cavitation plate adjust lower on the left or right?

[davethewave]

I have totally forgotten which side should be a bit lower on my plate . Hell...I can't even remember which way the steering pulls..lol. I'm pretty sure it
pulls to the right. So , pulling to the right I would think lower the right side to make up for it? A buddy (whose not around any more and not a v driver) thought the pulling of the steering is not right and there has to be a way of eliminating it. I say it's the nature of the beast ,no way around it.
So, here I am stalling taking the boat out first run this season, I"M OUTTA HERE

 

[dryhoze1]

adjust the right (passenger) side outer turnbuckle down so the plate is 1/8" - 1/4" down from the boat bottom surface. This is to counteract the

torque twist (flywheel forward engine) on the boat on a hard leave

 

[AZLineman]

Left corner slightly lower is what I remember.

 

[dryhoze1]

Left corner slightly lower is what I remember.

It's the Right..

Additionally heres how I do it..



1) Get a good straightedge, something truly straight like a 6' aluminum carpenters level.

2) Back off all of the turnbuckle lock nuts a few turns.

3) Adjust ALL of the turnbuckles so the plate is flat with the boat bottom. (be sure to hold the straightedge parallel with the keel (for/aft) as you work across the plate. Do not lock the nuts yet. Go back and check each one again after adjusting all turnbuckles.

4) Now, adjust the right (passenger) side outer turnbuckle down so the plate is 1/8" - 1/4" down from the boat bottom surface. This is to counteract the

torque twist (flywheel forward engine) on the boat on a hard leave.

5) Now turn the straightedge sideways (held under the plate) and adjust the turnbuckles from the center to the right til the plate is a flat plane from center to right edge.

6) Now you can tighten all of the turnbuckle locknuts.

 

[AZLineman]

Thanks. I will do that. In the process of making new plates now.

 

[davethewave]

Thanks ! Now, if I could only alleviate this porpoising.

 

[jeteater1]

It's the Right..

Additionally heres how I do it..



1) Get a good straightedge, something truly straight like a 6' aluminum carpenters level.

2) Back off all of the turnbuckle lock nuts a few turns.

3) Adjust ALL of the turnbuckles so the plate is flat with the boat bottom. (be sure to hold the straightedge parallel with the keel (for/aft) as you work across the plate. Do not lock the nuts yet. Go back and check each one again after adjusting all turnbuckles.

4) Now, adjust the right (passenger) side outer turnbuckle down so the plate is 1/8" - 1/4" down from the boat bottom surface. This is to counteract the

torque twist (flywheel forward engine) on the boat on a hard leave.

5) Now turn the straightedge sideways (held under the plate) and adjust the turnbuckles from the center to the right til the plate is a flat plane from center to right edge.

6) Now you can tighten all of the turnbuckle locknuts.

It's the Right..

Additionally heres how I do it..



1) Get a good straightedge, something truly straight like a 6' aluminum carpenters level.

2) Back off all of the turnbuckle lock nuts a few turns.

3) Adjust ALL of the turnbuckles so the plate is flat with the boat bottom. (be sure to hold the straightedge parallel with the keel (for/aft) as you work across the plate. Do not lock the nuts yet. Go back and check each one again after adjusting all turnbuckles.

4) Now, adjust the right (passenger) side outer turnbuckle down so the plate is 1/8" - 1/4" down from the boat bottom surface. This is to counteract the

torque twist (flywheel forward engine) on the boat on a hard leave.

5) Now turn the straightedge sideways (held under the plate) and adjust the turnbuckles from the center to the right til the plate is a flat plane from center to right edge.

6) Now you can tighten all of the turnbuckle locknuts.

On the driver side , are the plates set flush with the bottom?

 

[dryhoze1]

Yes

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

Dave the Wave you are opening up a can of worms here brother as there are so many things that could cause that porposing, start with you need more horse power to carry the deck

 

[snowboat]

His gear is probably too tall.

 

[sintax]

It's the Right..

Additionally heres how I do it..



1) Get a good straightedge, something truly straight like a 6' aluminum carpenters level.

2) Back off all of the turnbuckle lock nuts a few turns.

3) Adjust ALL of the turnbuckles so the plate is flat with the boat bottom. (be sure to hold the straightedge parallel with the keel (for/aft) as you work across the plate. Do not lock the nuts yet. Go back and check each one again after adjusting all turnbuckles.

4) Now, adjust the right (passenger) side outer turnbuckle down so the plate is 1/8" - 1/4" down from the boat bottom surface. This is to counteract the

torque twist (flywheel forward engine) on the boat on a hard leave.

5) Now turn the straightedge sideways (held under the plate) and adjust the turnbuckles from the center to the right til the plate is a flat plane from center to right edge.

6) Now you can tighten all of the turnbuckle locknuts.

any changes on this for a v-bottom cruiser? Do we treat each flat surface as its own, and just down the process twice, once for each side?

tagged

 

[jeteater1]

So it should look something like this ?

 

[jeteater1]

After dropping the side down we took the level and ran it down as close to the center as we could get and set it flush. Then set the middle to to the level. Have my daughter helping me .

Hope that helps my uncle had it set so you had to drive with foot on down peddle all the time .

 

[dryhoze1]

Here’s some past notes that may be of assistance


As for the plates, let's start at A SAFE SPOT and then work the entire boat over to make it better/safer/reliable all around, then come back to the plates for a little more speed. Start in the center of the hull (the keel line). Put the 4' edge up under the hull (tight and straight, front to rear) and under the left (port) plate at it's 'center edge'. Adjust that turnbuckle to ZERO, even with the hull bottom. Do the same with the right (starboard) plate's first (center) turnbuckle. Now the edge of both plates (in the keel area) are even with the hull bottom, right ? Place the 4' across the turnbuckle mounts on the transom. Are they 'all even' with each other ? Is your 4' 'level/even' across the transom of the boat ? IF EVERYTHING looks even and nothing looks out of wack, measure the 'pin to pin lengths' of the two turnbuckles you have adjusted. ARE THEY EQUAL ? (close ?) If not, let us know. IF they are within a 1/16", then we can go forward. Now move to the left (port) plate and it's outside, far left turnbuckle. Use the 4' (front to rear TIGHT under the hull and plate). Adjust this turnbuckle so the plate is EVEN with the hull bottom (just like the center one's) To speed things up, use the 4' across the rear of the left (port) plate at the trailing edge (yes across the bottom of the plate left to right), even in the remaining turnbuckles. Now the entire left (port) side plate is adjusted to ZERO (even) with the hull bottom. Do EXACTLY the same thing to the right (starboard) side. BUT YOU ARE NOT DONE YET. Take a marking pen and mark the right (starboard) outer most right side turnbuckle on one side of it's center. The center part of the turnbuckle should be the area of adjustment for the length. The 'mark' should represent a 'clock point' for your final adjustment. For example, if you put a 'mark' on the outer side (right) of the turnbuckle, I would call that "3 O' Clock" for reference. So if we move/rotate/adjust that 'mark' to "9 O' Clock" there would only be a 'one half rotation' adjustment made. Find which direction or rotation makes that 'outer most right (starboard) turnbuckle longer. Starting from your original ZERO adjustment, 'mark' the center of the turnbuckle. Now adjust that turnbuckle (longer) down, by rotating the 'mark' around TWO TIMES. EXAMPLE: taking my "3 O' Clock mark", turning the turnbuckle to make it LONGER, I go one revolution back to "3 O' Clock" and the AROUND AGAIN a SECOND TIME, back to "3 O' Clock". LOCK all nuts, wires, pins, all adjustment points must be secured. That's it for now.

Good luck

 

[Ripple Rider]

There are a couple of other items. Make sure the steering cable is not loose. Loose steering cable could make it pull to the right. Make sure the quadrant is tight and the key is fully engaged.

 

[ShawnsPerformance]

Why hasn't anyone suggested any gull in the plates to let the air out?

Every circle racer in the pit is running at least 1/8" of gull. How you impose that gull also can change things. More to the inside or outside...etc.

Depending on what hull and how it's configured, holding the plates dead flat across the back will pack air beneath the back of the boat and it'll constantly be trying to over come it while on a plane.

 

[dryhoze1]

Why hasn't anyone suggested any gull in the plates to let the air out?

Every circle racer in the pit is running at least 1/8" of gull. How you impose that gull also can change things. More to the inside or outside...etc.

Depending on what hull and how it's configured, holding the plates dead flat across the back will pack air beneath the back of the boat and it'll constantly be trying to over come it while on a plane.

Not seeing the boats listed above as circle racers. The tech above has been working on Flatbottom ski & performance boats for 50 plus years.
should we all get racing slicks on our grocery getters ?

 

[jeteater1]

We haven't had our

View attachment 936638
After dropping the side down we took the level and ran it down as close to the center as we could get and set it flush. Then set the middle to to the level. Have my daughter helping me . View attachment 936640

Hope that helps my uncle had it set so you had to drive with foot on down peddle all the time .

Do to back problems we haven't taken it out to test the plate adjustments. Hopefully next week we can take it out for a mid week float , then he is taking it out for a week at Parker and Havasu.

 

[ShawnsPerformance]

"Not seeing the boats listed above as circle racers. The tech above has been working on Flat bottom ski & performance boats for 50 plus years.
should we all get racing slicks on our grocery getters ?

20 years ago, I was at the river with a bunch of buddies. This guy shows up with an old Sanger bubble. The thing was beyond being a handful past 30-40 mph. Which it did easily with a 468, big cam and a tunnel with a pair of 750s on top. I walked around the back of it and took one look at his plate and told him I could fix it in an hour. He swore it'd been that way for 10 years. Long story short, after I fixed his plates ( full up was 5/8's in the center, 3/16's on the right side and 1/4 on the left ) with an 1/8's gull, it rode like a Cadillac at 70+. Flat, true, steady...Suddenly the guy wants more power...

I'm not sure why you think just because racers do it, it's not necessary or helpful for a pleasure craft cruiser flat bottom. Hydro dynamics are hydro dynamics. They really dont care what you're doing them with. The physics are the same.

 

[MOUZER]

listen to DRYHOZE1..........or buy a hydro LOL j/k

 

[dryhoze1]

listen to DRYHOZE1..........or buy a hydro LOL j/k View attachment 1021390

Lol great pic Mouz.
nice to see you back in that boat & congratulations on your new place. The pictures look awesome