# Shallow Blaster pros and cons



## fishnfool (Jul 23, 2004)

I've had a shallow blaster on my boat since it was new and always thought it helped me by keeping water on the prop and intake when jacked up. I was recently told by a friend who removed a shallow blaster that he got more speed and a better ride without it and couldn't tell any difference in water pressure or performace when jacked up. I know all boats are different and it will depend on your hull. Mine is on a 23' Explorer TV. I think I may take it off before this weekend just to see what if anything is different but am curious about others opinions.

Thanks!


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## chasingtail (Mar 26, 2006)

I Had A Shallow Blaster On My 18 Ft Shallow Sport. When I Got The Boat It Was Already On. My Motor Would Get Hot And When I Dropped The Jack Plate It Was Like I Had Alot More Drag. After I Took The The Blaster Off I Lost Some Hole Shot But The Motor Did Not Get Hot Near As Much And I Did Get Alittle More Speed Out Of It. I Am Not Sure If My Temp Problem With The Motor Is All The Blasters Fault I Have A New E Tec And Have Been Hearing It Is A Common Problem. I Had Someone From Evinrude Look At The Motor Down At Shallow Sport On The 9th So I Might Get Some New Info Soon.


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## MrG (Apr 10, 2005)

I've been thinking about a plate, too. Watching this thread.


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## Spots and Dots (May 23, 2004)

We've got one on our Marshall Top Water. It is mounted on a Johnson, and we maintain about 15 lbs of water pressure with the motor jacked all the way up. I feel like it does a great job of keeping water on the prop and water intake. We get a little mist from behind sometimes and i feel like the cav plate causes it.


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## GreatWhite4591 (Sep 7, 2005)

My skooter came with one. Too much drag and ran hot. Tossed it and haven't had a problem since. Wedged the motor more for extra lift, never miss it.


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## fishnfool (Jul 23, 2004)

I think I'm going to fish Sat. and will take it off before going this weekend to see the difference. I've got 135 hours in a little over a year with it on so I know well how it performs in most all situations with it. I'll let you know the difference good or bad without it after I try.


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## coachlaw (Oct 26, 2005)

Got one I've never put on. It's brand new and ready to go. PM me if you want it. Cost me $230 with tax. I'll sell it for the same. I could use the cashola right now. - Coach


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## shallowgal (Jun 11, 2004)

*compression plate*

I don't have a lot of experience with your model of boat, but on our 21'V and 24'V the compression plate is definitely beneficial in my opinion, and crucial on the other models of Shallow Sports. It is mainly for great hole shot, but also helps out with the PSI, and I find that it helps to stabalize those V-hulls and keep them from porpoising too much, kinda like a trim tab. You just have to keep constant vigilance on where the plate is in the water. Obviously it will cause some extra drag if it's pushed beneath the surface of the water.

I've been on several Shallow Sport's both with and without plates, and I'd say they are definitely beneficial if not necessary.

Be careful about buying a "one-size-fits-all" type of compression plate. We have different plates for each different type of motor.


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## shallowgal (Jun 11, 2004)

*Evinrude overheating*

Chasing TAil-

Is that your 18' w/ the striped cushions?


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## fishnfool (Jul 23, 2004)

That's interesting. The boat my buddy said did better without the plate was a 21' ShallowSport (the original one not the newer V model), but maybe he had the wrong plate for his motor.


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## aggie99 (Aug 8, 2005)

I have a 21tv Explorer with a Yamaha 150. When I first ran the boat, I did not have a cavitation plate or trim tabs. 

Without a cavitation plate or trim tabs, I found that my boat would run 41mph at WOT. This is with the Jack Plate all the way up, and the engine trimmed. Unfortunately, I found that I could not trim the engine very high, and the boat always seemed to propose. The engine was always slightly tucked under the boat. 

I Added a Boatwright cavitation plate, which fixed my propose issue and allowed me to trim the engine more evenly. The Boatwright cavitation plate provided me many benefits and no disadvantages. It allowed me to run at slower speeds while staying on a plane, plus it allowed me to have a better hole shot. It also allowed me to keep the bow of the boat down while running in ruff water, which gives an improved ride in the ruff stuff. 

The cavitation plate also allowed me to trim the engine higher, and at a more even level. While the cavitation plate did cause for more drag, it was neutralized by the ability to trim the engine more evenly. This allowed my prop-wash to push the boat more evenly. My boat was still able to run 41mph at WOT. 

I would assume that trim tabs would provide even better performance plus provide the same achievements as a cavitation plate, but in my scenario the benefits did not outweigh the cost. Personally, I would not see that using both a cavitation plate and trim tabs would be that beneficial in this scenario, since they both seem to accomplish the same goal. I would think that using both would be over kill and reduce speed. 

That is my 2 cents...


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## fishnfool (Jul 23, 2004)

I have both, and I think the trim tabs are a must for my boat. The cavitation plate doesn't begin to offer all the benefits of the tabs. The ride of the boat in rough water is 110% better with the tabs down and they allow me to even the boat out with weight on one side or the other. They also help jump up when I'm in water that is almost too shallow for this boat.


I took it off (shallow blaster)and ran it today. Top speed was the same. Hole shot was similar maybe a little better with it but not much. The boat will porpoise a little less with it and backs up much better without it. I'm going to put it back on since I have it but don't think it really makes enough difference on my boat to buy if I were doing it over again.

Just my 2 cents.....


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## Spots and Dots (May 23, 2004)

I agree with the backing comment. With a "normal" tunnel, you need to tuck the mototr to maximize reverse, but with a big cav plate, you have to push it. I find that by flattening the motor out I have the best reverse. I also am able to get up shallower by raising my motor all the way up, tucking the motor, hammering it, then start lowering the motor. I think it allows the prop to spin, then I get the real bite. I have a set back and a flats jack on the TopWater.


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