went out last night initially to just see how the hull sat in water/ where fuel tank needed placed/if battery needed moved. About the setup, nothing fancy at all just a poor mans 1436 2001 alumacraft rivet, swomp23, 2 x 6 gal fuel tanks, one group 29 batt, one little lawn tractor batt, a 45lb. backpack, and myself. So, about 350lbs, including myself and if i add mtr that's another 155lbs.
1am here i am at the launch, boat isnt sitting horribly low to my surprise. so i figure wth, why not see how she rides since it floats.
now mind you this is my first round with a MM, i smacked the port led nav light at the launch like an idiot, luckily the remaining strip stayed lit up.
the lake i launched on is is about 10.5k + acres and i would NEVER done a maiden run if it was daytime or windy out on such a tiny ass hull but it was calm and no boat traffic.
I had to download a speedometer app and after i was out in narrower water got pegged out at 21mph. she got on plane easily without struggle and throughout the rpms the prop never tried to walk on me, just a very slight pull to the port on the handle.
I did not set the cav plate yet as i just spur of moment decided to test the waterline only after i got the bilge hooked up.
boat did not plow really, i had the backpack (45lbs)on the front deck, 29batt (60lbs) under the deck in front of the middle seat, 6 gallons extra fuel in a stand up jerry just rear of middle seat, 6 gal tank in rear @ transom....
not complaining about speeds at all but after all the reading i fully expected to not have the coconuts enuff the open her wot, i am pretty sure the low speeds are due to cav plate angle, prop was biting a bit deep. and i could probably spend more time on load distribution.
anyways, about 3am i went down a lil path i never been down, thought it was a cut through, ended up being a dead end. 6'+ tall grass on each side and only a lil 4' wide swatch. ok, so i'll push pole myself around.....NOT, the 14' pole i had didn't even think about hitting bottom , *^@%!!
well, this is gonna take a while i think to myself as i begin the slow process of getting outta the mess i was in. i did ok for a newbie took about 10-15 minutes to make a big a$$ turnaround and get back into open water. decided no more playing in the field in a new setup, unfamiliar territory, wild turkey, and where there's about 420 alligators per shoreline mile.
tried the standing up thing, it was ok, not too horrible but i definitely need to make some kind of grab bar.
all in all i ran through 7 gals of fuel, and screwed around for about 6-7 hours and other than wanting a different throttle and more stable boat im happy with it all.
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) and your pfd and have a throwable at your feet. The learning curve is variable for all of us but you must exercise caution. Stu, since you are a pilot you will understand this...my father, a pilot, said the most dangerous time was after you had gotten a few hours flying time and got your confidence, but some get overconfident and that is dangerous. Get the grab bar, learn to stand balanced, and the turns are critical to do right. I had an 18 GD Briggs on my 1436 riveted jon, my first rig, and not much freeboard and I was lucky on several occasions not to sink it, and the 23 weighs a bit more so weight distribution is key, and not to overload that rig.