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Lifting Strake Question

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Ground Time

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Took delivery of my 2011 2275 GCW with 115hp Yamaha. Ran the boat and felt like the boat would never plane out correctly despite adjusting trim up & down the line. Seems to be heavy in the rear and is throwing high wakes off of each pontoon. I am certain the 115hp is not so undersized that this should be an issue, esp with only two people on board. (Max hp is only 35hp more at 150hp)

After I ran the boat this weekend (1st time) upon returning to shore and trailering, I noticed that both of the holes at the end of the lifting strakes (at rear) were completly filled with debis from bird nests! (eggs and all)

They were so full that it was quite a chore to physically remove the debris.

The big question: Could the lifting stakes holes being clogged cause the boat not to plane properly. Has anyone had this issue? I will be running the boat again this weekend and I hope this will not be an issue again, with the strakes cleared!
 
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Ground Time said:
Took delivery of my 2011 2275 GCW with 115hp Yamaha. Ran the boat and felt like the boat would never plane out correctly despite adjusting trim up & down the line. Seems to be heavy in the rear and is throwing high wakes off of each pontoon. I am certain the 115hp is not so undersized that this should be an issue, esp with only two people on board. (Max hp is only 35hp more at 150hp)

After I ran the boat this weekend (1st time) upon returning to shore and trailering, I noticed that both of the holes at the end of the lifting strakes (at rear) were completly filled with debis from bird nests! (eggs and all)

They were so full that it was quite a chore to physically remove the debris.

The big question: Could the lifting stakes holes being clogged cause the boat not to plane properly. Has anyone had this issue? I will be running the boat again this weekend and I hope this will not be an issue again, with the strakes cleared!
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Benningtons tend to ride bow up. I have had boats plow the water due to being trimmed out too far when trying to plane. I wouldn't think the bird nest issue would cause your problem. What prop are you running?
 
Well that is the other issue... my dealer did not have the stainless prop that was suppost to come with the motor, instead, he put on a white prop. I dont know the specs on it, I will have to go take a look this weekend, but I will let you know. I assume bennington and yamaha have collaborated and there is a recommended pitch, size, ect. I wonder how I would find this info out to make sure my dealer is giving me the correct prop.
 
I have the same boat with a 115 Merc. My toon is not instant up on plane. It takes it some time to see the lifting strikes come all the way up to the surface. Toons do not plane out like v haul boat. I thought the lifting strikes would go farther back than they did. I now feel that Bennington did their research. This boat has a much dryer ride than my old toon. The ride angle is perfect to keep you dry.
 
Ground Time said:
Well that is the other issue... my dealer did not have the stainless prop that was suppost to come with the motor, instead, he put on a white prop. I dont know the specs on it, I will have to go take a look this weekend, but I will let you know. I assume bennington and yamaha have collaborated and there is a recommended pitch, size, ect. I wonder how I would find this info out to make sure my dealer is giving me the correct prop.
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Look at the Yamaha Performance Bulletins for Bennington Pontoons. According to the spec sheet on the 22 GCW, it weighs 2244#, the same as the 22 GSI tested. The prop used in the test was a 13 1/4 x 14 which pushed the boat out to 27.2 mph at 5900 rpm. Lifting strakes were not listed as a part of the test package, so I would expect you could wring another 2 or so mph from the 115.
 
Fyrfightr said:
Toons do not plane out like v haul boat.
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Well, they WILL get up on plane, but need more power to get there. 150 is generally considered the lowest power at which lifting strakes will work.
 
Ground Time said:
Took delivery of my 2011 2275 GCW with 115hp Yamaha. Ran the boat and felt like the boat would never plane out correctly despite adjusting trim up & down the line. Seems to be heavy in the rear and is throwing high wakes off of each pontoon. I am certain the 115hp is not so undersized that this should be an issue, esp with only two people on board. (Max hp is only 35hp more at 150hp)

After I ran the boat this weekend (1st time) upon returning to shore and trailering, I noticed that both of the holes at the end of the lifting strakes (at rear) were completly filled with debis from bird nests! (eggs and all)

They were so full that it was quite a chore to physically remove the debris.

The big question: Could the lifting stakes holes being clogged cause the boat not to plane properly. Has anyone had this issue? I will be running the boat again this weekend and I hope this will not be an issue again, with the strakes cleared!
Click to expand...
My 2275 GCW gets upon plane but, like you said, it is heavy in the rear. I've thought that it was sitting too low in the rear but when I look at other Benningtons they all seem to be sitting in the water like mine.
 
Here's mine sitting at the dock. As you can see the back of the boat is sitting pretty low in the water. How does this compare to your boats?

boatatdock.jpg
 
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ericscher said:
Well, they WILL get up on plane, but need more power to get there. 150 is generally considered the lowest power at which lifting strakes will work.
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What I sent was on a v haul, the boat needs to get on plane before it can really get any speed. With my eliptical toons you instantly gain lots of speed, then as the strikes lift the boat up you gain even more speed.

With round toons they say a 150 is needed for strikes. With eliptical toons a 115 does great.
 
Page 10 of the 2011 Brochere states:

"for optimum performance lifting strakes should be used with 115hp or larger" I cannot beilive that Bennington would build a boat, add lifting strakes and advertise the aformentioned if it did not work.

I am hoping the clogged lifting strake holes were a part of the problem and if not its a prop problem...

I can see the the 115hp being an issue if I were fully loaded.

Thoughts?

Would love it if someone from Bennington could chime in here!
 
The first thing I would do is check the prop. Size should be stamped on the side. Then note RPMs at WOT. this is probably the best indicator to determine if your boat is performing correctly.

Let us know what you find out.
 
I found out that the prop size is 13 x 19 . this is different than the performance bulletin issued by the motor manufacturer. if the performance bulletin requires a 13 1/4 x 14 would that difference affect the boats ability to plane?
 
Ground Time said:
I found out that the prop size is 13 x 19 . this is different than the performance bulletin issued by the motor manufacturer. if the performance bulletin requires a 13 1/4 x 14 would that difference affect the boats ability to plane?
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Yup.
 
Ground Time said:
I found out that the prop size is 13 x 19 . this is different than the performance bulletin issued by the motor manufacturer. if the performance bulletin requires a 13 1/4 x 14 would that difference affect the boats ability to plane?
Click to expand...
Make sure your tach is functioning correctly. Your motor should idle at approximately 700-800 rpm. Once you have done that you need to experiment with your prop to get the right size using the mfg specs for wide open throttle (WOT). I would expect that to be between 5500 and 6000, but you need to verify that. I bet your rpm are low using the 13x19, a 1 inch reduction in propeller pitch will result an an increase of 150 to 200 RPM at full throttle. In my opinion the 13x19 has way too much pitch for a pontoon. If I remember correctly a 19" prop should push a boat 19" in one revolution, same for the 14", 14" per revolution. The 19" would make it really sluggish when trying to plane the boat and on takeoff.
 
Dawg... You hit the nail on the head. The boat is just sluggish out of the hole and it seems that there is more at wot but results are lacking. I will double check the accuracy of the tach, but highest rpms I get are around 5200 or 5300 again with a high wake in the rear at wot.
 
Dawg... You hit the nail on the head. The boat is just sluggish out of the hole and it seems that there is more at wot but results are lacking. I will double check the accuracy of the tach, but highest rpms I get are around 5200 or 5300 again with a high wake in the rear at wot.
 
I have the exact same boat as you. I tried three different props; 13, 15, 17 pitch. Here are my results (400lbs in boat and a 1/2 tank of gas. All other conditions were the same) . 13=28mph @ 6000rpm with some cavitation between 4500-5000rpms. 17= 34mph @5400rpm, but slow when pulling skiiers. 15=34mph @ 6000rpm with a good hole shot, no cavitation, and good top end. I would recommend the 15 pitch.

Hope this helps,

Tim
 
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