Decision Decision!

[Ex PSI Canyon]

I have a BBC Blown ready to go into a boat. I have my Mandella which already has a blown stroker SB. The boat porpoises about every 20 ft so I have to put pressure on the pedal and keep the nose down, I'm scrubbing mph big time. I have been told by a couple guys in the know that I have to 1. put the prop deeper in the water "further back
2. cut the prop shaft and put the prop as close to the strut as I can get.
I'm thouroughly confused now. I am told today that after I put this big horsepower motor in it the porpoiseing will amplify! I still have a lot to learn and am only scratching the surface of what is to be learned of setting up a flat. So here are my options. Spend countless hours moving motor, strut location, prop change etc...
leave the boat alone maybe cut the prop shaft" shaft sticks out from strut over an inch" boat currently works fine with a little pressure on the pedal, just is'nt perfect and that's how I like my stuff.
Trade the boat complete and running to someone that has a flattie that is set up for big hp, preferrably circle flattie. " hull only" At this point I have too much on my plate with the Quickshot Hydro" and a Hemi I'm putting together. If anyone can offer suggestions "I'm listening" I love this Mandella but dont have the patience or the time to start over on a boat that is beautiful and complete. Thanks, Matt

[scottys]

Trade it for RV with a brass pole :D

[Ex PSI Canyon]

My wife wants to test the brass pole first!

[dmontzsta]

Call Jim Wilkes at Wilkes Marine and see what he says. :D

[Ex PSI Canyon]

Thats o.k!

[superdave013]

Trade the boat complete and running to someone that has a flattie that is set up for big hp, preferrably circle flattie. " hull only" At this point I have too much on my plate with the Quickshot Hydro" and a Hemi I'm putting together. If anyone can offer suggestions "I'm listening" I love this Mandella but dont have the patience or the time to start over on a boat that is beautiful and complete. Thanks, Matt
The Mandella is what it is. Sounds like you are asking something out of it that it's just not. That's a really nice boat. You should find a good home for it and get a hull that's a better fit for your needs.
Just my .02

[Sanger D]

I know the feeling, my sanger does the same thing,"did".1st, how long is the boat? 2nd,wheres your gear box located in the boat,3rdprop distance between strut barrel and prop.heres what helped me! my hull is 17 10" true flat,I put the prop 7/16s from the barrel,"oh its a 10 degree" that dist. is about normal.make sure you,ve got the right prop for your boat,I,ve got a ole menkens elephant ear 11,1/4, 14 2 blade,works bitchin for old flattys,that blown small block should have plenty of ponys but you might need more torque to help carry the nose more.If your only runnin in the 80,s or so, dont be afraid to put a little plate in it,if you,ve got a lot of plate in now then you need some more poop inthe motor department!!.my gaer box sits right behind my front saets at about 83",s off the transom, this was stock location from sanger,so thats why my boat porp.so check the distance from box to transom,if its this short and your boat is as long or longer than mine,YOU NEED MORE POWER,or lots of plate old small flats are a big task to make smooth,fast and take quick sets,I,m still learning from all these guys in here ,lots to take in.just remember do ONE THING AT A TIME,I would make it looser than sh@!#t with the plates then start goin down with till you have a pretty close normal spot on them,then put your prop a little less than a half in. from your strut barrel, then find a prop that is for that style of boat or close as you can to it,18,s or 15,s even maybe 12,s will prob. help if its a lower HP appl.Mine still porps a little bit but thats really not going to go away,but it only does it about every 100 feet or so at top speed,wich is where im told it would.otherwise i have to move the gaerbox up,"screw that"!! hope this helps,it helped mine a bunch,I can hammer the thing and now it somewhat behaves,good luck, HEY call this number 559 299 2328 its harold kindsvaters # awesome dude whos full of info,write down what he says he can help you alot
Sanger D :D

[Fiat48]

The Mandella is what it is. Sounds like you are asking something out of it that it's just not. That's a really nice boat. You should find a good home for it and get a hull that's a better fit for your needs.
Just my .02
I second that.

[BGMAN203]

The Mandella is what it is. Sounds like you are asking something out of it that it's just not. That's a really nice boat. You should find a good home for it and get a hull that's a better fit for your needs.
Just my .02
I will go ahead and THIRD that.

[Morg]

Not saying this will work, But this is what I did with my flat that was doing the same thing.
With good spring presure pulling the plates up, you will need an up stop to keep the plate steady at speed.
Simply adjust the plates down until the boat stays steady at speed. I would stard with 1/2 turns on the trunbuckles. Slowly creap up on it. My boat seemed to do best when it moved around just a little bit on the top end.
Here's my thery on why. With a heavier flat you need a fair amount of power to carry the nose. The nose gets to high then falls. When it falls the nose eather will hunt, or the nose is pushed back up by the water hitting the hull. If you can get the boat to stay steady you will trap some air & get the whole deal to lift. It is rare to find a true flat that will dance on the tail through a ru n, it takes a bunch of power. My deal would ride on the tail to about 75 mph, then it would sort of roll over onto the belly, but stay free. I've got some video of my boat after it rolled over, You can clearly see the edge of the plate behind the boat.
Now, my old boat had everything in the wrong place, the motor was way to far back & the v-drive was over 20" to far back. Essentialy everyone who knew boats told me to move the motor & v-drive to make it work & they were right. I just was not willing to tear my boat apart at that time. So I wanted to make the best with what I had.
Heavy boat, BBF spinning 6K, 18% gears, A huge eared 2 blade 85 mph on gps.
Again, not saying this will work for you, But wanted to share my experience.
Morg

[AzMandella]

I too have a Mandella and was having the same problems.first of all put the big block in for more torque.Mandella's are very heavy hulls and need plenty of torque and horsepower to lift the nose and keep it up.I had a 475 hp 460 in it and it porpised quite abit.I put a 700hp 514 in it and look out all the lift I needed.When you get enough torque and HP then it's time to tune the plates.After checking your engine,v-drivestrut and prop placement there is one way to set your plate that will help that is not the norm.I've found that with the heavier Mandella hull if you set the plate flat to the boat and then give a1/2 turn down on the Lt & Rt turnbuckles and a full turn UP! on the two inside turnbuckles it will help float the nose better by reducing the drag down the center where the prop wash helps push the nose down as well as normal drag from the water.If you want to PM me I'll send you my phone number and help you out any more if you need.I live in Tucson and there are about 9 Mandellas between our friends.They have been building Mandella's for 40 yrs.

[Kurtis500]

Hey AZMandella. I think I ran into you guys at Apache on a Sunday afternoon back in September. We talked at the boat ramp for a bit. Not sure if it was you or not.
I fourth that recommendation. I tried with my Hondo and couldn't overcome the strut angle and etc. The more power, the worse it got. I would have to replace too many expensive pieces for a small gain. 60-70-80 is plenty fast (I think)

[Sanger D]

Not saying this will work, But this is what I did with my flat that was doing the same thing.
With good spring presure pulling the plates up, you will need an up stop to keep the plate steady at speed.
Simply adjust the plates down until the boat stays steady at speed. I would stard with 1/2 turns on the trunbuckles. Slowly creap up on it. My boat seemed to do best when it moved around just a little bit on the top end.
Here's my thery on why. With a heavier flat you need a fair amount of power to carry the nose. The nose gets to high then falls. When it falls the nose eather will hunt, or the nose is pushed back up by the water hitting the hull. If you can get the boat to stay steady you will trap some air & get the whole deal to lift. It is rare to find a true flat that will dance on the tail through a ru n, it takes a bunch of power. My deal would ride on the tail to about 75 mph, then it would sort of roll over onto the belly, but stay free. I've got some video of my boat after it rolled over, You can clearly see the edge of the plate behind the boat.
Now, my old boat had everything in the wrong place, the motor was way to far back & the v-drive was over 20" to far back. Essentialy everyone who knew boats told me to move the motor & v-drive to make it work & they were right. I just was not willing to tear my boat apart at that time. So I wanted to make the best with what I had.
Heavy boat, BBF spinning 6K, 18% gears, A huge eared 2 blade 85 mph on gps.
Again, not saying this will work for you, But wanted to share my experience.
Morg bgman203,s dad did my plates and put the right spring pressure and up stop on my boat too, it was a hole different animal after that,"to the good!!!" I would try morgs suggestion. tyr before offing a classic,you might make it happen

[BILLY.B]

Lou Brummett ( Owner & builder of Mandella's) never had a problem with his handling like that, in fact he handed everyone there lunch plenty of times. But you know now that I think of it he had major HP in that deal of his....He ran a "FORD" :jawdrop: :idea: :idea: :D :D :D

[AzMandella]

OK let's get something straight.There is no reason to get rid of the boat.Like Billy B said Lou had no problem getting his to handle.The Mandella will never be a light layup dragboat. But when the waters rough and all the true flatties are sitting on the beach waiting for it to calm down you'll be blasting away on the water.My friends here have been building and restoring Mandella's for 40yrs. and were close friends of Lou and Nadine's. We run our boats into the low 100's all the time no problem.Another thing that nobody has brought up is props.You can have your prop re-worked to give more bow or transom lift where needed.Proper choice in props is important.

[AzMandella]

[QUOTE=Kurtis500]Hey AZMandella. I think I ran into you guys at Apache on a Sunday afternoon back in September. We talked at the boat ramp for a bit. Not sure if it was you or not.
I fourth that recommendation. I tried with my Hondo and couldn't overcome the strut angle and etc. The more power, the worse it got. I would have to replace too many expensive pieces for a small gain. 60-70-80 is plenty fast (I think)
I don't think we met in Sept.I was there the second weekend in Oct. though.If you ran into someone with a Mandella odds are it was my friend Eddie of Eddie's Inboard & Marine.My boat is yellow with a white deck and blue pinstripes.He would have had a 21' stepdeck that was yellow with purples and black,or a 18' shortdeck that's metalflake gold with a white deck and black pinstripes.

[058]

Lou Brummett ( Owner & builder of Mandella's) never had a problem with his handling like that, in fact he handed everyone there lunch plenty of times. But you know now that I think of it he had major HP in that deal of his....He ran a "FORD" :jawdrop: :idea: :idea: :D :D :D
I second that!! :D :D :D

[wsuwrhr]

I tried with my Hondo and couldn't overcome the strut angle and etc. The more power, the worse it got. I would have to replace too many expensive pieces for a small gain. 60-70-80 is plenty fast (I think)
Should I be concerned here?
Brian
How about that pan? You never answered my post(I don't think)

[V-DRIVE VIDEO]

Should I be concerned here?
Brian
How about that pan? You never answered my post(I don't think)
Absolutely....you run a mopar! :eek:J/Kidding :D

[CircleJerk]

When you are as old as I, a nice riding boat is certainly a plus......That being said, you have a cruiser, not a race boat by todays standards. I am sure you knew that but have you talked to Flat Rat on these boards? He has a blown BBC Mandella and is the original owner of a great handling boat, a 1970 short deck. He is also looking for another one if he can find a rare long deck version. Does that tell you anything? I would like to know the strut angle? and I would really try another prop or two!

[Ex PSI Canyon]

This is why I enjoy the V-drive community, everyone is willing to help! I'll put the big motor in it and start tweeking. Thanks, Matt

[superdave013]

Gee, I wonder if Brummett's race boat had the same hardware set up as Matt's??
You can do what ever you want and I'm not sayin you won't get it to work well. But even if you use the magic dust that boat is never gonna run like the Canyon you had. So if that's what you're after (just by the screen name I can tell you regret that sale) good luck.
Hey, I bought the down pedal out of that boat when it got parted out. I sold it back to Frank when I heard the boat was getting put back together. Did you ever get it and get it installed?? Just wondering is all.

[Ex PSI Canyon]

No Dave, I ended up buying a 450.00 pedal and lockout, man that hurt! I dont expect the Mandella to work like the Canyon but it would be nice to run the Mandella wide open with blown BBC and not need a Kidney belt!

[Ex PSI Canyon]

Forgot to mention I'm running an 11 1/8 16 prop. Is that a little too much?

[GofastRacer]

Just get a Biesemeyer, you won't need a kidney belt!.. ;)

[coolchange]

If I remember right that (if it's the same one) boat had some major structural changes made to it. The set up is probably not optimal for the weight and balance anymore. Doesn't mean it can't be tuned back up though.

[AzMandella]

Forgot to mention I'm running an 11 1/8 16 prop. Is that a little too much?
Possibly.What gear ratio are you running? I run a 11-1/2 x 15 and it's pretty squirly with the 18% gears.But I have yet to dial in my settup with the new engine until I put the 22% gears in.

[AzMandella]

Hey AZMandella. I think I ran into you guys at Apache on a Sunday afternoon back in September. We talked at the boat ramp for a bit. Not sure if it was you or not.
I fourth that recommendation. I tried with my Hondo and couldn't overcome the strut angle and etc. The more power, the worse it got. I would have to replace too many expensive pieces for a small gain. 60-70-80 is plenty fast (I think)
Hey Kurtis that was my friends you were talking to.I remember now.They had the 18'shortdeck with them and you guys were asking who the yellow boat was but I didn't come down to ramp before I left.They had to go to the ramp to reload the boat because his dually was sinking when he tried to pull the boat out in the sandy area.I have a 4x4 and don't have those problems.I was breaking in the new engine that day.Had a few idling problems but thats fixed now.Had the wrong idle bleeds in the carbs.Runs like a raped ape now.

[AzMandella]

Gee, I wonder if Brummett's race boat had the same hardware set up as Matt's??
You can do what ever you want and I'm not sayin you won't get it to work well. But even if you use the magic dust that boat is never gonna run like the Canyon you had. So if that's what you're after (just by the screen name I can tell you regret that sale) good luck.
Hey, I bought the down pedal out of that boat when it got parted out. I sold it back to Frank when I heard the boat was getting put back together. Did you ever get it and get it installed?? Just wondering is all.
Unless someone redrilled the and moved the strut the settup should be the same as Lou's.As far as the hardware there may be some differences in engine rails,motorplates and rudder bracing,but Lou sold his hulls drilled for the strut,whip strut,and propshaft hole.And the engine location was specified.That doesn't mean some one screwed with it though.It may not be the fastest boat by todays standards and hull weights but I've handed more people their lunch than Iv'e had mine handed to me.And the hull will outlast just about any other past or present.Mine has the original gel-coat on it and looks brand new,anthe boat is 38 yrs old and will look the same in another 38.