DF 2.5 cav plate too deep?

[Almot09]

Maybe those with small kickers will tell what they think.

It's 2.5 HP - not 25. Put it on a 16ft square stern canoe, and glad that didn't get 4 HP. Light boat, 70lb empty, draws about 1.5" of water with me and motor. At half-open throttle it's running 10 mph, and turns are jittery. I'm controlling it from midship with a looong tiller extention.

The manual says that Cavitation Plate should be from 0" to 1" below the bottom. My transom is mere 14.5", and Cavitation Plate is 2" below the bottom. Look at the photo:



The bottom has a slight rocker - in the midship it's about 0.5" deeper in water than at bow or stern. So the Cav Plate is 1.5" below the deepest part of the bottom - if this is important.

Am I in "deep" trouble?

[Moonlighter]

Ideally the anti-vent plate should not be as deep in the water as yours currently is.

However, it is more critical on boats that plane along at speed. This is because the plate creates drag at faster speeds, and also affects the trim of the boat. On planing boats, that plate should be skimming the surface of the water when the boat is at speed.

Probably those issues are not nearly as important on a non-planing hull like your canoe. If it gets along OK now, don't worry too much.

But if you can, it would be ideal to lift it up to say an inch below the hull and see if it performs better, and that the prop doesn't ventilate (lose grip on the water) at that height. It will also help keep the prop away from rocks and sand when you get into shallower water.

But I wouldn't lose much sleep over it.