Catching up on Building Surface Tension thread
Greg,
This is a very-interesting thread. I have just read through it to catch back up to your impressive progress. Some random comments on postings.
#27. Yes, my BMS 4" Ultra HD hydraulic jack plate weighs just 37 lbs at the transom. It is wonderful!
#55. For what it's worth, I am able to store necessary items under my stock bow deck. In the center bridge area, I slide two Fortress aluminum Danforth anchors with SS chains and line. In the starboard bow well is a pack of four lifevests. I attached pull lanyards (lines) for retrieval of items buried out of convenient reach. Seems to work. I understand your configuration will be different, as it will be custom. We stow much more under the center locker, the stern bench seat well, and under both the port and starboard hatches (in drybags, mostly). Storage is a big requirement to us and our guests, as it's amazing how many items people need for a long day of boating!
#85. What approach did you try by closing the splashwell? Did you redesign some sort of scupper? Even with the weight of the 225X, its extra noise insulation and redirected intake stream I added (making the cowling quite heavier, for example) and its jackplate, I ensured the scupper was retained. This was a priority when reinforcing the transom with a powder-coated SS wrap-around plate. At worst, the Donzi lets in an inch or so of water just at the transom while reversing, which quickly drains out when up to plane.
Truthfully, it pleases me how much cleaner the splashwell stays on the Donzi, as compared to our Stingray, which gets dirty mostly with grease and oil drippings. I attribute this mostly to the Promax 225X being a much cleaner motor than the old pre-mixed, carb'ed Force on the Stingray. This works out well as the Stingray has its own little integrated swim/boarding platform, whereas with the Donzi, we use the splashwell as the staging area for boarding after swimming, before climbing into the cockpit.
I like our outboard motorboats' scuppers so much, I (almost) tried drilling and plumbing scuppers into the forward-slanted footwells of our old Waverunner. The Waverunner retained several inches of water in its footwells. This I considered doing -- until realizing the bases of the footwells were *under* the waterline of the Waverunner while at rest! Doubly-well I did not attempt this, especially since the Waverunner is long sold.
#124. What were your findings when trying a 3-blade prop?
Regards,
Andy DiSario