Im a new boat owner and have alot to learn sorry for my lack of terminology . The boat is a 16.5 ft run about. It has a 60 horse Chrysler outboard motor. Im having a hard time getting the boat to plane. I usually need someone to walk to the front of the boat to get it to plane. The motor is a 197x 609ha motor. It appears to be a gas hog and i think i can get a few more RPM's when i get a chance to time it. Other than that the motor runs smooth, fast starting and so far has been reliable. So here are my questions

1. the pin to hold the motor in place has six differt holes to cause the motor (propellar) at different angles in the water. What do the different angles do and where should it be to get the boat to plane easier. I have tried the whole range but didnt notice any real difference.

2. Will the magneto keep the batterie(s) charged. Car people tell me no but other sites i have ready about motorcycles and other small engines say yes it will keep a battery charged. Any idea on this?

3. I have read that hydraulic tabs will help the boat plane easy. but the cost half the price that i paid for this boat and i would rather not spend that kind of money on them. I have read two extremes on hydrofoils. Anybody have stories about them.

Thanks for you help

Without power trim/tilt the best spot for hole shot (time to get on plane) would be with the motor tucked all the way under -lowest hole. This might not be the best overall position.

You might also look at your load. With batteries, fuel, people and other weight in the back you might just have too much weight for a 60hp to get on plane easily.

Do you have electric start? If not you most likely don't have any charging capacity. The mag supplies spark to run the engine but does not charge the batteries. Most electric start outboards have a combination starter/charger. Even newer electric start models don't have sufficient charging power to keep up with battery draw if you are running bilge pumps, live wells, sonar, lights and other accessories drawing from your system.

I would say not to waste your money on trim tabs. You would be better off to sell the boat and add the proceeds and the cost of trim tabs toward another boat. Getting the load more balanced would be a better step.

Have you talked to the previous owner? He might be able to shed some light on the planing issue. My guess is that it has always been a problem unless you have added a lot of weight.

I'm taking it that this is a pretty old boat.  Early to mid 70's?

There's just so much you can do to that thing. First, the Chrysler was hardly a fire breathing dragon as far as performance goes but I doubt the engine is your problem.  

First, you may have a waterlogged hull.  The foam floatation in the hull in those older boats gets saturated and can't drain or dry out.  This adds substantial weight to the boat creating problems, especially with the holeshot.

Your prop may be too high of a pitch.  

Check the prop pitch.  Try one several pitches lower.  If that doesn't help then you'll need to go with a doelfin type device.  

Okay NorCalDave...... But first, here is the 10K question; Do you have a tachometer ? If not, stop right here. You probably can't go any farther until you figure out what you are spinning at right now. There are cheap little external tachometer / hour meters available from most marine stores, BPS, Cabelas, etc, which are very effective, and very easy to install.

If you do have a tachometer, what RPM's are you turning at the present (even when you do finally get the boat on plane) ?

Next, check with the motor manufacturer to find out what the "peak performance RPM's" are for your motor. If you are not getting anywhere close, you might have to go down two or even more pitches on your prop. You can talk to the prop people with the RPM's you are presently turning, the RPM's you wish to acheive, and what motor and boat combo you are dealing with, and they can give you a very good idea about what prop to choose.

Anyway, read this twice.... No five times:

"The correct prop and pitching makes ALL the difference in the world" !

Hope this helps,

Fish

First things first. The very first thing you want to do is check the compression and make sure the butterflies in the carbs are fully open at WOT. The Chrysler is a very low torque motor compared to others to start with, add low compression and she will never come out of the hole.

Now, if you have good compression and the carbs are fully opening, read Fish Chris's post again, naa, make that a couple more times.

As to the charging guestion.  A magnito is for ignition, does nothing for charging.   There should be a Stator under the flywheel, magnets in the flywheel and a rectifier for the charging system.

I went through the same thing last year when I bought my 16 ft. Sea Nymph bass boat. It's aluminum with front and rear decks and a 55 H.P. Chrysler. This thing will barely plane at full throttle with just me in the boat. The motor is in perfect condition and I have re propped to no avail. The info I got from the prop shop is that Chryslers were rated at the powerhead, whereas others were rated at the prop. Which in effect means that my 55HP is the equivalent of a 40 HP johnson/rude. Also, fuel consumption is ASTRONOMICAL at about 2MPG @ WOT. There really doesn't seem to be any cure, other than a different motor.

Sorry for the bad news....Joe

Well i bought a stingray hydrofoil from Bass Pro and it worked miracles. I went from about 15 miles to empty to about 22 miles with some to spare. I might still have some engine issues to work out but im a believer in the hydrofoils. Atleast the stingray.

Yes, those hydro-foils are great.......

But I'm telling you, you really need to make sure your getting up to 5500 RPM's. The cheap little tachometer I mentioned, might say that you are, and then you won't have to go any farther..... But otherwise, ya' gotta do something about that prop.

BTW, I know a place than can repitch a prop (another cheap, effective option), up or down by at least a couple pitches, for only $25 or $30. If you, or anybody needs a link to this place, let me know.

Peace,

Fish

Okay NorCalDave...... But first, here is the 10K question; Do you have a tachometer ? If not, stop right here. You probably can't go any farther until you figure out what you are spinning at right now. There are cheap little external tachometer / hour meters available from most marine stores, BPS, Cabelas, etc, which are very effective, and very easy to install.

You can also buy those same tachs here. www.tinytach.com. They are very helpful when you call/email asking for help in choosing the correct one.

Paul

Your prop may be too high of a pitch.  

Check the prop pitch.  Try one several pitches lower.  If that doesn't help then you'll need to go with a doelfin type device.

Cart7 has a point here. I have a 1994 Nitro with a 60hp Johnson the prop that came with the engine is improperly pitched and has a hard time getting up on plain and staying "steady" as it tends to "Bob". Since my uncle owns a Marina he looked up the proper pitch for that engine and boat and set me up with a new prop. So I use the older one as a backup if I ever need to service the newer one.

I also agree that weight distrubution might be an issue if you have it stacked up with gear that will hurt a boats hole shot as well.

Ill definetely check out that tinytach it looks pretty neat (price).

We are going to relocate our 2 batteries up front as far as we can on the boat. Is there anything i should know about this?

Yes i would like the name of the place to repitch the prop.

I live less than 40 mins from 8 good size lakes and there are no good boat shops within an hour. There is one 15 mins away but when i walked in i thought he was gonna try to sell me some crack or something. I appreciate your help.