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 Trade surface drive for outboard? 
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MMT Member

Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2017 4:03 pm
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Post Trade surface drive for outboard?
My father in law gifted me a 15x52 alweld with a 35 gatortail console. Long story short, the boat doesn’t float the motor high enough, can’t get the prop high enough to run it.

I have a few options, just looking for opinions from the internet experts.

Option 1 - Trade/sell gator tail for a 25-40 hp outboard

Option 2 - Have float pods welded on. I know pods don’t allow a surface drive to perform like it should, but should be better than what I have.

Option 3 - Have a hunt deck added on. Talked to a builder in New Iberia that said adding a 18-20” hunt deck would solve the problem. His prices are very reasonable($600).

I know the alweld will never be the best hull for that motor, just looking to get some opinions from others

Thanks


Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:33 am
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Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:16 am
Posts: 612
Location: Orange, Texas
Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
I may not be fully understanding you, but it sounds like you just need to build your transom up. (Make it a tall l transom) several people have done that to boats just like yours and it worked


Thu Feb 27, 2020 7:16 pm
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MMT F.E.
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Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:52 pm
Posts: 870
Location: SW LA
Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
You’ll prolly want a longer hull just for overall performance in the future but for now it does sound like you have a short transom model. I added 4” to my alweld transom. Just doing your transom still may not get your motor at the right angle with all the weight in the back and that short of boat. If the guy can do a hunt deck and it be strong enough I’d go that route


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Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:05 pm
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MMT F.E.
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Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:52 pm
Posts: 870
Location: SW LA
Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
Oh and if you’re not running straight mud your alweld will be fine. Yea they’re not thick aluminum but you can push it out when you do get stuck


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Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:06 pm
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Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
Thanks for the comments. I guess I left out that I do have a tall transom.


Sat Feb 29, 2020 1:15 pm
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Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:07 pm
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Location: West Monroe, LA
Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
Tried a different trim pin hole? That boat should be fine with that engine. Maybe not ideal, but good enough.

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Sat Feb 29, 2020 1:56 pm
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Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2017 4:03 pm
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Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
If I knew how to post pictures I’d show you. The cavitation plate is under water when I’m in the boat. I’ll try to change the pin position, but it looks like it’ll only move up a couple inches.

Thanks


Sat Feb 29, 2020 3:50 pm
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Location: West Monroe, LA
Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
PM sent. You can text them to me if you want.

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Sat Feb 29, 2020 6:18 pm
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Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
I think I figured out how to post pics with Tapatalk.IMG_0536.jpg


Apparently I only have the one pic of it in the water.
I’ll post some more of it not in the water.



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Sun Mar 01, 2020 4:03 pm
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Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
This is far up as I can trim the motor.IMG_0616.jpg


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Sun Mar 01, 2020 4:04 pm
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MMT F.E.

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:19 am
Posts: 981
Post Trade surface drive for outboard?
Dude it doesn’t look like you have a bolt in the trim pin hole. I can’t be certain in your pics but it looks that way. If so, thats why you’re so dang low. There should be a grade 8 bolt that’s around 8-ish inches long running through one of those 3 holes with a sleeve over it. That’s what the motor rests on. Without it, you’re gonna be trimmed all the way down. Lift your motor up my hand (not trim) slide one in the middle hole, run it, and then go up or down one to find the optimal sweet spot.


Look where I circled on this pic and let us know if there isn’t a long bolt with a sleeve around it there.

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Sun Mar 01, 2020 5:16 pm
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Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?


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Sun Mar 01, 2020 6:02 pm
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MMT F.E.

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Post Trade surface drive for outboard?
Then why haven’t you moved it up to the top hole and tried that? It’ll make a fair difference in total trim angle


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Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:16 pm
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Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2017 4:03 pm
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Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
I’ll try that and see what it does. Looking at it, it does move it up a couple inches l, but I don’t think it will help much. The cavitation plate was under water without me in the boat.

Thanks for the replies


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Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:57 am
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MMT F.E.

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:19 am
Posts: 981
Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
Well your trim angle is low. Top Lin will help but also if you read this forum, you can find out exactly how tall the transom should be. The. Measure yours. Despite being “tall transom” that doesn’t mean it’s the right bright. If it’s not the right height, then build it up. It’s not a hard problem to solve.


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Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:25 am
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Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:07 pm
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Location: West Monroe, LA
Post Re: Trade surface drive for outboard?
Change the angle of the mounting bracket by shimmimg on the outside of the boat with a couple pieces of flat bar until you figure out how thick it needs to be. Once you figure that out, you can have a wedge built. This is just an option that doesn't involve making massive changes that'll never quite be as good as getting a boat that's long enough to handle the weight you put at the rear.

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Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:57 am
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