Setting cavitation plates

T

Trigger

New member
Hey guys, newbie to THB. Was looking for someone that is really good with setting cavitation plates. I am looking for advice an/or help making sure mine are right. The boat takes a set now but I just don't feel that they are correct. If you are very knowledgeable and would like to help, please pm me. I live just north of Huntsville/ Conroe. If you are good with blown, injected, gas deals, I would like to hear what you have to say as well. Thanks for looking, I appreciate all of your time.

Trigger
 
D

Disturbed

Active member
Welcome to THB!  clap.gif. Glad to see another vdriver!  jump.gif

What boat are you playing with?  think.gif
 
T

Trigger

New member
Sorry guys. I have messed with this thing trying to get pictures up as long as I'm going to tonight. I'm not much on computers and all this technology.

Trigger
 
73 Sanger Flat

73 Sanger Flat

Active member
Welcome to THB
Glad to see another V-Drive in here . Wish i could help you on your  set up . That is a lot more motor than I have and every boat is different on the set up .. Just take it slow on the adjustments . Need someone to watch you run and watch how the boat is sitting in the water and also the rooster tail .. I am still playing with my plates on mine .. You can add nickles to the shaft in the coupler to help adjust the boat attitude also .. Move the prop back will help raise the tail of the boat and move the prop forward will help lift the whole boat . I am trying to get mine to have about half the fin out of the water and no rooster tail .. Adjust the plates up like two flats at a time , once close , then just adjust one flat at a time ..  Make sure you have enough down travel in the plates so you can launch the boat also .. I am still learning , hopefully some one with more experience will chime in to give better advice .

Good luck and be Carefull ..
 
T

Trigger

New member
Should I try to work with them the way they are set now or just start all over? As mentioned, the boat does take a set now but look a bit wavey to my naked eye. Any help with pics would be great too. Just got moved and don't have wi-fi yet.
 
D

Disturbed

Active member
Does the boat feel loose?  Or, does it feel like you're plowing?  Also, prop placement can have a large effect too.
 
T

Trigger

New member
The boat is reasonably heavy but not terribly. Everything seems to be ok out of the hole, but you really have to have some plate in it. It takes a couple fairly soft hops/bounces, and then it will take a set with about 3/4 peddle. Not sure how wise it would be to come all the way off. My second clue that there might be an issue. The first was of course visual inspection. My visual inspection doesn't mean much, nor does my driving description with my lack of knowing exactly what I'm doing in the first place. :smile16:
 
73 Sanger Flat

73 Sanger Flat

Active member
Mine will hop about 2 or 3 time and then it will take a set and I can come off the down pedal  . I think is how most of them will do . Unless you can learn to let the nose come up and catch it before it gets too high with the down pedal . I tried this a couple of time and can not seam to catch it quick enough and she wants to rodeo on me bad .. She jump completely out of the water at the last event ..  Do you have a "stop " on the cavitation rod inside the boat ???

If I was you , I would just try some very small adjustment on the plates and see how she feels . If she start getting too high , she will feel very loose on the water .. The plate too low will make it plow water and it will do some weird stuff on you ..

The prop will make a difference too . I tried four prop in one day and everyone of them did something different .. The bigger the diameter the more it will lift the back of the boat and that will make it plow water bad .. Too small of a prop will make it drag it tail too much ..

 
Patchman

Patchman

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to THB, let's meet on the water somewhere! I'm not far from you, but I don't have any advice on the v-drive! think.gif
 
T

Trigger

New member
Sounds great. Send me a pm and with your number or I can send you mine if you're serious about going somewhere.
 
T

Texgo

New member
We're practically neighbors.  I live in Huntsville, but I don't know anything about cavitation plates or props.
 
J

jimsplace

Active member
Trigger said:
Sounds great. Send me a pm and with your number or I can send you mine if you're serious about going somewhere.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the wonderful world of V-Drives.  bling.gif    bling.gif

Do you have a stop collar on the control rod going to the cavitation plate?  Running without an up-stop is for the pros only under controlled conditions (smooth water).  If you are running with good power it will require a lot of down plate, don't be afraid to use it.  You don't want any hops on the run, but that comes with experience and smooth water. 

The general way to set plates on a runner-bottom is to take a 3 to 4 foot straight edge and put it under the boat and the cavitation plate.  If you are starting with a new set-up, the straight edge will find what feels like a flat spot under the boat about 3 feet or so under the boat.  Hold it flat there and when the plate is all the way up against the stop, the cavitation plate should be just off the straight edge to start.  After that you can probably start raising the cavitation plate with the turnbuckles.  Do this with very small adjustments, usually one flat on the turnbuckle at a time.  Each boat is different, so if anyone tells you they know how high the plate can be set and they don't have exactly the same boat and power you do, thank them for the advice and walk away.

Any testing done on water that is not on perfectly calm water will give misleading information. 
 
T

Trigger

New member
Thanks for the help. Look forward to meetimg some of you guys. I have another quicK question. Is there a lake near madisonville that the tdwp wont screw with me for having zoomiesor should i put the collector headers on and plumb water? I sure like the cackle of the zoomies over the collector headers but I like the collectors over a ticket or hard time too. think.gif
 
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