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I have this Stevens. This dam boat can be on water that looks like glass.At around like 50 m.p.h. it starts this hopping stuff. The boat comes almost out of the water the faster you go. I have gotten pretty used to it. However when taking people for a ride it scares the HELL out of them. They think the boats going to flip over. Or maybe just break in two? The boat has a manuel plate.I have tried adjusting that plate so many times. I once had it plowing water like a sub getting ready to dive.Can anyone tell me if its just the boats design? Or if I should just forget about fixing the problem. It really is kinda a bad. None of my friends like to ride in it as everybody thinks they will be the next victim!!!!! Or throw up. Just thought Id ask????
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The boat is a 1966 17 ft 402 BB Chev. It has a top loader Casale.With 18% gears.It turns like 5200 rpms. The engine has a tunnel ram with two fours.Ported heads,forged crank and pistons. I can run like 70 on a gps.
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The boat is a 1966 17 ft 402 BB Chev. It has a top loader Casale.With 18% gears.It turns like 5200 rpms. The engine has a tunnel ram with two fours.Ported heads,forged crank and pistons. I can run like 70 on a gps.
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When you say you have a manual plate, do you mean it's fixed on one spot. Or can you adjust it from inside the boat with a t-handle or foot pedal?
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Dan,
Your Stevens is a good old boat, but I suspect that the prop shaft angle is to steep, and the v-drive to far back in the boat, for the boat to ride very flat. An adjustable cav plate will help some. But the early ones hopped pretty badly, some of the later ones ran pretty good.
Also what size of prop are you using? Two or three blade? Steel or bronze?
Marc
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Hey Dan, my 70 Hondo rides pretty much the same way. In order to get any good speed out of it you have to put up with the thing porpoising. I run a Ford FE with 416 ci, 510 hp and 490 ft/lb. The Casale has 15% gears and I run the motor upto 6000 rpm, this gives me 78.5 mph (GPS). I can adjust the cavitation plate with a 2 pedal setup. With the Cav plate in a neutral position the boat realy porpoises but thats when I get the best speed. The prop is a 2 blade 11 3/8 x 15 and the motor sits 33" from the transom.
From what I have read and have been told by the old timers, I don't have enough power to hold the bow up. Also the prop shaft angle is too steep (9 degree), this forces the bow up too.
My answer is Nitrous. That should give me enough power and RPMs to hold the bow up. I may have to break my buddy in all over again with the Nitrous system.
You would be surprised the chop and rollers you can go over if you just put the hammer down and go over the top of the rough stuff. Send Pics. Later Mike
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Dan, I've got an old '72 Stevens that used to do the same thing (it's now gutted with no interior or power). It started to porpoise badly at about 35-40. When I finally get around to putting it back together, I'll check into the prop shaft angle.
My '73 Sangar starts to porpoise at about 35-40 as well. However, if I give it more gas (power) it takes a real nice set about 65 and up on the Gaffrig liquid filled speedo. Still, I wish it would ride better in the nice cruising speeds, 50-60 mph!
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My dad used to have an Aqua Craft circle boat that did the same thing and if I remember right we moved the motor around little and that helped. Try moving it one inch at a time and see what happens. I would try forward first.
