Not fast enough

[KING RIB]

HELLO

I hava rib which wont go on the plene (sorry if thats not the correct word I am new to this)

It does if i am on it myself but with all my fishing gear it wont, I have bought another engine so I can have 2 on the back, they just fit but this is very hard to drive as it needs two hands.

Any help on how to make it go faster with just the one engine

[willfinch36]

How long is the boat? what engine(s) have you got atm?

[Carl]

[Solent-Salted]

ATM?

Automated
Tiller
Mechanism?

[willk]

Originally Posted by KING RIB

I hava rib which wont go on the plene

Most airlines will now only accept ribs as checked excess baggage. Redbay are a refreshing exception to this rule with their exciting range of purpose built Cabin Ribs. Not to be confused with Osprey "Carry-On" ribs.

Originally Posted by KING RIB

I have bought another engine so I can have 2 on the back, they just fit but this is very hard to drive as it needs two hands.

I generally have very little trouble with my twins. You should check that both engines are in the same gear. If the new engine was manufactured in the Southern Hemisphere, it may be running in reverse due to the influence of Coriolis Forces on the metal forging process.

Welcome to Ribbingnet!

[KING RIB]

More iformation required i see.

My rib is 3.1M and my main engine is a Susuki 6hp 4stroke my other engine is a Johnston 6hp 4 stroke but it looks identical except for the colour of course,

I think the extra weight on the back might cause a problem but it think there might be something else as i woiuld have thought 2 would be twice as fast.

[9D280]

On a more serious note......

I'm guessing you have an inflatable keel'ed hull as opposed to a solid floor?

Small boats generally are way more sensitive to load balance than larger ones - if you search the posts in the SIB section, there's lots of discussions about it. As a start, is your fuel at the front or the back (assuming it's a separate tank) - I guess you have a fair bit of fishing kit - where do you put it? A good rule is to shift weight forward - but do it slowly in case you go too far & enf up burying the bow when you're not planing.

Also if you don't have a solid bottom hull check your keel inflation - it doesn't take much of a pressure drop to make the keel totally useless which just means you get a ton of drag. If you donl' have a book of words that tells you the prssure it should be, post the make & model & I'm sure someone will have the numbers for you.

There is also the unfortunate law of nature that says to get on the plane needs a lot more power than it takes to keep you up there. You may find that when loaded, you have to move forward for a few seconds to help the hull over it's own bow wave. Once over that, you are skimming over rather than ploughing through the water, and you can move back again. A tiller extension will let you do that & stay in control.

Depending on your engines, it may be piossible to link them for steering with a bar, Having many years ago played with twin 2s (!) if one engine isn't enough to keep you on the plane, throttling back there is normally enough time to get the second one throttled back as the boat slows down. For manoevering, just use one engine & let the other tick over. For trolling you can switch one off & save fuel!

And welcome to the madhouse!

[9D280]

You got back befroe I finished typing!

Yeah, two 4- strokes is a lot of weight. 6Hp on a 3m should be a reasonable grunt, although you may need a lower pitched propellor. Someone like Locozodiac will be better placed to guestimate the correct size.

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by KING RIB

I think the extra weight on the back might cause a problem but it think there might be something else as i woiuld have thought 2 would be twice as fast.

Whilst you now have 12 HP you are presumably still spinning the same prop(s) - so if the engine achieves the same revs you won't go any faster. Twin engines are also less efficient than a single (more drag from 2 legs in water + dirty water gets thrown off one prop into the path of the other). In reality you would probably go faster with a 9.9HP as not only is it the inefficiency of 2 engines you have the weight penalty too - and that weight is right where you don't want it.

In reality 6HP is pretty marginal for getting a 3+m boat on the plane, especially if heavily loaded. To get on the plane you need to consider the following:

is the engine at the right height on the transom (typically antiventilation plate level with bottom of keel/transom).
is the engine trimmed correctly (angle of engine to transom). If bow is pointing at the sky - try trimming the engine closer to the transom (by moving the pin on the engine). [stupid factor check - make sure the engine is not in shallow drive mode]
is the weight distribution correct - to get on the plane you'll probably need weight at the bow. Get the fuel, anchor, gear and if possible yourself as far forward as possible.
is the prop right for the job. Changing prop might get you e.g. better acceleration to get over the hump.

then there may be options to consider like dolefins - but not till you've looked at all the above. of course trading in the two six's for a 9.9 would probably work better still!

[m chappelow]

might be best to post a couple of pics with your normal set up ,fuel tank / gear ect ,,with regards to your engines looking alike and being of the same badged power there could be a big difference in reality, suzi and johnson one could be rated at the power head the other at the prop depending on age,,though seeing now as they are both 4 strokes it wont be the case ,your problely wasting more fuel by having 2 engines running than just one for the extra few knots your going to get .with very small boats its sometimes better to have one engine fixed straight ahead non steer and then steer using the other engine .though you still have the throttles to contend with ,