Hi all, pretty new to this. I'm way up north, located in Stacy, Minnesota. I recently sold my 14' flat bottom jon and bought a used Gheenoe 15'4'' highsider 3 months ago. Loved it so far! I rigged it up right away after tons of research (thanks to this forum and youtube). I have a 2012 9.8 hp 4 stroke tohatsu (brand new with about 15 hours till today) that has been drawn back to 4" (with Bob's mini narrow jack plate). The pitch on the motor is 7.5 and the diameter is about 8" or 8.5". My highsider will not plane if I'm the only one inside (my weight is 165 lbs), but will slowly plane out if i had a person up front. I installed a Tiny tach and it reads to about 4835 when at full throttle. Tiny tach is accurate because I ran rev'ed it in neutral, readings were correct. When idle reads 875 - 930's and full throttle reads 5800 - 5960's. Also the top speed when WTO is at 15 mph, when I'm with another person (he's about 180 lbs). I called the outboard dealer about this and they said to lower the pitch on my outboard. But looking at old forums, alot of people recommended higher pitches. What do you goes recommend or suggest? My main purpose or usage of my gheenoe is to hunt ducks in the fall, fish in the spring and summer. Any help would be appreciated. thanks
Im no prop guru but from the sounds of your setup, the rpms are in the right range. You say you have a bobs narrow plate on there. How high do you have it set and at what setback. I believe that it allows you adjust both. I never had any planing problems with my highsider when I ran a 8 hp. Majority of the time, the stock prop on a smaller outboard is matched well. You can go up or down a pitch but that is about it. Check your pin settings, and jack plate. Experiment a little before going forward with the prop..
I have bob's narrow jack plate on it. Setback was measured at 4'' and it's raised up to 1.5 inches from the old transom. Anything higher than 1.5" water shoots high behind the prop. I could only experiment this with another person inside my highsider because it didn't feel safe. The front hull rises really high off the water. There's 6 holes for the pin for trimming purposes on the outboard, i adjust it to the 2nd hole closes to the water because it gave me the best result (performance and handling wise). All the testing were done on a private lake with no waves and minimal usage.
Is the motor a short shaft? You may need to experiment with a tiller extension also to put you weight towards the center... I know you had the best results with another on board but you should really tune it solo.
motor's a short shaft. I do have a tiller extension, will try that out later. Will let you know what happens?
You need weight as far forward as possible. The setback will also work against you if not enough weight forward. The Stingray Jr will help at the expense of some loss in efficiency. The easiest thing would be a tiller extension that would allow you to sit farther forward. Move the gas tank and battery or anything else as far forward as possible. My 3 gal. gas tank sits in front of the front seat and my lawn tractor battery is in front of the middle seat. I have the 9.8 two stroke Nissan/Tohatsu on the transom. It is raised one inch higher than standard. With the factory aluminum prop and a tiller extension I am close to 19 mph with the gps. I weight about 195. I have never checked speed with another person on board. Frank
I tried it out yesterday standing in the middle of my highsider with the tiller extension. The front hull came up pretty high from the water but eventually it planed out. The ride was pretty bumpy but loving it. I had my deep cycle battery, 25lbs anchor, 55lbs thrust trolling motor in the front which finally maded it planed out. But does this seem acurate though, I am still topping out at 15-16 mph running WTO. Tiny tach is reading at 5290-5390 rpm when my highsider planes out. So I guess my prop is the correct one for my rig. Last question: Is there a way I can increase more speed with this setup, wanting to hit 20-24 mph??
You can probably get a little more out of it with a Stingray like the others have said. If your plan is to go faster, sell the motor and get a 15 hp 2 stroke. Thats what I went with after a 8 hp and it is the ticket. Plenty of speed when you need it solo, and great with another on board...
I should of done more research before buying this motor (9.8 hp 4 stroke Tohatsu). Don't get me wrong, I like this motor alot but its a bit weak. I like the quietness and sleak light weight that it has, but it's not fast enough. Reading some of the post on here wouldn't a stringray slow you down top end? oh well.... If I was to hunt ducks in the fall, hoping to carry on 2-3 dzs of decoys and 2 hunter with a dog I'm estimating it'll go 8-10 mph tops. :-[ But i just bought the motor a month ago so I guess I'll keep it for now. Thanks guys for all the help.
I would NOT try and fit three hunters, a dog, and gear in a highsider. Worst idea ever; the boat is not made for that. You will look like 10 drunk college kids trying to all sit on a kayak and not sink.
I have the exact set-up. 18.6 Gps TOP END. Great hole shot. No jack plate, just sittin on the transom. 7.5 prop, (worn), I have trolling motor and battrey in the front and 3 gal tank and me in the back with front and rear deck. I dont think you need a jack plate at all. Maybe the set back is doing something bad. Also, I have no trim tabs or doel fin. So I dunno. Good luck. I weigh 200
