In the process of setting up my new to me Riverhawk B-60. The boat has a casting deck up front and an open midship. Currently the boat has a 25 2 smoke on the back along with a group 27 starting/accessory batt and 6 gal gas tank. Up front I have a minn kota 40 lb power drive trolling motor, group 27 trolling battery, and (due to lack of storage anywhere else) a minn kota 2 bank charger. I have read that some weight in the bow is beneficial in helping to plane out and helps poling by keeping the boat from squatting in the back. I was just curious if any of y'all think that there is too much weight up front right now? Eventually I want to add a yeti 45 for casting/dry storage. Probably keep fairly light gear in it... Life jackets, fire extinguisher, small tool kit, rope, etc. Would any of that weight up front negatively affect performance? Appreciate all the help... -Alex
Balance the load. Every hull from kayaks to sailboats to cruise ships, needs to be loaded so as to maintain an even keel when at rest. If a hull is bow high at rest, expect excess drag when underway, due to squatting. Bow down at rest will result in plowing and loss of control. Balance the load doesn't just mean the gear you carry aboard, it means everything that is on the boat when you leave the dock, that includes people. If you aren't floating level at the dock, expect problems when under way.
x2, what Brett said. In addition, years ago (too many), when I first started fooling around with rigging and customizing boats, the first thing we'd do once the motor was on the transom is drop the hull in the water -then spend a few hours loading, unloading, and moving things around.... The idea was to get a fair idea of just where things needed to be to ensure that the hull floated perfectly level at rest. We weren't sophisticated enough to realize how much that meant to how the boat ran... we were trying to make sure it would pole up in the skinniest water possible (this was when floating in only 6" of water was a big deal (mid seventies). Once we were satisfied the build continued and things went where they needed to go. Our primitive trimming while underway simply involved having passengers move depending on conditions.... Things have changed quite a bit since then as boat builders became more sophisticated and their products reflected what was being learned. When you're doing it yourself the basics still apply, though... Good luck and post up what you finally come up with.
Thanks for the replies and great info. I hope to get her in the water thurs morning for a little bit and we'll see how level she is sitting. Hopefully she'll be sitting level because I have spent a pretty good amount of time trying to get everything installed and mounted! Appreciate it!
