Engine Height For DF200 Powered Tritoon

[jserr68594]

I am trying to determine if my outboard motor is at the correct height or if I should adjust it. I have a 2006 Premier PTX 225 Legend. The boat is 22.5' long. The center tube is a full length 30" PTX toon.

The boat has a 200 HP Suzuki engine. I see 5800 RPM@ 45 MPH with a 18.5 Pitch Suzuki prop. The boat does porpoise around the upper 30's and above. This is with two people at the rear of the boat and nobody in the front lounges. Also, the 50 gallon fuel tank is near the rear of the boat in the center toon.

If I trim all the down (Negative trim) the boat does not porpoise at all under these circumstances.

Is this normal? Should I adjust my engine height?

Thanks for the input in advance!

[jserr68594]

More Pictures

[Moonlighter]

More Pictures

The motor height looks good in that pic with the boat running along at speed, you can see the anti-vent plate just skimming the surface. On a mono-hull boat or even a twin engined cat, that would be pretty close to spot on.

How well does the prop hang on in most conditions? If it always has great grip and never gets loose, you could maybe try lifting engine 1 hole higher

But I am really not sure that it will solve the porpoising, because I know very little about pontoon boats.

However, I suspect that like many flat bottomed boats, they will always porpoise at higher speed when trimmed out. It is simply the hydrodynamics involved. Flat bottomed punts are notorious for this.

Moving weight forwards may help a bit. But do so carefully, you dont want a bow- down attitude that might cause issues.

Perhaps others who are more familiar with toons may chime in.

[jserr68594]

The prop does seem to grip pretty good. I am thinking the porpoising may just be the nature of Pontoons. Thanks for giving your thoughts!

[Moonlighter]

The prop does seem to grip pretty good. I am thinking the porpoising may just be the nature of Pontoons. Thanks for giving your thoughts!

It could well be.

Could you talk with some other people in your local area with similar boats and ask if they have the same issue? Even a dealer may be able to comment.

[jserr68594]

High power tritoons are pretty uncommon where I am at. I will probably leave the height alone and tell my passengers to sit in the front lol! Thanks for your input!