POD Conversion - what style is best?

[Max123]

I'd definitely stay away from the stepped/tapered hull extension. I will totally transform how the boat sits in the water at speed, can introduce porpoising issues and will be much more sensitive to weight distribution. Even getting the engine mounted at the right height is that much harder.

On a hull extension the weight of the engine bears down on the transom, which is in direct contact with the water. On a stepped pod, the transom is riding on the water about 30" in front of the engine which is cantilevered in the air. It turns the boat into a big teeter-totter, which is super sensitive to weight distribution and will inherently drive the bow up and stern down.

You currently have a centrally mounted inboard, so the current handling dynamic is all about having lots of weight at the boat's centre of gravity. Now, your are transferring all that weight to the transom, so you want the water to carry that weight - you don't want it cantilevered.

I'd go hull extension - as wide as you can - but make use you plan everything out with room for your anodes, trim tabs, transducer, ladder, trailer tie downs, transom D-rings, etc.

 

[wolf]

I'd go hull extension - as wide as you can

Thats a balancing act, if you go too wide then the pod lifts butt end to high then you have to put lead in it...for example my pod is only 26 inchs wide i believe and boat sits perfect.
The pod builder "should" know.
All the research I did prior is hull extension all the way.and confuring with the builder he wont do a stepped pod he does however follow the bottom of boat exaclly
Stepped pod you need a lot of RPM to hold plane

 

[Coastwise]

All great information, thanks all. Got the boat out of the water today and pulling the D3 this week. Going to go flush hull extension between the trim tabs. Probably around 2 ft wide or so (tbd).
Stern photo from painting a few months ago.

 

[Pineapple Express]

All great information, thanks all. Got the boat out of the water today and pulling the D3 this week. Going to go flush hull extension between the trim tabs. Probably around 2 ft wide or so (tbd).
Stern photo from painting a few months agoView attachment 118357.

Very nice looking boat! Is that the Lucky Duck that was for sale over on the Island?

Look forward to seeing that boat with an outboard on the back and some salmon on the deck!

 

[Coastwise]

Very nice looking boat! Is that the Lucky Duck that was for sale over on the Island?

Look forward to seeing that boat with an outboard on the back and some salmon on the deck!

Yes, the “Welded Duck”! It does look like a bit of a welded duck I suppose… haha

Yes me too! Can’t wait.

 

[Pineapple Express]

Yes, the “Welded Duck”! It does look like a bit of a welded duck I suppose… haha

Yes me too! Can’t wait.

Oh yeah, Welded Duck. I oogled the pics of that one. The power seemed more for economy vs speed. You going single 300hp?

 

[Max123]

Thats a balancing act, if you go too wide then the pod lifts butt end to high then you have to put lead in it...for example my pod is only 26 inchs wide i believe and boat sits perfect.
The pod builder "should" know.
All the research I did prior is hull extension all the way.and confuring with the builder he wont do a stepped pod he does however follow the bottom of boat exaclly
Stepped pod you need a lot of RPM to hold plane

Very nice looking boat! Surprised you are pulling the D3 - looks relatively new.

My boat is a 20ft aluminium centre console and was built with a pod (extends out 30" and I think is about 24" wide) with swim grid on top. The motor is a 135 Evinrude V6 that weighs 435lbs. I've added a 6hp kicker that adds maybe another 70lbs. Even without the kicker, the boat is stern-heavy and I have to keep the motor fully trimmed down or the bow gets bouncey.

When I look at other boats in that same size range, I see that Bridgeview's 18EXT and Lifetimer 20' Offshore both use a full width hull extension and don't have 'pods'. In retrospect, I think that is the better setup. I'd rather have more flotation than less. OP is considering putting a 300-350hp outboard on the back, so potentially in the range of 650-750lbs plus another 125lbs for the kicker.

In any case, with the pod setup, just be careful about the placement of the fuel tank and batteries. Its all about achieving weight balance.

 

[Rayvon]

In the midst of removing a tapered up bracket on my 1900 Seasport and replacing it with a hull extension pod.I tried everything to solve the porpoising the bracket produced with little success ,so bit the bullet and replaced it.The bracket sucked the power out of the motor getting it up on plane,dropped off plane at too high a speed,porpoised more than the fish do and overall made a nice boat a PITA to use at speed. I'm expecting a 100% improvement with the new pod.My boat has new power with 25" legs,I would recommend buying a 30" leg motor to keep the powerhead higher out of water.

 

[Max123]

@Rayvon - Sorry to hear, that sucks.

 

[Max123]

@Coastwise - one thing to consider as well. With the pod + engine you will need to make some adjustments to your trailer setup. The pod/engine is going to significantly reduce your tongue weight and the whole boat will need to shift forward to suit. Might need a longer tongue beam.

 

[Rain City]

In the midst of removing a tapered up bracket on my 1900 Seasport and replacing it with a hull extension pod.I tried everything to solve the porpoising the bracket produced with little success ,so bit the bullet and replaced it.The bracket sucked the power out of the motor getting it up on plane,dropped off plane at too high a speed,porpoised more than the fish do and overall made a nice boat a PITA to use at speed. I'm expecting a 100% improvement with the new pod.My boat has new power with 25" legs,I would recommend buying a 30" leg motor to keep the powerhead higher out of water.

How recently did you have the first one done?

I feel like the the advice I was getting when I was asking around for my commander was stepped and tapered. And that was from more than one local pod builder. How did this so quickly change to a such a one-sided debate?

 

[Rayvon]

How recently did you have the first one done?

I feel like the the advice I was getting when I was asking around for my commander was stepped and tapered. And that was from more than one local pod builder. How did this so quickly change to a such a one-sided debate?

I don't think it's one sided,there are lots of boats that work fine with the tapered bracket,just not mine.Most Grady's came with the tapered bracket/pod from factory,they seem to run fine.I think smaller boats work best with a hull extension.

 

[Coastwise]

Oh yeah, Welded Duck. I oogled the pics of that one. The power seemed more for economy vs speed. You going single 300hp?

Yea the d3-190 was pretty underpowered. Topped out at 24kts. Haven’t decided yet but looking between 350, 300, or twin 150s.

Let me know if anyone knows of a good deal on any of the above! Would be nice to not buy new.

 

[Coastwise]

Very nice looking boat! Surprised you are pulling the D3 - looks relatively new.

My boat is a 20ft aluminium centre console and was built with a pod (extends out 30" and I think is about 24" wide) with swim grid on top. The motor is a 135 Evinrude V6 that weighs 435lbs. I've added a 6hp kicker that adds maybe another 70lbs. Even without the kicker, the boat is stern-heavy and I have to keep the motor fully trimmed down or the bow gets bouncey.

When I look at other boats in that same size range, I see that Bridgeview's 18EXT and Lifetimer 20' Offshore both use a full width hull extension and don't have 'pods'. In retrospect, I think that is the better setup. I'd rather have more flotation than less. OP is considering putting a 300-350hp outboard on the back, so potentially in the range of 650-750lbs plus another 125lbs for the kicker.

In any case, with the pod setup, just be careful about the placement of the fuel tank and batteries. Its all about achieving weight balance.

It is relatively new! Only 200hrs. The ECU is now fried though which is 6-10k plus labour and the tech recommended not sinking good money into that engine. They’re apparently pretty unreliable and it’s underpowered anyway.

I think the boat is big enough that even with adding a pod and motor way back there it shouldn’t squat too much. As long as I’m getting 500 or so lbs of flotation lift from the pod it should balance alright.

Do we know of any real downside to the hull extension pod? Buoyancy and weight distribution aside, is there a world where it could actually make it hard to trim the bow up on plane with that big surface off the stern?

I got the stern drive off and lifted out the engine today. Way easier than I thought it would be. Just built up some scaffold towers either side of the boat, put a beam across the middle and chain hoisted it out! Getting close to pod time!

 

[Coastwise]

@Coastwise - one thing to consider as well. With the pod + engine you will need to make some adjustments to your trailer setup. The pod/engine is going to significantly reduce your tongue weight and the whole boat will need to shift forward to suit. Might need a longer tongue beam.

Yes good point. I do have a little room to slide fwd. it’s got a lot of tongue weight now so probably some room to lighten it up a bit too. The annoying part of moving fwd on the trailer is making sure it fits with the fins I have on the bottom. They get in the way a bit.

 

[bryce]

Was it just the 350 that was a lemon for those years? 150s and 300s any good?

Do not buy a 350 Yamaha! Do not let a friend buy a 350 Yamaha. They are quite possibly the worst motor ever built. I would trust my buddy with no arms to paddle me back more then I would trust going on the ocean with one of those pieces of junk! Stay away stay far far away!

The v6 300 have always been good to the best of my Knowledge and the 150’s are bulletproof.

 

[Coastwise]

Do not buy a 350 Yamaha! Do not let a friend buy a 350 Yamaha. They are quite possibly the worst motor ever built. I would trust my buddy with no arms to paddle me back more then I would trust going on the ocean with one of those pieces of junk! Stay away stay far far away!

Hahah yea that seems to be the consensus. If I went for a 350 it would probably be a susuki not yam.

 

[brutus]

Yea the d3-190 was pretty underpowered. Topped out at 24kts. Haven’t decided yet but looking between 350, 300, or twin 150s.

Let me know if anyone knows of a good deal on any of the above! Would be nice to not buy new.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AcHMv8jFJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr, suke 350 good deal IMO

 

[brutus]

How recently did you have the first one done?

I feel like the the advice I was getting when I was asking around for my commander was stepped and tapered. And that was from more than one local pod builder. How did this so quickly change to a such a one-sided debate?

Do some reading on this subject, lots of opinions, they all varie, some say HE suck some say SB suck , I know one thing is Grady brackets are stepped and raked, Armstrong same, could it be that Grady one of the best ( some say lol) as bean doing it wrong all along??. I think like @Rayvon says , design and the way the boat is set up is where the fails are more prominent. Nightmare story’s of pod conversions all over the place, and success story the same. Guys with hull extension pods say it’s the way, guys with step raked brackets say it’s the way. Have fun and hope it all works out either way

 

[Coastwise]

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AcHMv8jFJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr, suke 350 good deal IMO

Thanks. I did see that one the other day. Was thinking hours might be a little high.