# Adding buoyancy to my boat??



## pwillato (Feb 15, 2007)

OK, so we finally got our 200 SHO on the back of the 22' Mowdy last Thursday and made a run to Mansfield with my dad and brothers. Although we did catch some fish and the motor ran great and fast as sh!!, we are now faced with the stren of the boat sitting pretty low at rest (probably 2" lower than it use to). We were concerned with the weight before we got the motor, but thought we would be ok. We use to keep a yeti in the back for a seat and storage, but we had to move it up front. That helped some, but if we walk in the back water still comes in. I just added 3) sand bags (210lbs) to the front hatch to try to get more surface of the boat on the watch which should help raise the stern right? I have also thought about welding some aluminum trim tabs up that are fully inclosed, but I'm not sure how big they would have to be to make a difference. Any ideas?? Please help!


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## Guest (May 25, 2011)

Good question. I have the same boat with a Yamaha F150. The F150 weighs 476 lbs. vs your SHO that weighs 505 lbs. My boat sits at about the same depth as yours. I'd like to know what the 2coolers have to say about it.


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## InfamousJ (May 21, 2004)

Interesting... a guy a long time ago had some sponsons fabricated onto the back of his Explorer tunnel vee.. it helped it a ton and made it a whole new animal running... maybe you can customize your Mowdy with some sponsons on each side of the motor.. similar to an aluminum boat like the custom flat but only fiberglass version.. ??


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## cclayton01 (Jun 6, 2005)

InfamousJ said:


> Interesting... a guy a long time ago had some sponsons fabricated onto the back of his Explorer tunnel vee.. it helped it a ton and made it a whole new animal running... maybe you can customize your Mowdy with some sponsons on each side of the motor.. similar to an aluminum boat like the custom flat but only fiberglass version.. ??


I was going to suggest the same thing, as I've seen the same Explorer countless times running around Churchill area.


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

X2 for fabbed sponsons. That's about the only way you are going to get any extra displacement to help lift the stern at rest. If they were built correctly, they could also serve as perma-tabs while running. They would greatly increase your hole shot!


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## InfamousJ (May 21, 2004)

cclayton01 said:


> I was going to suggest the same thing, as I've seen the same Explorer countless times running around Churchill area.


that would be Mark aka Reel bender


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## longboat (Apr 14, 2008)

There are a number of people putting floatation pods on their transoms. You can also get them aftermarket from Beavertail, Boyd's Welding and probably a few other places. Check the boating forum over at RefugeForums.

Every cubic foot of pod will give you about 63 extra pounds of floatation.


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## Guest (May 25, 2011)

Only a cell pic, but here is how deep my Mowdy sits with the battery box in the rear, a F150, and a Talon


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## fowlwaters (Jun 14, 2006)

A buddy of mine had some pods for his S-10 and had them glassed on it helped with the weight of a 4 stroke.


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## Stuart (May 21, 2004)

If you have some pods glassed in, do the obvious and have some drain plugs placed in them so you can periodically check for leaks.


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## southbay (Aug 30, 2010)

Installed custom-made fiberglass/composite side pods on several brands of boats with similar problems and they do make a big difference in displacement, hole shot and how the boat handles overall. They can also reduce tail squat quite a bit.
On your Moudy (and other look alikes) it's almost a 'must' when the motor weighs anything over 400#. Not sure where you live, but since you mentioned P.M., our shop, Cougar, is just south in San Benito. Give us a shout if we can help.


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## fishnstringer (Oct 20, 2006)

*pwiilato,*

from my perspective, and as an owner of a 23' Explorer (w/ 200 HPDI) with an elevated deck on an aluminum frame(riser), similar to yours (without the same problem), I suggest the primary problem is the console should be at the front of the riser and ice box/seat on the deck. My hull, also has the stepped transom, so I essentially have the sponsons being referenced. I'm no boat designer, and hope you get your problem solved, and at a reasonable cost.:cheers:


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

they could be boxed out of aluminum and thru bolted to the hull as well and sealed w 5200

essential the same program as an Armstrong bracket


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## rodriga (May 11, 2009)

Let us know what you find out. I am having the same issue.


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## pwillato (Feb 15, 2007)

Well we hit up Port A this weekend and even though we didn't hammer them, we still managed to get a few w/ 1 pretty good trout that went 6lbs. We had the sand bags up front and that did help, but it is still not giving use that extra lift we are looking for. I think sponsons are in our near future. Talked to the guys at Shallow Sport and they feel like the sponsons would really help us out.


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## ChampT22 (Mar 7, 2011)

*Rough Water*

Would you still be able to raise bow by triming motor?


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## Reel Bender (Sep 30, 2004)

ChampT22 said:


> Would you still be able to raise bow by triming motor?


On the Explorer we did we did loose some of the ability to raise the bow. Installing a setback jackplate solved that problem. Plus we had the back of the sponsons we installed wiith taper in them.


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## railbird (Jan 2, 2009)

If you put an 18" X 18" X 8" sponson on each side you will get 180lbs +/- a few pounds of lift (assuming a 6"/8" draft), That should solve your problem. The only thing i would suggest is be careful when you take it out for the next few times because it might effect how it drives. With the back of the boat running higher in the column, it might slide a bit more.

Put in drain plugs in each instead of foam, foam has more weight than air.


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## pwillato (Feb 15, 2007)

So my wife and I had our first child (a boy!) in July so I haven't been able to mess with the boat at all. I finally went fishing last weekend for the first time since June and I have the itch to add the sponsons again. I forgot to mention that I own a metal fabrication shop so I am going to weld up the sponsons out of aluminum myself. My goal is to get 400 lbs of lift so I can weld up a poling platform w/ a cooler seat to finish her off. I will post pics when I'm done.


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## Kyle 1974 (May 10, 2006)

Just put some helium balloons in the center console.


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## snapper tapper (Dec 21, 2006)

Add some float boxes. Make sure you angle them up a few inches. They will sit level when getting up but won't drag on plane.


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