Any experience with a tunnel hull and prop motor
 

I ordered a 1756 with a tunnel hull and 27" transom. I will be running a new Merc long shaft 40hp, 4 stroke, tiller. The boat will not have pods on the rear since I need it to fit in my garage. Trim tabs wouldn't fit either so I was thinking about a hydrofoil to help with planing. I have a 5 1/2" jackplate but thought I'd just bolt the motor straight to the transom for starters. The motor will have a 13 pitch Merc prop but not sure if I should go with a 3 or 4 blade. I have never owned a tunnel hull and was wondering if anyone could share their experiences or knowledge about setting this rig up for good all-a-round handling. Thanks.

what brand boat and is it the wide shallow tunnel or narrow deep style? I run an 1548 alweld with the shallow wide and have a 25 yam thats hopped alittle that runs pretty shallow but i can run ruff water in the lake, it also has a cmc trim that sets it back 5 1/2 inch and i can trim pretty high and it planes fine

forget the hydrofoil and use jackplate!

I'll take a stab at it .
Must use jack plate with a 20" shaft motor, cavatation plate should be even with top of tunnel for best performance . 4 blade will give best hole shot but 3 will be faster. Pitch, don't know much about 4 strokes but I would get plenty of cup in any tunnel setup. More cup less slip. Trim tabs can be welded at the bottom of the transom and adjusted using wasa cresent wrench. Make sure you balance your weight, keeping gas,battery up front to hold the front down. Weight distribution is key in the performance of any tunnel boat. Post a pic and more info and someone on here will be glad to walk you through the finer points. Can you tell us what type of terrain you will be running the tunnel in? Never though tunnel boats would be necessary in Ar. Will try to post a pic of my setup tomorrow.

Raymond

Just get a hydraulic jack plate and be done with it.


Speed= 3 blade
Hole shot= 4 blade

It's a WeldBilt brand. From what I've been told it's a deep tunnel (5").

I did order a Bobs Machine Shop Stabilizer plate[SIZE=2].[/SIZE][SIZE=2][/SIZE]

i am told they use the tunnels up there due to rocky streams along with jet drive

Wondering if a stock Trophy Sport (4 blade) 10 5/8 x 13 will have enough cup?

It's not hard to add cup to a prop.

Doubt it, tunnel cup is aftermarket in most cases. Are u running in rocks?? If so, might want gravel guard and skeg welded into tunnel.

depends on what you call cup, i have seen boats here in s. la that you could eat out of the cup in a prop. I have never seen a stock or out of the box prop with realy any cup, there are prop shops down here that you can ship to and have work done and they will ship back, not sure how it works up dar

yeah I usually get a prop and bring it to a prop repair shop and tell them what I want or ask what works best, they repair and change up props all the time and can probably give you the best information on what you should want!

Or a skeg mounted on the jack plate's bottom..

Getting the boat mainly because... prop should miss a few hazards that would otherwise be hit, the tall transom looks cool, I've never had one, and I've never known anyone who has owned one. Betting it will do ok for running lines and hunting.

somthin else that comes into play with tunnels and props and cup is pitch, you may give up pitch to run mor cup so you may want to find a good prop shop that knows thier stuff so you can get the right pitch and add the cup

Sounding like I may have to ship a prop South to have it worked by someone that is familiar with my needs. Doubt any prop shops around here would have a clue. I could schedule having it worked on and take a vacation, maybe eat a crawdad or two.

If anyone (Raymond) has pics of their setups I'd love to see them. There is just not much info on the www about tunnels with props and there are fewer pictures of 'em. I can't wait to start putting this rig together, should be interesting.

Crawfish!!!!

If you know how to run them, they are fun boats to run in the marsh. Ofcourse with you being in arkansas i don't think you"ll be doing marsh running much

The lakes here do tend to get very low in the summer. With my bass boat I found myself using the trolling motor to navigate for miles sometimes just because I could risk beaching that heavy bass rig. Most of what I fish is where mouths of creeks/rivers dump into lakes. These areas tend to get silted in and can be unpredictable. Also, the Arkansas River has a lot of back waters that bass boats can have problems accessing.

http://www.ptprop.com/component/page...art/Itemid,46/

the prop witch doctor from pt's name is Marcus i think, they call him funky monkey

Thanks for the link LaAngler. Very much appreciated.

if you set that thing up right it will run in just a few inchs of water and will take off in just a few inches. I have had my boat in about 3-5 inches of water and run without a problem and it will get up on step in just a few inchs more then it floats in

Silted in?? Just get a Gator tail !!!!

Dink- Motor just came in. Boats been ordered. I'm building the trailer now.

Emailed PTProp about a tunnel hull specific prop. I'm thinking my jack plate will be a must. The Bobs Stabilizer plate shouldn't hurt a thing since pontoons and trim tabs are a no-go. Weight distribution is sounding important. Oh, one other ting I was considering... the new 'Blade Saver' by Black Fin Skeg.

Blackfin makes a quality product

I was thinking the same thing! but I figured he already had the motor!

Dat is a good prop for a tunnel,I like the 3 blade design better. The 4 blade is heavy and if you do alot of forward and reverse you will wear out the clutch dog in the lower unit.

Here is my setup, 18x42 with a merc 40 and 14 pitch prop. Notice the cup in the blade,probably could show pic to a prop guy in Ar and they could duplicate it with no problem. Aluminum floor has Hydro turf covering and gaz tank sits front left. Soft mud it stands up in less than an inch, if it is harder it just depends. Dry, runs 38 gps with no mods. Hope these pics help you.

What are you going to be running though? Lakes with rocky bottoms? Rivers with Rocky Bottoms?


I wouldn't worry about a skeg if your running mud bottoms, yes you will hit a log or 2 eventually, but who doesn't?

got dat same motor der Raymond...

Will yours stand up if it is soft??:*****:

:smokin:

Tunnels have virtually no reverse power since the motor sits so high out of the water. They go forward but struggle backing up.

Thanks for all the input everyone. My boat should be available to me next Friday. Once I have it I can finish my trailer and get my boat setup figured out. I was beginning to worry about the deep tunnel and prop combo. Now I know it will be a nice rig once fine tuned.
If anyone has more to add please do. I appreciate all ideas.
Thanks

I just went thru this with a new 1652, non tunnel, with a 40 four stroke Yamaha EFI on a 6" jack plate...

Call Powertech Propellors and tell them what you have and what you want out of it and they will hook you up, super good guys to deal with... I ended up with a four blade 11 pitch wheel that gave me the hole shot I was looking for... These mid range four strokes are a different animal from the their two stoke cousins, I would like to try the equivalent prop in a three blade because top end does suffer...

Good luck,
Hydro

Hydro, what are you running with the 4 stroke?

28 mph fully loaded, but it will get on step within a boat length...

Boat is a camo 1652 G3 DK, skinned out with rod box, floor, sides, ect... Empty boat weighs 640lbs... Throw in motor, batteries, 8 gallons of gas, foot controlled trolling motor, jack plate, Yeti cooler (had to throw that in for the guy who was ragging on Yeti owners), fishing gear, seats, a rod box full of BS, my big arse and the dog and its probably pushing 1300-1400 lbs easy...

This is my first four stroke and I really am liking it, just an adjustment from anything else I have ever run...

Powertech said I could get into the low thrities with a different prop, but thats not what I was looking for... My break in period will be up in another month or so and I am really looking fwd to seeing if its turning up the 6k rpm its supposed to, by the sound of it I dont think it is but again these are different animals...

Lots of torque down low, really quiet, smooth, and sips fuel but definately not a "screamer" on the top end like the two strokes are...

Hydro

anyone have any dealins with the 40hp 4stroke suzuki

Used to call my buddies 40hp 2-stroke a GoZuki... was an excellent motor.

There's a guy here in Moss Bluff that's got an 1844 alweld tunnel with a 40 merc four stroke on it that does pretty good from what I hear.