For your outboard motor to move your boat well, it has to be positioned well.
This has to do with how the outboard motor is mounted on the boat.
If it is not mounted well, there will be issues.
This can show up in symptoms of outboard mounted too high.
When an outboard motor is mounted too high, the propeller will blow out a lot of water and will not be able to move the boat well due to low water pressure.
This will affect the overall performance and movement of the boat.
In this guide, you will learn of what happens when an outboard motor is mounted too high.
You will also learn how to avoid this type of mistake.
Symptoms Of Outboard Mounted Too High
1) Inability Of Boat To Reach Top Speed
When on the water, everyone has a certain speed range they make use of.
Some people go very gentle and slow.
But a lot of other people love to have a bit of the adrenaline rush.
This makes them drive very fast when on the water with their boat.
To achieve this top speed, the position of your outboard motor is very important.
If you do not position your outboard motor very well, then you are going to have problems with speed.
One of the problems you are going to face is in attaining a top speed when your outboard is not positioned well.
This occurs when your outboard motor is mounted too high.
When an outboard motor is mounted too high, it pushes against water with lesser pressure.
This will make it hard for the outboard motor to properly move the boat to the desired top speed.
Instead of achieving the required top speed, the outboard motor will be developing noise due to the inability of the propeller to push enough volume of water with optimum pressure.
2) Excess Water Push From Propeller Above Water Surface
When an outboard powered boat is moving, the spin of the propeller is what makes this possible.
But for this to be possible, the propeller generates this force due to the water it pushes.
If the outboard motor is positioned well, then the volume of water pushed out of the water by the propeller will show.
Not just the volume of water but the height of the water pushed by the propeller of the outboard motor will show.
When the outboard motor is properly positioned well, it will not push excessive volume of water above the water surface.
But if the outboard motor is not properly positioned well, then you will see a different result.
When an outboard motor is mounted too high, the propeller will push excess volume of water above the water surface.
3) High Fuel Consumption
When you observe a change in the fuel consumption of your outboard motor, you have to check the position of the outboard motor.
This is due to the role the height and positioning of the outboard motor plays when it comes to fuel usage.
If the outboard motor is positioned well, then the propeller will be able to push water well.
This will help in moving the boat well without much strain on the outboard motor.
But if the outboard motor is not properly positioned, then there will be a performance issue.
This will show up in a high fuel demand by the outboard motor.
This is one of the signs of an outboard motor mounted too high.
When an outboard motor is fixed too high, the propeller will not be able to generate enough force to move the boat well.
This is due to the lesser pressure of water that exist at the top of water.
But when the outboard motor is well positioned, it will be able to move the boat well.
This is as a result of the propeller being able to push a high pressured water.
This will help generate more force to easily move the boat without too much pressure on the acceleration pedal.
But when the outboard motor is mounted too high, then the outboard motor will have to work extra harder in order to move the boat.
This results in a higher fuel consumption.
4) Too Much Noise From Outboard Motor
As the outboard motor is performing, the propeller will be spinning.
This spin is usually with some noticeable level of noise.
When the outboard motor is well submerged into the water, this noise is not too disturbing.
But if the outboard motor is not well positioned, then there will be a higher level of noise from the outboard motor as compared to when it is well positioned.
This is usually due to the noise from the underperforming propeller due to lower access to optimally pressured volume of water.
The excess water that is pushed above from the propeller when the outboard motor is positioned too high will also generate noise too.
This adds up to a higher level of noise when using the outboard motor that is too high in mount height.
How To Avoid Mounting Outboard Motor Too High
1) Use The Right Outboard Motor
Some of the issues that arises from an outboard motor being mounted too high is always due to the type of boat and outboard motor.
When using an outboard motor on your boat, you have to make sure that they are of the right match.
If you make use of an outboard motor that is not compatible with the type of boat that you are using, then you are going to have issues when using it.
That is why you have to make sure that you consider some factors when choosing an outboard motor for your boat.
This includes factors like the type of boat.
Is it an inflatable boat, aluminum or a wooden boat.
Also you have to consider the size of the boat too.
Using a 400 hp to power a small inflatable outboard motor will never leave a positive experience no matter how well you position the outboard motor.
This is because the weight of the outboard motor itself is enough to keep the small inflatable boat unbalanced.
So you have to make sure that the outboard motor is the right match for your boat.
2) Build Your DIY Boats To Standard
A lot of people that make use of a boat do not buy from the popular manufacturer that have a cutting edge technology in producing boats.
What they do is that they produce the boats they use by themselves.
These are mostly called DIY boats.
Some people do it well when they follow the specifications well.
Some do it poorly when they do not follow the specifications well while making the boat.
This can lead to making the height of the transom too high or too low.
This can cause issues when mounting the outboard motor.
Such issues can be seen when the outboard motor appears to be too high after being mounted.
This generates problems while making use of the boat.
So when you are making a DIY boat, you have to make sure that you follow specifications well especially the measurement of the transom.
This will help fade off the symptoms of outboard mounted too high when using your boat.
3) Use The Proper Outboard Position
Just like it is already know that positioning an outboard motor too high is not good, you have to make sure that you do it well.
How can you do this well if not by positioning it well.
To position your outboard motor well, you have to make sure that you use the height that helps the boat to perform well.
This will help your boat to move well when on the surface of the water.
This also reduces much stress from the outboard motor when functioning and helps in improving the fuel economy of the outboard motor.
All these and more is guaranteed when your outboard motor is properly mounted.
That is why you have to make proper adjustments when you discover symptoms of outboard motor mounted too high on your boat.
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