Don't just chop the power.  As the boat starts sinking in coming off plane add just a little gas to power ahead of the back wash so as to out run it slightly then pull it to neutral.  Get the timing on it right and you don't get any backwash.  

All boats will take a wall of water over the back end if you just shut the thing down coming off plane.  Gradually reduce speed and be prepared to burp the throttle to push the boat just ahead of the oncoming backwash.

Thanks guys. Another quick question, when I'm actually on the throttle where is the correct trim position supposed to be I have heard different things from different people. I want to be on a safe plane any help would be appreciated.

Boats are all different.    some days full tanks, some days full livewells.  somedays, bigger partner.

If you over trim, your RPM's will start to whine, if you have power to burn, you could induce what is called "chime walking".     Which means very little of your boat is setting in the water, and the stern of the boat is getting "shaky".  Boat feels unstable because its mostly just your motor in the water.

I would pick calm morning, no wake to play.     You will notice as you trim up after being on plane, speed increases as you trim it.    Also watch Rpm's, not putting them into the red zone.    You will notice that trimming up is no longer gaining any speed, but the rpm's will continue to rise and whine louder.    

As long as you aren't chime walking, back done until the speed starts to decrease, once the speed starts to come down, you've trimmed it out to the safer planing speed.  

Also, give this a read, it may explain some things for you better.

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/bass_boat_features.html

Hookem and be safe

matt

Ahhh not so..Not every boat takes water over the back when it is stopped. My Skeeter won't. it has an anti backwash sponson design. My old ProCraft sure did though. Would flood the back deck sometimes. That did suck.

My first reaction to this post though was that of drinking out of someone else's cup or can. You know complaining about backwash   lol.

When you approach the max trim angle for your boat and motor combo it is a good idea to keep a close eye on the water pressure gage to ensure you don't damage your engine. If you don't have a gage I would highly recommend you get one. In some cases it is possible to trim up behond your engines ability to pick up sufficent water to cool it........Al

Thanks to all of you for your advice. I think the main problem is I'm a little skiddish about opening it up to see just what it can do. I've always fished off a boat but never really a true "bass boat'. Always walleye boats or ski combos. I guess I never realized how low these things actually sit in the water. My dad always said" have a healthy dose of respect for your boat and an unhealthy dose of fear of the unknown and you'll be fine". hey thanks again guys I realize this sounds crazy but I just want to be sure I.m being safe and knowledgable. Thanks again.  

My standard procedure for getting trimmed is:

 1) Tuck the prop all the way under.

 2) Full Throttle until the boat gets on plane.

 3) Back the throttle off a bit.

 4) Trim out until you feel no steering torque. On my boat

     about 4000 rpms. You can release the wheel and it will go  

     straight up the lake. Also I get a different sound which I

     can only describe as sweet.

All of the above comes together pretty fast.

Now you are pretty well set to increase or decrease throttle to suit your needs and conditions without getting steer torque and on my boat you are set for a dry comfortable ride.

If you start to porpoise you have too much trim for the throttle your choices are trim the motor in a bit or increase throttle.

All boats can be a little different but this sure works for me.

As you can tell, there is no one set trim angle, you learn the feel of your boat, the sound of your motor, and watch your tac. Seat time and paying attention to the tac, speedometer, and how the boat sounds and feels will tell you where you need to run the motor. On a lot of boats, the setup is so poor you can trim them all the way out and still not have the lift you need. You just cause the prop to cavitate and blow a big rooster tail. On a most properly setup bass boat built in recent times, that are not way underpowered, you should never see spray when running flat out, without having to turn your head a look back behind you.

My hull weighs approx 1,700 lbs and I never start off with my motor fully tucked and I'm trimming out almost as soon as I'm on the gas. I Actually start off with my motor timmed almost half way out, trim guage just a little below center and trimmed out to a little past center when running over 70 mph. My boat has absolutely no problem coming out of the hole and tucking the motor all the way in just makes it take longer to get the bow lifted once it is on plane.

Setup plays a major role with required trim angle. Two things that play a huge part in the amount of trim required is the rake and cup (these determine lift) on the prop and the amount of offset your running with your jackplate. Normally, the more offset and rake you run, the less trim you need. Idealy, a neutral trim angle would have the boat lifted at the perfect attitude and a very low rooster tail. This can be achieved on Allisons and Bullets fairly easily but on the heavier hulls, it takes more positive trim angle to get the bow right because the amount of setback it would take is not pratical and voids the warrenty on most hulls.

As for water over the splash well, most but not all boats will do that.  I think just about all the smaller boats will get backwash, some will have it all the way up to the drivers seat if you just chop the power on them.   Many of the 20 foot and larger boats will not get backwash in them.  I can kill mine and have the TM in the water by the time the boat is coming to a rest and never get a drop over the back.  I never have to outrun the backwash but have had and been in many boats you did.

Ahhh not so..Not every boat takes water over the back when it is stopped. My Skeeter won't. it has an anti backwash sponson design. My old ProCraft sure did though. Would flood the back deck sometimes. That did suck.

My first reaction to this post though was that of drinking out of someone else's cup or can. You know complaining about backwash lol.

That's right I can shut the power down on my Skeeter with no backwash, not so with the other boats I have owned.

Hey I asked a similar question when I got my Triton last year. Here are the responses I got.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1118102148

Also, altleast with my boat when it is running on plane it will only trim up so far.

bassdocktor