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A few questions, after wife's first ride in new boat

LorenMN

LorenMN

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We took the new boat out for a few hours last night.  Had dinner on the boat, and took a slow cruise around part of the lake until sunset.  My wife has a few concerns that I heard about a few times.  Maybe she was just overly sensitive last night, but I figure I better ask here so I have an answer ready for her.  Because I'm already hearing the dreaded "it's because you bought too big of motor!"  Good thing I didn't change the order to a 115 like I was tempted to do, or I'd really be catching heck.

- At very low forward speed, there is a vibration from the motor that shakes the boat a little.  Basically at idle speed while forward gear is engaged.  Enough to make the port gate rattle a little, and you can feel it.  It goes away when I move the throttle up slightly to smooth out the motor.  I told her not to worry about it too much yet, since we have a total of 1.2 hrs on the motor so far.  Just curious if this is normal, or is it a prop issue?

- The front of the pontoons sit a few inches higher in the water than the back.  Not that it matters much, but she noticed, because her parent's old Weeres pontoon wasn't like that.  I can tell when sitting at the helm that the front is a little uphill.  Is that normal too?  We have the extended aft deck, so is the weight of that and the motor and 2 batteries in the back enough to cause that, or are they made to ride a little high in front?

Edit:  One other question:  when I have the boat up out of the water on the Sea Legs, should I have the motor trimmed up all the way, or just a few inches out of the water?  Curious whether there is a weight transfer that makes it better for the transom if it's all the way up or not.
 
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Welcome aboard!  We have a 22SL with the 115 and in gear at idle speed there is a slight vibration that can be felt.  Now about the bow hiogh stance, ours does the same thing. I am pretty sure that is normal.  As to the sealegs question i will leave that someone who has had experience with them.   Have fun and enjoy your time on the water!
 
Hello Loren,

I had a similar issue on my boat last year when it was new.    It turned out that the prop had bent just slightly causing the boat to shake (as you described)    I would start there.  I put a new prop on and that fixed the issue.  I still notice that when the engine idles (with a new prop) that the engine shakes slightly but it does not shake the actual boat, but i think that is normal ( i remember it happening when it was new).    

As far as the front sitting higher, this is normal.   With only you two on the boat, there is alot of weight in the back, I think the 150 weighs approximately 500lbs and the gas tank is toward the back, so that would cause the front to sit just a bit higher.  Your wifes parents old pontoon more than likely had a much smaller engine/gas tank.

I cannot answer the sea legs question, i keep mine on a lift and trim the engine up just enough so that even in high tide the prop will not be in the water.   When i stored it over the winter though on the lift, i put the lift up as high as possible and kept the engine in the down position.   Even though the engine was shrink wrapped, i was told that this is recommended when storing for long periods so that if any water gets in, it will drain.

I hope this helps a bit.
 
Welcome , and congrats on the new boat. I had a serious vibration that rattled mine when I went to the stainless prop. It was bad enough I took it to a prop shop and he told me he gets brand new props in that need to be balanced all the time. Much better know for sure after he balanced it. I have read many times on this forum the Bennie's ride Bow high  :)  I don't have Sea legs so cant give you my 2 cents on that one. Enjoy your new boat!!
 
I think I'll call the dealer sometime and ask them about the prop.  Might be worth it to take it in for balancing sometime.  A little extra throttle and it runs very smooth.  Sure is quite compared to the old 90hp 2 stroke Merc.

Makes sense that the bow should ride a little high.  I forgot that I have a full tank of fuel in back now too, compared to only 5 gallons on the old pontoon.

The motor tilt question is basically wondering whether it's better to have the motor tilted all the way up when out of the water, vs. part way up.  Whether there's less stress on the transom one way vs. the other, or issues with fuel, etc.
 
Well it's Friday, excited to get out for the weekend and can't miss the opportunity to help a fellow benny owner.

The vibration;  Use it to your advantange... my wife usually likes a little vibration. Pontooning is all about setting the mood. If she's not in the mood, kick up the RPM a bit.

Sitting level:  this ain't her dad's boat. Back then a couple of guys could pick the motor up off the transom. Probably had two 6 gallon gas tanks and maybe a battery if it wasn't a pull start.

The back end is gonnna set lower with all the weight you have back there. No different than hauling a 50 gallons of moonshine in the trunk of your car.

Sealegs???  Only got that once or twice when I had been out to sea for a few days. But, if it has something to do with leaving the motor in the water,, It's always good to raise the motor so it is out of the water for several reasons.  Only negative is that it makes it easier to steal. :(

Well thats about all I have to say and that probably makes you happy. :) :)   Welcome aboard and don't take much on here to serious.
 
Looking at the photo gallery here and on the Bennington website.  Yep, they all do seem to sit a little high in the front. 
 
You might ask her if she'd prefer to sit on the dock since its more level...

If you had bought a bigger motor it would be smoother. My 115 vibrated the boat a lot at idle and slow speeds. I can't even tell if my 150 is running at idle because it's so smooth. I didn't realize this until after getting the 150.

Last thing anyone wants is for their boat to submerge from the bow going under water. Bow lift is a good thing because you can safely carry more passengers.
 
Our 150 does viberate a very tiny bit in gear and the slowest it will idle (I'd guess it's around 800-900 RPM)......helm door shakes a bit and you can feel it in the floor but the gates are solid.  Now bump the idle up to 1K and it's smooth as glass and you can't even hear it running.....people always ask me if I shut the motor off if we are just putt putting around.

Yes the bennys all seem to ride bow high....150 on the back and transom fuel tank = stern down effect.  Really it's nothing to worry about and you will get used to it over time out on the water.  Tell your wife to sit back and relax and enjoy your new ride.
 
One thing on the motor vibration, do you run tilt all the way down till it hits transom, then bump it up a little. If you run it down all the way against the transom it might be exaggerating the vibration.
 
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My 150 has a vibration at idle in gear as well and rattles the bow gate too like posted above bump the throttle up a wee bit and all is good. Normal no worries.
 
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This is called prop chatter and is normal at the lowest idle rpm.  Just bump up a couple hundred rpms and it goes away.
 
Can your Sea Legs be a contributing factor in your boat sitting kind of low? There were discussions on this forum that they weigh about 500 lbs. (That's 2 or 3 people) + fuel and gear etc.....
 
My 150 is smooth as glass. Can't even tell it is on when idle. Has to look at the tach gauage. Very happy. I have a Yamaha SS prop.
 
1trotter said:
This is called prop chatter and is normal at the lowest idle rpm.  Just bump up a couple hundred rpms and it goes away.
Click to expand...
Yup.  Perfectly normal.

Ditto on the nose riding high.
 
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