Malibu 185 Pod Project

First day yesterday I actually had out fishing and going for some not optimum conditions. I have to get trim tabs done, and that should be happening soon.

A did another performance test and these are numbers I came up with maybe 2ft chop. 2people loaded. Curious on fuel burn.

4200 rpm 23knots 25 liters per hour
4500 rpm 26knots 29 liters per hour
5000 rpm 29knots 30 liters per hour

Biggest improvement for me was space. There is so much more room for everything. I am going to be looking at if I can get small marine tub that can sit on pod. When I was prawning yesterday I noticed this is just wasted space, and would nice to have storage for traps/ fish tub etc. Just put it into tub and strap to the boat.

The boat naturally leans to the port side. I have been able to re balance it somewhat. Yesterday though I had a nasty port side wind with confused seas. If I had the tabs I would have been able to level boat off. Because my pod sits a bit lower it essentially was digging on a corner pod in a bit causing boat to list again. It only happened briefly but reminded me to get tabs done.

Anyways I will keep tweaking as I go along. Overall pretty happy, and worth it.
 
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SpringVelocity said:
First day yesterday I actually had out fishing and going for some not optimum conditions. I have to get trim tabs done, and that should be happening soon.

A did another performance test and these are numbers I came up with maybe 2ft chop. 2people loaded. Curious on fuel burn.

4200 rpm 23knots 25 liters per hour
4500 rpm 36knots 29 liters per hour
5000 rpm 29knots 30 liters per hour

Biggest improvement for me was space. There is so much more room for everything. I am going to be looking at if I can get small marine tub that can sit on pod. When I was prawning yesterday I noticed this is just wasted space, and would nice to have storage for traps/ fish tub etc. Just put it into tub and strap to the boat.

The boat naturally leans to the port side. I have been able to re balance it somewhat. Yesterday though I had a nasty port side wind with confused seas. If I had the tabs I would have been able to level boat off. Because my pod sits a bit lower it essentially was digging on a corner pod in a bit causing boat to list again. It only happened briefly but reminded me to get tabs done.

Anyways I will keep tweaking as I go along. Overall pretty happy, and worth it.
Click to expand...
Those are good numbers (I assume the 36 knots at 4500rpm was supposed to be 26 knots).
You’ll find the tabs are essential equipment. I’m constantly adjusting mine while underway whenever the wind or current changes.
 
I had the same problem with my boat listing to port naturally. Kicker is on that side, diesel tank is on that side. Batteries are offset to that side and when I have the family out, they always sit on that side. When I’m out on the salt, I bring a 125L Calcutta cooler full of ice and tuck it up to the rear seat on the starboard side. It would offset the difference so it worked great but I don’t always have it. Trim tabs were a great investment for all the other times.
 
Did a WOT test when I was out yesterday. I am maxed out 5700 rpm at 32 to 34 knots with this prop. Not sure of that is low?

Interesting things I am finding is with having ability to see how many litres per hour burned in real time is useful.

For longer trips it seems like it's a difference of only 5 litres per hour to go faster get there quicker which saves more fuel anway.

Looking like my boat wants to cruise a bit faster in the 4700 to 4800 rpm range.
 
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Wow that's really good that your getting 5600 with a 19. You could try a 4 blade, to get you some better midrange performance.
 
SpringVelocity said:
Did a WOT test when I was out yesterday. I am maxed out 5700 rpm at 32 to 34 knots with this prop. Not sure of that is low?

Interesting things I am finding is with having ability to see how many litres per hour burned in real time is useful.

For longer trips it seems like it's a difference of only 5 litres per hour to go faster get there quicker which saves more fuel anway.

Looking like my boat wants to cruise a bit faster in the 4700 to 4800 rpm range.
Click to expand...
I think something is off. I have the same boat with the same pod. Only difference is I have a yamaha 150 with a 19p Solas 3 blade ss prop. I cruise at 3800rpm doing roughly 28mph depending on load and sea conditions. I top out at 47mph but have only had it at that speed a couple times (too fast for me). Maybe the mounting height is off or something? Is the boat loaded really heavy?
 
Shermanater said:
I think something is off. I have the same boat with the same pod. Only difference is I have a yamaha 150 with a 19p Solas 3 blade ss prop. I cruise at 3800rpm doing roughly 28mph depending on load and sea conditions. I top out at 47mph but have only had it at that speed a couple times (too fast for me). Maybe the mounting height is off or something? Is the boat loaded really heavy?
Click to expand...

My prop is same. Not sure the second set values I posted are with full tank and 2 people last time we were out. I definitely dont go that fast at 3800 rpm. Looks like you top out well beyond 5700 rpm to get that value. That is 40knots your getting at WOT crazy.

At 3800 rpm I am about 23 mph.

I would think are pods are fairly close since Larry did yours as well. Is yours a 25" leg?
 
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4200rpm = 4.00mpg
4500rpm= 3.905mpg
5000rpm= 4.21mpg

your 4200 cruise is more than adequate and your motor will thank you for it. I have had a 4 blade on my Hourston 15.25x20 and am happy I switched back. I think your numbers are pretty good..
 
SpringVelocity said:
My prop is same. Not sure the second set values I posted are with full tank and 2 people last time we were out. I definitely dont go that fast at 3800 rpm. Looks like you top out well beyond 5700 rpm to get that value. That is 40knots your getting at WOT crazy.

At 3800 rpm I am about 23 mph.

I would think are pods are fairly close since Larry did yours as well. Is yours a 25" leg?
Click to expand...
Yes 25" leg. My wot rpm was around 5500 if I remember right. I thought about dropping to an 18p to get more rpm as i think i was a bit low at wot. My motor doesn't seem like it has to work very hard so i wasn't worried about it. I do have tabs on my boat which I think are a must on these boats. Highly recommend if you haven't added them yet.
 
Shermanater said:
Yes 25" leg. My wot rpm was around 5500 if I remember right. I thought about dropping to an 18p to get more rpm as i think i was a bit low at wot. My motor doesn't seem like it has to work very hard so i wasn't worried about it. I do have tabs on my boat which I think are a must on these boats. Highly recommend if you haven't added them yet.
Click to expand...

Yeah I am trying to get tabs on. I need low profile shock ones and it seems hard to get them. Kind of annoying.
 
The only changes from shermanator I see are no trim tabs and running a dolfin. And pod might be a bit different. Hey @Shermanater can you take a picture of your pod from side and from stern with motor down? I just want to compare what you have.
 
Take a picture from the side with the engine trimmed level with the bottom of the boat
 
SpringVelocity said:
The only changes from shermanator I see are no trim tabs and running a dolfin. And pod might be a bit different. Hey @Shermanater can you take a picture of your pod from side and from stern with motor down? I just want to compare what you have.
Click to expand...

I don't have my batteries in the boat right now so can't tilt all the way down. Excuse the dirty boat I haven't cleaned it up yet. I actually think my motor is mounted a bit low as my cavitation plate is under water on plane. What's the issue with mounting tabs on your boat?
 

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