H 18 question / opinions

[Easy Rider]

Morning, I have been looking for an older Xpress Camo boat. Need something I can use for bass / specks / and hunting, So I wont have to worry about the carpet and the pretty glass finish. I've recently sold my Triton Glass boat " which was a great bass fishing rig but too pretty to drag a hog on the bow, or slime it up w/ speckled trout. Living near the Tensaw Delta I need something that I can hunt and fish out of. I have located an older Camo H18 w/ a 115 Optimax. It appears that this may be "best of both worlds for my situation. If this boat checks out I may buy it. Would like to hear from the H18 owners & previous owners concerning up-grades and accessories. Is there enough room to add power pole? Room for hot-foot w/out being too cramped up ? Overall opinions about the boat...? My son and I still bass fish quite a bit so I would like to add a few things as we go along. thx

[BOATS]

Plenty of room for pole, and I am 6'6" and can stretch my legs fully under the console so I am sure there is enough room for a hotfoot seeing my inseam is 36.

[Easy Rider]

Thx for info. I hope this boat checks out ok. If not I may go look at a new one.

[MattMas]

I love my h18. I have hot foot and blinker trim. I plan to add a talon soon. I tournament fish out of it often and it's great. There is a deck extension in mine that is a must for bass fishing in my opinion. Boat is solid I don't think you can go wrong.

[bama jim]

I have a 2017 Xpress X18 pro. I live an hour from Tensaw, and am closer to the lower Escambia. if you would like to try before you buy, I would be glad to meet you, and let you drive and I will ride, then you can make up your own mind.

[Easy Rider]

Thx bama j. I am supposed to look at the older boat this Thursday and put it in the water. If it doesn't work out, I may just take you up on the offer... "its good to see Southern Hospitality still alive and well"...

[bama jim]

Offer is good any time, good luck hope it works out for you. ROLL DAMN TIDE!!!

[Easy Rider]

We'll I bought the boat. Turned out it was not an H18 but an H56. Boat and trailer were solid, motor ran great. Dropped it off at the shop, my mechanic is going to replace a few switches and a couple of lights, then he is going to install a hot foot and blinker trim & a new Helix 7. Thinking about adding a power pole in a few weeks. Question is, " is it ok to mount directly to the hull or do I need a bracket"? Thx

[Dbnaileng]

The bracket is best since you can move it to minimize drag.

[Easy Rider]

10-4, thx. My son helped me find some more info on brackets, etc. I have gone this far, I might as well do it right...

[Dbnaileng]

I'm assuming it has a jackplate and you're talking about a jackplate bracket.

[Easy Rider]

no jack plate "at this time", was under the impression I can put a bracket between motor and hull, and spacer on the other side. saw some pics of similar set up.

[Dbnaileng]

I haven't seen any like that but I'm sure they exist. From everything I've read and my experience with these gulls a jackplate is a must to get the best performance out of them. In the least the bracket where you can adjust the height of the poles would be very beneficial.

[Easy Rider]

10-4. Thx. this is an older rig, and as I mentioned earlier, I am going to add some things as I can... I have just not read where a jack plate helps the smaller engines like my 115 as much as the bigger hp set ups... if I knew for a fact it would, I will add one in a few moths when I save up a lil more cash...

[BOATS]

no jack plate "at this time", was under the impression I can put a bracket between motor and hull, and spacer on the other side. saw some pics of similar set up.

SET BACK PLATE

[Easy Rider]

thx... Is that what is also referred to as a "manual Jack plate"... ? that may be the easiest fix.

[BOATS]

thx... Is that what is also referred to as a "manual Jack plate"... ? that may be the easiest fix.

No sir, Manual Jackplate can still be moved up and down just manually no hydraulics, setback plate is bolted on and engine stays in one position just farther back in clean water.

[Easy Rider]

10-4, your right, I've seen that set up on some smaller rigs. I was advised that spending the money on a Hyd. J-plate may not really make a big difference on my boat. I pulled up Bobs fixed "set back plates" and they have 4", 6" and 8". I would assume the 4" would be the one I would need ? ?

[Ranger391v]

A couple of things to clarify some of this.

'Easy Rider' ...... you are correct, there is a 'bracket' that mounts PowerPoles/Talons that bolts between the motor and hull (or motor and jackplate), and it has a spacer for the other side to balance out the thickness of the bracket you just added.

Static Setback plates ......... for what you need, in my opinion, is a waste of money. Granted you'll get the setback, but you will not have the ability to dial in the perfect prop shaft height, which is so critical for these boats (meaning all lengths of hyperlift hulls).

Manual Jackplate ........ it's just that, a jackplate that can be adjusted manually by turning a few bolts. This is will allow you to move your motor in small increments, which will allow you to dial in the perfect setup. Know that by purchasing a manual jackplate it will leave you having to make a decision of a 'compromise motor height' between WOT speed and midrange ride quality. With that said, I AT LEAST recommend this over a setback plate. Vance makes a really good manual jackplate that is not expensive. I've owned several of them on various boats and currently have one of theirs on my duck boat.

Hydraulic Jackplate ...... same as a manual, but it can be adjusted on the fly by use of a hydraulic trim motor that moves the plate up-n-down. Know that a hydraulic jackplate is a must if you demand every last MPH out of your hyperlift hull, but you don't want to sacrifice the midrange ride quality. You'll be able to run it deep for holeshot and midrange, but then be able to raise your prop shaft height for the optimal WOT setting.

As for if your boat will benefit from a hydraulic jackplate ..... I can't see where it wouldn't. We have noted gains on the little 16' hyperlift where both boats had identical motors but I had a manual and my buddy had a hydraulic. This was when we both were running 50's, then later 75's/90's. I've also seen where a 17' Triton Magnum (aluminum pad hull) with a 90 Optimax was re-flashed with a 125-tune and gained speed, but also gained again when going from a manual jackplate to hydraulic jackplate. The biggest thing with all of these aluminum pad hulls is that they need a prop shaft height that's deeper on the holeshot and midrange to prevent porpoising and lack of lift at midrange ....... yet to get the very last MPH out of the rig, you then have to raise the prop shaft height. If you maintain that deeper shaft height, then you are compromising your top end speed.

As far as how much setback ......... I would get AT LEAST a 6". As far as if the 10" works any better (like it seems to on a lot of the +150hp boats) IDK. There have been some other guys who have had the H56 in the past, maybe starting a new thread with 'H56' in the title might get some of them to comment on what worked best for their boats. I do know that a lot of those guys spoke highly of their H56.

I hope this helps clarify a few things for you.

Good Luck!

[Easy Rider]

thank you for your input, I will discuss options w/ my mechanic and go from there.