Sharp Shooter
The "anti-yuppie"
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2007
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- 7,698
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You definitely got some great advice. But setting up plates is all about "feel" when you are driving it. The best way in my experience is to bring a 4 foot level and a couple of open end wrenches with you and set the plates to level /flat a notch or two on the up side of the lock handle. Go for a short spin and see how it feels at your normal operating speed and weight distribution. (if you're wife almost always rides with you then have her in the boat. Same thing with kids and coolers). Adjust the plates as needed. Pretty simple.
No offense, but this is not very good advice. lol
In general, the plates need to be set for optimum speed and handling at wide open throttle. You don't want the boat plowing, porpoising or too flighty. It needs to be safe and fast. You won't find the perfect setting by driving around at cruising speeds. The faster the boat, the more critical the plate setting becomes. If I set the plates flat on my boat, I'd be worried that the boat couldn't set back on the rocker or release the air packed under it! Those factors may be result in a bad ending and I would never try it.
Many of the better hulls have a proven set up formula that is already known. Utilizing this knowledge is both faster and safer for your boat.