How Do I Stop My Boat From Porpousing?

When your boat is rising up and diving down like a porpoise on a rampage and the water is generally calm, the boat is said to be "porpoising." Porpoising happens when one of the forces acting on the boat is slightly out of sync with the others; this can result from the direction of the thrust from the motor, the effect of gravity on the boat's loading or the flow of the water around and under the boat. The relationship between these elements can be altered in some way to reduce or eliminate porpoising.

Instructions

    • 1

      Distribute the passengers through the boat so they aren't all sitting at the front or the rear, or congregating along one side.

    • 2

      Tilt your motor up or down, using the motor's trim switch. If the porpoising increases, tilt the motor the other way until it stops.

    • 3

      Touch the bottom of the two trim tab switches on the dash at the same time, if your boat is equipped with trim tabs. If the porpoising increases, stop pressing the bottom of the switches and press the top of both switches at the same time. Release the switches when the boat stops jumping up and down.