Backwater? Something was amiss, there. You should have been getting at least 25.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Nope that long tail pushed only 21 mph max empty. Loaded I got 17 mph. Never could get the RPMs over 4200.

Russ, I didn't get the classic giant rooster tail I've seen. I figured it was due to the pods. The pod kick out a lot of water out the sides On the other hand, I couldn't get a good look at it, but I would say 1/2 the motor. Looking at the skeg, I'm not sure I have a tool to bend it. Seems pretty thick. I may move the motor over an inch and see how she does after I run it again.

The Giant rooster tail isn't usually ideal unless it's shallow, and even then it varies, but every setup is somewhat different. But it looks cool, so there must be something to it.

On 3 different rigs, I've never found throwing water to the clouds to have the motor running its best unless the water was roughly knee deep or less.

For that skeg, a large crescent or pipe wrench to the crease and a regular one behind it (to keep from bending the handle or something else) is usually sufficient.

#CFFITR
#mudmotor>physics

Your rooster tail should be about 10 feet behind the boat. If you have a massive rooster tail and not in shallow water, your prop is trimmed too high and it’s not biting like it should

I'll take a closer look this Friday. TY for the feedback. Good stuff!

I was thinking about this also. Will you still get the rooster-tail at have throttle if trimmed up right?

Also, would having the performance skeg(cut) effect the pulling of the boat right (motor left).Wondering if that inch cut would make a difference.

If you cut it down, it would have less pressure from the water, therefore providing less effect on tiller torque.

No, rooster tail would not be as pronounced if you aren't spinning the prop as fast. Once on plane, you'll have to adjust trim at whatever speed you're at to find the sweet spot. Typically, you don't have to micromanage much. Half throttle and full speed trim level will be similar.

#CFFITR
#mudmotor>physics

If I go the Skeg route. Am I bending the skeg more or straightening it out?