Setup for Zodiac Mark II HD with console

[cap2nd1961]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

You'll find a load of peeps on here will say never to tie off with the tube cleats.

Its light winds / chop so you'll probably be OK. BUT when you jump aboard you may put a load of load on the cleat. Over time it may damage the cleat/tube joint and its then a mare to repair.

Do you have eye bolts on the transom? e.g. for towing? If so a piece of rope between the two eyes too short to get near the prop and then attach your spring to that?

No I dont have any eye bolts in the transom. But I will put them on, thanks for the info! I need them anyways, for pulling my daughter skiing, or tubing.

[cap2nd1961]

Originally Posted by J@mes

What a load of bull! Your stealer would say that! Zodiac have a small print from memory regarding their quoted speeds and it says something like, max speeds were achieved with the maximum HP allowed, ideal conditions, no load and a single passenger who is a professional. Well this is obvious, but 25 mph is no where near 37 mph!!! It's obvious the stealer has not set your boat up correctly whatsoever, whether its engine height and/or prop selection!




I take it you have raised the outboard and changed your prop?! What speed are you seeing now? Your latest video looks good, the water is sooooo calm!!!

Ya its up a the narrow part of the river, its almost always calm there. But around the island I live on the chesapeake bay it can be quite a chop fest. I went out last night without my dog, and i got her up to 37.5 MPH

[J@mes]

Originally Posted by cap2nd1961

Ya its up a the narrow part of the river, its almost always calm there. But around the island I live on the chesapeake bay it can be quite a chop fest. I went out last night without my dog, and i got her up to 37.5 MPH

Good man, happy days!!!

[Northern Pike]

You're having much better luck than I am. Read this thread:
http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/futura-...eed-56221.html
My 50 was bogging down with a pitch of 17.
maybe its the longer hull??
I'm baffled.

[cap2nd1961]

Originally Posted by Northern Pike

You're having much better luck than I am. Read this thread:
http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/futura-...eed-56221.html
My 50 was bogging down with a pitch of 17.
maybe its the longer hull??
I'm baffled.

I dont think its the hull, its most likely prop selection and engine height. I would stick to a 3 blade, I believe 4 blade props are for heavy loads, and power pushing. You want speed, not tug boat torque. I have my anti cav plate about an inch higher than the keel. My prop has too much pitch, I am only turning 4900 rpm WOT at 37.5 mph. Going back to a 19 pitch to get those rpms up to 5500 to 5800, which is where it needs to be at.

I read you're hand tillering that 50, Id get an extension so you sit as far forward as possible or get the console set up. Its so much nicer to drive with a steering wheel vs the tiller. My old boat I tillered, but it gets old on a long trip. She's getting repropped tomorrow, Ill take some pics of the engine height for ya.

According to zodiac chart, the mark 3 alu only weighs 25 pounds more than the mark 2 alu

[cap2nd1961]

Im going to have a friend of mine craft me a radar arch for the transom. I plan oh having it with 2 sections of spaced apart with diamond plate aluminum. I also want to incorporate a box at the bottom to hold the battery and the fuel tank. I think the arches look cool, and I will be mounting running lights, an antenna and even the marine radio to it, maybe even a strobe or two.

Will the floor handle using self tappers to screw down a forward section of the arch? Or is the aluminum too thin to hold? A carriage bolt would be ideal coming up from underneath. But, when I locked that last floor section in place it was TIGHT! I really dont think I can get the floor back out again, and I really dont want to if not needed to.

[Peter_C]

Originally Posted by cap2nd1961

Will the floor handle using self tappers to screw down a forward section of the arch? Or is the aluminum too thin to hold? A carriage bolt would be ideal coming up from underneath.

Self tappers will corrode the aluminum and fail over time, assuming you use stainless bolts, as the dissimilar metals will chemically react. Carriage bolts even though somewhat rounded are not something I would want making contact with the fabric of the hull. More importantly the floor will crush without support between the layers.

There is an easy way to do it though. Take a block of wood and a hammer and knock the edges of the aluminum bottom off. Then you can drill a hole in your floor where you want and bolt through into what ever type of material you want to tape and bolt into. In this photo you can see I used HDPE, but that wouldn't be strong enough for a tower mount. Instead a block of aluminum would probably be the best medium as it is light, strong enough, and easy to work with.



Make sure to post up pictures when you are done as myself and I am sure others would like to see it

[Northern Pike]

Originally Posted by cap2nd1961

I dont think its the hull, its most likely prop selection and engine height. I would stick to a 3 blade, I believe 4 blade props are for heavy loads, and power pushing. You want speed, not tug boat torque. I have my anti cav plate about an inch higher than the keel. My prop has too much pitch, I am only turning 4900 rpm WOT at 37.5 mph. Going back to a 19 pitch to get those rpms up to 5500 to 5800, which is where it needs to be at.

I read you're hand tillering that 50, Id get an extension so you sit as far forward as possible or get the console set up. Its so much nicer to drive with a steering wheel vs the tiller. My old boat I tillered, but it gets old on a long trip. She's getting repropped tomorrow, Ill take some pics of the engine height for ya.

According to zodiac chart, the mark 3 alu only weighs 25 pounds more than the mark 2 alu

Which hole is your motor mounted in? I went out yesterday with the motor raised to the third hole and my 4 blade 15p prop. Best I could get was 26-27 mph revving in the 5700-5800 range.
The tiller is rather long so seating position is not too bad. I like to have the deck space for diving gear.
The extra weight and leverage of the high motor position has caused the top of my transom to shift aft about 1/4". The edges of the glued joints are still intact, so far, but this is the worst possible outcome. I am really bummed out now.

[Locozodiac]

With main tubes, keel and speed tubes well inflated to factory recommended working pressure, sit engine on transom high enough so water flow passes slightly under small upper deflector plate, engine tail will have the least water drag with top rpm, if in need play with prop pitch to achieve minimun middle to max rpm factory stated for that engine.

Before you adjust engine height, float sib alone, select a trim hole that achieves at wot a sib running paralell to water level, and that's with a well balanced Sib.

Happy Boating

[cap2nd1961]

Originally Posted by Northern Pike

Which hole is your motor mounted in? I went out yesterday with the motor raised to the third hole and my 4 blade 15p prop. Best I could get was 26-27 mph revving in the 5700-5800 range.
The tiller is rather long so seating position is not too bad. I like to have the deck space for diving gear.
The extra weight and leverage of the high motor position has caused the top of my transom to shift aft about 1/4". The edges of the glued joints are still intact, so far, but this is the worst possible outcome. I am really bummed out now.

Sounds like a warranty issue. Also Id ditch the 4 blade prop, 3 blade is the way to go for speed. Ive got a 13.1/4 diameter 3 blade 19 pitch and my rpms are at 5200 going around 36 MPH.

I have power tilt too, so I tilt her up good, and she's rooster tailing and
going like a bat out of hell. Its awesome.

Total weight is: with me 225lbs, and my 95lb rotti, motor at 240, the boat at 225, and the console, battery and a six gallon gas tank probably another 200 lbs. Like a 1000lbs including everything, i am thinking.

Calm waters!! Cheers!

CAP

[Northern Pike]

Hey Cap! Thanks for the input.
I'm at my wits' end. My load (and personal weight) is pretty much the same. Maybe my tach's not accurate??? GPS doesn't lie though.
Had her out today, minus 70 lbs. or so. I usually have either my 11 yr. old boy or scuba tanks. Today I had neither. In the 3rd hole I had a lot of ventilation. Dropped her back down one today, to the second. Ventilation no longer an issue unless I trim her way up. Got into some heavy chop on the way home and had to trim down and back off a bit. Still maxing out at 27 mph. On the way out I thought OK, that's what I had better be content with because that's what I'm getting. If I can get the same speeds with 2 or 3 divers on board I'll be content.
My transom is pulling away now. That is now my primary concern and has put my power issues into secondary priority.Shifted aftward 1/4" at the top. I'll post some pics soon.
Happy boating!

[Northern Pike]

Looks like I'm gonna be off the water for a while.
I've got to fix this before it gets worse.

[cap2nd1961]

Originally Posted by Northern Pike

Looks like I'm gonna be off the water for a while.
I've got to fix this before it gets worse.

Wow that's crazy! Id look to see what Zodiac says, it may be covered. Is the transom heat welded or is it glued? My mark 2 is a 2010, but it was new off the shelf so I get 5 year warranty on her, so im covered until 2018.

Hopefully you fix her up and get back out on the water soon. I keep waiting for the winds to die off. Normally where I live in MD after the end of April it's usually dead calm every day. This year has been a mad south wind blowing 12 - 18 MPH every day almost. Its the worst direction for the wind to blow. Makes for mad chop on both sides of the island, Im wishing for it to end or shift to westerly.

Cheers!
CAP

[Northern Pike]

I don't think Zodiac will cover that. It was made in 2001, but I got it NOS 2 years later. Those joints are glued.

[cap2nd1961]

Nice sunday on the river. The wind finally subsided for a while, got up Harris Creek and let her fly. Heidi (my rottweiler co-pilot) loves riding as much as I do.

Here is a link to my facebook video upload:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...type=2&theater

[cap2nd1961]

Hole shot.

[cap2nd1961]

Me and Heidi.

[cap2nd1961]

WOT

[cap2nd1961]

I see Zodiac sells a swim ladder/rope ladder for my series of boat. I think they want like 400 dollars, which is crazy. I can easily make my own rope ladder, Should I just hook it to an eye bolt on the transome and toss it over the tubes? I can get back in without a ladder, but its not easy.. and if your tired most likely have to climb up by the engine which could be dangerous on rough sea days. What have you all come up with for getting out of the water?

Thanks! CAP

[seasdes]

Originally Posted by cap2nd1961

I see Zodiac sells a swim ladder/rope ladder for my series of boat. I think they want like 400 dollars, which is crazy. I can easily make my own rope ladder, Should I just hook it to an eye bolt on the transome and toss it over the tubes? I can get back in without a ladder, but its not easy.. and if your tired most likely have to climb up by the engine which could be dangerous on rough sea days. What have you all come up with for getting out of the water?

Thanks! CAP

When I am tired I place my foot on the part of the motor casing that juts out. Its about the right height for me.
Dont use the ventilation plate for a foothold.
Oh, and make sure that the motor is not running. http://www.rib.net/forum/images/smilies/lol.gif