Rideplate Adj. ?

[Jetdriver]

So now that I have the new boat and things seem to be in great working order I have some new questions that I am needing to be answered. The new boat has a setback pump Hyd. diverter and a rideplate. How do I adjust the ride plate? Now I know how to adjust it in the mechanical sence ie. Undo the bolts and shim. But what is the base or where do I start with the adjustment. Currently the plate is bolted directly to the bowl mount without any shims. Where is a good place to start or what is the scientific method to this?
Heres a pic! http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/79DSCF0021.JPG

[Jetdriver]

http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/79P1010237-med.jpg

[Jetdriver]

one more http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/79P1010109-med.jpg

[HammerDown]

JetDriver...2-4 degrees up is a good place to start. However experiment as every boats different. Take note how your Hull responds to each movement.
A few degrees either way can really makes a difference.

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by HammerDown
JetDriver...2-4 degrees up is a good place to start. However experiment as every boats different. Take note how your Hull responds to each movement.
A few degrees either way can really makes a difference.
I will go get a few shims then and start there. I just think that in the configuration that it is in at this time its just up to high. I know that the old owner didnt have a clue either. Ok well then I guess its time to start testing. Thanks for the replies! :D

[Squirtcha?]

It seems that the semi-v's like more up angle than tunnels or modified tunnels. To me, it looks about right. I would assume that the previous owner would've already been down that road, and tried all adjustments, after having put all that money into the pump, but it never hurts to play with stuff. You can always take it back to where it was, if it doesn't work out.
You can just use a stack of washers rather than having more shims made up. It's quicker n easier to adjust by adding or subtracting washers.
Nice looking boat. Bet she's got a biggass rooster with that booster on there eh?

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by Squirtcha?
It seems that the semi-v's like more up angle than tunnels or modified tunnels. To me, it looks about right. I would assume that the previous owner would've already been down that road, and tried all adjustments, after having put all that money into the pump, but it never hurts to play with stuff. You can always take it back to where it was, if it doesn't work out.
You can just use a stack of washers rather than having more shims made up. It's quicker n easier to adjust by adding or subtracting washers.
Nice looking boat. Bet she's got a biggass rooster with that booster on there eh? Yeah you could say that. The booster is coming off with the addition of a droop. I may just have to get out the BAG-O-WASHERS and give that a shot. http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/78P3270063-med.JPG

[Slick]

What's the make on that hull? I have 1994' Caliber 1 and it looks identical. I don't have a setback but my pump is as far back as it can go at this point. I took the stringer washers off of mine and it rocks back alot better than it did. I agree that these heavy boats like more up angle. I'd run it the way it is with the new droop.
The only problem I have is the need to shim it down becuase tubers get a nice douche because of the up angle on the droop.

[flat broke]

If you're going to start tuning your hardware, the first thing you should go buy is an angle finder from Home depot($9-10). It is a little magnetic based deal (not much help but it gives you an idea) that has a circle with degrees marked out and a small ball bearing or needle that will rest at the bottom of the circle to indicate the amount of degrees something is sitting at relative to a flat horizon. Take an initial measurement at the straight part of the keel, then measure the degrees on the ride plate after the bend (closer to the cradle than the shoe). The difference between the two numbers is how many degrees your plate is up or down from the keel line. Before you start messing with anything, take an initial reading so you can always revert back to a known condition.
An important thing to note is that the measured degrees on the keel and the ride plate cannot be referred to once the boat has moved. Only the difference between those two numbers needs to be used anyhow, but I thought I'd throw that out there to save possible future headaches. The other rule you need to stick to is to always take your keel and plate readings from the same location.
I wouldn't touch the plate yet if you're going to add a droop or a snoot. Do yourself a favor, and make up a little spreadsheet that has a field for the following.
Description of current hardware setup, water conditions, air temp, speed at say 3000-max RPM in 500RPM increments, and a field for notes about the ride quality etc. The more religious you are about keeping good notes, the less likely you'll be to chasing your tail in terms of setup because you can't remember what each change did. Because its not a race boat and you won't be constantly tinkering with the setup to gain ET, this may seem like a little bit of overkill, but it will help you to keep track of your changes and have and idea of how the running surface of your hull reacts to different scenarios.
For reference, my Spectra 20 is set up with +4 degrees on the plate and a short berk droop without a wedge. It will occaisionally start a slight porpoise at 30-35 mph if something disrupts its set, but I can either power through it, or dink with the diverter to smooth it out.
Hope that helps,
Chris

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by Slick
What's the make on that hull? I have 1994' Caliber 1 and it looks identical. I don't have a setback but my pump is as far back as it can go at this point. I took the stringer washers off of mine and it rocks back alot better than it did. I agree that these heavy boats like more up angle. I'd run it the way it is with the new droop.
The only problem I have is the need to shim it down becuase tubers get a nice douche because of the up angle on the droop.
Its a 1990 Proboat, from what I have been told the bottom is an Eliminator. What did you mean by you took the stringer washers off your and it rocks back better?

[Jetdriver]

Chris,
I find that around 30 mph I start to get a little porpoise but with a change in the diverter that will go away. I will have to try the spread sheet deal since lord knows I cant remember shit. Thanks for the suggestions and input.
Shawn

[Slick]

Originally posted by Jetdriver
Its a 1990 Proboat, from what I have been told the bottom is an Eliminator. What did you mean by you took the stringer washers off your and it rocks back better?
Nothin' fancy, just used a stringer washer on each bolt as a shim. They're thicker and alot prettier 'cause they're anodized:D

[572Daytona]

This is the angle finder that I use and it does a good job:
http://www.speedpartz.com/smarttoolmodulebig.gif
I got it from these guys: http://www.speedpartz.com/smarttool.htm
Flatbroke has a good idea with the spreadsheet as well, I've been doing that with mine since I've got it and it makes for a good reference later on.

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by 572Daytona
This is the angle finder that I use and it does a good job:
http://www.speedpartz.com/smarttoolmodulebig.gif
I got it from these guys: http://www.speedpartz.com/smarttool.htm
Flatbroke has a good idea with the spreadsheet as well, I've been doing that with mine since I've got it and it makes for a good reference later on.
Sweet deal, Im not looking to run the 1/4 mile but I would like to get the most out of m setup that I can.

[BIGAMIST]

Originally posted by Jetdriver
Sweet deal, Im not looking to run the 1/4 mile but I would like to get the most out of m setup that I can.
Then you'd better keep your FAT ASS out of the boat:p :p :D

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by BIGAMIST
Then you'd better keep your FAT ASS out of the boat:p :p :D
Not everyone can be the same weight they were in the 5th grade there buddy! :D

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by BIGAMIST
True that:(
LOL! Its all good Ill just let you drive the boat when someone wants to race! :D

[BIGAMIST]

Originally posted by Jetdriver
Not everyone can be the same weight they were in the 5th grade there buddy! :D
True that:(

[Squirtcha?]

I agree with keeping track. I use a much simpler angle finder but it does the trick. The washers I'm using equate to approx .5 degrees each, and I've messed with mine so much that I can just do a washer count and pretty much know how many degrees it's gonna change it. I also know how many it takes to put it back where it was originally. It know it doesn't sound very scientific, but I guess that's what you get for perpetually messing with your setup.
Mine will always be the same unless I shim the shoe up, or down as this affects the angle of the rideplate some too. In that case, out comes the old angle of the dangle finder and we start from scratch.

[Jetdriver]

Good to know! I think that I will leave it be until i have a chance to play with the droop, Im hoping that if the droop does well I will have a permanent one installed by Freeboard Challenge. Ill keep posted with my results. My goal at this point is to break 70.

[bp]

Originally posted by 572Daytona
This is the angle finder that I use and it does a good job:
http://www.speedpartz.com/smarttoolmodulebig.gif
I got it from these guys: http://www.speedpartz.com/smarttool.htm
Flatbroke has a good idea with the spreadsheet as well, I've been doing that with mine since I've got it and it makes for a good reference later on.
i've been using this same digital protractor for 3 years. it's not the highest end type, but it works just fine. got mine at orchard supply, 'cuz it was there. the magnetic angle finder is just a bit too errant.
you can get half inch aluminum shimstock at any home improvement center, at varying thicknesses. washers could be used, but the center of the plate needs support or else it'll start waving atcha. just get some aluminum, cut it to the right length and drill some holes through it.

[Jetdriver]

Thats what i was thinking of doing. I can run right on down to industrial metal supply and pick up just about anything.

[Squirtcha?]

washers could be used, but the center of the plate needs support or else it'll start waving atcha.
Oh yeah, failed to mention that the washer deal is just temporary for tuning purposes. When/if I ever find my sweet spot, I'll go to shim material so's it's supported like bp said. (that is if it doesn't start waving at me first.)

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by Squirtcha?
Oh yeah, failed to mention that the washer deal is just temporary for tuning purposes. When/if I ever find my sweet spot, I'll go to shim material so's it's supported like bp said. (that is if it doesn't start waving at me first.)
Yeah Kinda figured that was a temp thing. Like I said before I will keep everyone posted with the progress. Oh and so you all know my base line, I have Gps'd the boat at 62mph @ 5200 rpm turning an Agressor "A" impellor. Goal is to hit or break 70.

[Petrofied]

Originally posted by 572Daytona
This is the angle finder that I use and it does a good job:
http://www.speedpartz.com/smarttoolmodulebig.gif
I got it from these guys: http://www.speedpartz.com/smarttool.htm
Flatbroke has a good idea with the spreadsheet as well, I've been doing that with mine since I've got it and it makes for a good reference later on. This is what I use.... Great tool!
MR P.

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by Petrofied
This is what I use.... Great tool!
MR P.
Well since it seems that everyone has one of these nifty tools why dont you guys that live near me let me just borrow it! :D
Jet(feelin left out)Driver

[1tricky1]

Originally posted by Jetdriver
Yeah Kinda figured that was a temp thing. Like I said before I will keep everyone posted with the progress. Oh and so you all know my base line, I have Gps'd the boat at 62mph @ 5200 rpm turning an Agressor "A" impellor. Goal is to hit or break 70.
Nice lookin ride there jetdriver. I have an Aggressor "A" that I have yet to try, I'm skeerd it might bring my rpms down. It sounds like you have pretty decent power to turn that impeller. If you don't mind me askin, whatcha got in there?:D

[LVjetboy]

Or you could measure for free:
Plate angle = arcsin(height/length)
Another thought. If you put a droop on there with the angle you have now, you'll probably be dragin' hardware.
jer

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by 1tricky1
Nice lookin ride there jetdriver. I have an Aggressor "A" that I have yet to try, I'm skeerd it might bring my rpms down. It sounds like you have pretty decent power to turn that impeller. If you don't mind me askin, whatcha got in there?:D
To be honest the only thing I know about the motor at this time is that its a 454. It runs so damn strong there has been no reason to tear into it. The guy I bought the boat from said that the motor had extensive work done but he couldnt remember what.

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by LVjetboy
Or you could measure for free:
Plate angle = arcsin(height/length)
Another thought. If you put a droop on there with the angle you have now, you'll probably be dragin' hardware.
jer
I hate to ask but could you explain.

[LVjetboy]

Since you ask, not as complicated as it looks. Once played with a bit, no big deal. Just make the right measurements and plug 'em in. Here's how...
If you want current baseline angle, measure your ride plate length (L) from pivot point, in my case L = 18.25 inches. Make sure you measure L from where plate pitch change occurs…
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/PlateL.jpg
Divide into height of the back edge from a ruler parallel to running surface (h), in my case h = 0.30 inches. Make sure you accurately measure plate back edge height from a perpendicular to ruler parallel…
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/Plateh.jpg
Then arcsin the result, in my case plate angle theta = 0.94 degrees, close enough to 1 degree.
Or if you want to set your plate to a given angle, say 2 degrees, the equation becomes:
h = L * sin(2) = 0.64 inches
If you take the right measurements you'll get close to digital level accuracy...for free. Microsoft's built-in calculator does sin functions. Free online calculators do arcsin, like this one...
Free arcsin calculator (http://www.motionnet.com/calculator/)
This calculator has a small glitch but other free calculators out there for the asking…I just used this one for example. Or you can take a cheap hand-held to the lake. Good enough until you get that digital for Christmas?
jer

[flat broke]

Ladies and gentlemen,
That is why no matter how much shit some of you give Jer for his visual representations of collected data (graphs etc), you should be glad there are people like him around to remind us that there are usefull applications for mathmatics. Next time one of your kids tells you that they don't need algebra, geometry, calc, or trig; point em to the boards, show them all the fancy billet crap that gets laid out with trig, all the engine combination info that gets sorted out with geo and algebra, and tell them to get their ass back to the books so they can build a faster boat than dad has!
Chris

[Doug H.]

Flat Broke, very well said. :D

[Jetdriver]

Originally posted by LVjetboy
Since you ask, not as complicated as it looks. Once played with a bit, no big deal. Just make the right measurements and plug 'em in. Here's how...
If you want current baseline angle, measure your ride plate length (L) from pivot point, in my case L = 18.25 inches. Make sure you measure L from where plate pitch change occurs…
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/PlateL.jpg
Divide into height of the back edge from a ruler parallel to running surface (h), in my case h = 0.30 inches. Make sure you accurately measure plate back edge height from a perpendicular to ruler parallel…
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/Plateh.jpg
Then arcsin the result, in my case plate angle theta = 0.94 degrees, close enough to 1 degree.
Or if you want to set your plate to a given angle, say 2 degrees, the equation becomes:
h = L * sin(2) = 0.64 inches
If you take the right measurements you'll get close to digital level accuracy...for free. Microsoft's built-in calculator does sin functions. Free online calculators do arcsin, like this one...
Free arcsin calculator (http://www.motionnet.com/calculator/)
This calculator has a small glitch but other free calculators out there for the asking…I just used this one for example. Or you can take a cheap hand-held to the lake. Good enough until you get that digital for Christmas?
jer
Jer,
Thanks for the info, I will have to go play with the boat today now. Ill get back to ya with what I find.
Thanks:D