Help with driving and power loading my caracal

[franktank009]

Hey guys,

boat setup: 16 caracal 225 sho w/ 25 t1



I need some help with my caracal. Picked the boat up during the winter and have had it out a few times. I am new to bass boats and don't really have
anybody to show me the ropes. So what I can and can't do with the boat is all trial and error right now lol.

So with the limited time I have spent on the water I have figured out a few things but am still baffled at others. My boat has all 3 gas tanks
in it, and being new I filled all 3 of em up. I wont be doing this again as it is just too much weight. I'm learning the effects of the jackplate
on the hole shot. I don't play with the jackplate too much right now mostly due to inexperience.


One of my main questions is about trimming. So basically how I have been driving is I break over with the motor tucked and get on plane. I gain
some speed with the motor still tucked in. The steering gets hard so I start to trim out more and more as I throttle into it and rpms start to climb.
This usually makes the steering ease up a bit. At this point I could be at 5000rpm doing 55mph (don't know if these are exact numbers). So at this
point it seems to be all trim, the more I trim the higher the rpms get and the faster she goes, I've had it up to 68mph but the lakes have been rather busy.
The problem is when I get into the high trim and speeds I cannot turn the steering wheel to the left... My rooster tail seems to be slightly above
the motor.

I'm hoping some of you guys can give me some tips on driving this thing... Is my jackplate too high or too low and causing really hard steering?
I also think I am not trimming aggressively enough earlier on while gaining speeds?

My next issue is loading the boat on the trailer. I found the easiest spot to get it lined up is with about 8 to 12 inch's (more if the ramp is steep) of the short bunks
out of the water. The caracal seems to sit really high on the trailer and there's not much of the fender to guide the boat on. So again it seems
to load best for me if I keep the trailer very shallow. My question is what are you guys doing with the motor? The first time I loaded I trimmed
the motor up fairly high and didn't have too much trouble getting it up to the roller, at first I was over trimmed and it would lift
the front of the boat up too much and come back down on the bunks. The next day when I was loading the boat up I tried with the jackplate all
the way up and to have the motor not quite tucked but just a bit of trim. This was much more difficult and required much more power to get the boat up.
I also think this was a bad thing to do as I think it kicked up some silt and rocks and put a little nick in my prop on 2 of the blades.

Anyways hopefully you guys can help me out with some proper technique.

[FishinCustody]

Bass Cat says the Caracals like the Jackplate Buried (FYI, I have a 2016 Caracal, but it has the twin 26 Tanks, and I have a Mercury Pro XS, 25 Fury)...I run mine at NO HIGHER than 4 on my gauge. Not sure if your is Hydraulic Jackplate or not.

Most Bass Cats don't like a lot of trim, and as you're figuring out, a lot of it is "feel". I take off the same way you do. Once on plane, I start trimming up. I haven't seen you running, but it sounds like you might be overtrimmed a little bit...especially if the steering is "tight". Trim it down a little so the torque in the wheel goes away. If you have a hydraulic jack plate, it might pay to play with settings (on the low end) a little bit.

Each ramp is different...as a general rule, I keep the short tips of the bunks juuuust out of the water. Then I drive on and let the boat settle. I probably have my trip up a little for power up just because I'm paranoid, but trim it down low enough to drive the boat efficiently up the trailer WITHOUT hitting the ramp with the lower unit.

Congrats on the new rig. Bass Boats are definitely a learning process--even between each boat.

Hope this helps.

[Louie]

Im not running a yamaha but I have a 16, 225 pro xs. atlas jp. When loading the shorter bunks need to be just slightly out of the water, maybe 2-3" max. When you get the boat aligned, and go to power load it dont let off or you wont make it, it will stick hard to the bunks and youll have to latch it/ back in the water more and re power it back on again. It stinks that roller is so high, on some ramps depending on the grade, you need to be carefull too, if you put the boat in too deep ( I like to see mine bobble but not float off) Then unload the boat in reverse. the minn kota bracket will drop onto the roller and get a little squished up. As far at performance> I dont have a yamaha, but my caracal runs 69 loaded down with a 4 blade fury. I know Jim Tate is running a older tempest on his sho, and has had good results (mid to upper 70s) Maybe he will chime in.

[Hollada]

I had a 2015 with the yamaha. Switched from the 25 T1 3 blade to a Croxton razor 4 23P. Helped a ton with tourney load hole sho (I also had th belly plus 2 26’s in the rear). Still able to get 70 probably a bit more if I pressed it, but seldom run that fast on st clair. You’ve got the driving right. Floor it and start to trim tapping it will give you more rpm and speed to a point. When you hit that point trim down a tap or two.

Loading a Caracal is a pain in the ass for me. Th boat is really designed to be power loaded and that is illegal in Michigan at dnr launches. I lave th bunks about 12 inches out of water and run it up as far as I can then get out and crank. Usually have to move the truck back a bit to get it the rest of the way in once I clear the roller.

Keep your eye on the oil level in that yamaha - especially after a day with a lot of ideling (like side scanning). Some of them tend to make oil (gas gets by the rings and into the oil). Make sure you run it hard as often as you can. I had that problem and was changing oil several times a season, dealer couldn’t figure it out.

[Sports1]

I had a 2015 with the yamaha. Switched from the 25 T1 3 blade to a Croxton razor 4 23P. Helped a ton with tourney load hole sho (I also had th belly plus 2 26’s in the rear). Still able to get 70 probably a bit more if I pressed it, but seldom run that fast on st clair. You’ve got the driving right. Floor it and start to trim tapping it will give you more rpm and speed to a point. When you hit that point trim down a tap or two.

Loading a Caracal is a pain in the ass for me. Th boat is really designed to be power loaded and that is illegal in Michigan at dnr launches. I lave th bunks about 12 inches out of water and run it up as far as I can then get out and crank. Usually have to move the truck back a bit to get it the rest of the way in once I clear the roller.

Keep your eye on the oil level in that yamaha - especially after a day with a lot of ideling (like side scanning). Some of them tend to make oil (gas gets by the rings and into the oil). Make sure you run it hard as often as you can. I had that problem and was changing oil several times a season, dealer couldn’t figure it out.

Did the razor make it smoother to turn the steering wheel?

[TAKFishing]

Lots of trial and error on loading my caracal, what I found works best is tips of the short bunks just breaking the surface (steeper the ramp have maybe and inch or 2 exposed and glide on, let it settle in. I have my motor trimmed out to where it is at the end of the hydraulic rams. Feather the throttle and get it moving till I bump the roller. For me having the engine trimmed out like that made all the difference as the nose pops right up.

[franktank009]

Well I'll try burying the jackplate. I don't know what my prop to pad is right now but I will measure it up and let you guys know what it was at. I do have a hydraulic jackplate but no gauge. I can understand that these boats don't like much trim but man right now this thing loves trim... but it gets impossible to turn the steering wheel. I got it up to 68mph and the guy i got it from took us for a ride with 3 people in the boat and got it up to 73mph. I do think knowing where to put the jackplate for the easiest driving is my first step so i'll report back when i have a p2p.

As for power loading seems like everybody has a different approach and has encountered some difficulties... I tried the short bunks only out 3 inches and I had a really hard time. One thing I will be doing is going from a 2 inch drop hitch to a 4 inch drop on my f150. I think this will make a huge difference. It also seems like a need some trim to load it up but don't overdo it...

[franktank009]

Lots of trial and error on loading my caracal, what I found works best is tips of the short bunks just breaking the surface (steeper the ramp have maybe and inch or 2 exposed and glide on, let it settle in. I have my motor trimmed out to where it is at the end of the hydraulic rams. Feather the throttle and get it moving till I bump the roller. For me having the engine trimmed out like that made all the difference as the nose pops right up.

Thanks I actually think I should try this, lots of trim and just ease onto the throttle

[TAKFishing]

Try trimming it, lifts the nose right up and takes some weight off the bunks as it is sliding up. Works for me. Dunk the bunks entirely first before positioning trailer can’t hurt either

[bigkahuna71]

If you haven't done so yet do a search on the bass cat owners board for trim, jackplate, and loading advice. There is an exhausting amount of info there on all your questions. Both general bass cat and model specific advice.

[franktank009]

Try trimming it, lifts the nose right up and takes some weight off the bunks as it is sliding up. Works for me. Dunk the bunks entirely first before positioning trailer can’t hurt either

I'm going to try this next time. I also always fully submerge the bunks to get them wet.

[franktank009]

Apparently I was running the prop at 2 inches below the pad. Seems high compared to other peoples setups on the basscat owners board. I will try running it this weekend and start at 4 inches below pad and see how it handles. I believe i had set it to that height because it helped me break over and get on plane with 2 people, livewells full and 85 gallons of gas. After running it the entire weekend I have no reason to ever put that much fuel in the boat. I think I will just run off the belly tank and put a 10 to 15 gallon reserve in the port side tank because it also had a good lean to the starboard side. Hopefully this will help level off the boat.

[lamoon78]

I run the Caracal and SHO out the hole I run my Atlas on 11-12 as she starts to break over I start jacking the plate down to 4 which is about were I run it at and start increasing trim until the front gets up then I wait for the speed to max and give it another bump on the trim and repeat until it’s too much the one bump down and run. 70-73 full load and full fuel I run a 36v system and dual blades.

[franktank009]

I run the Caracal and SHO out the hole I run my Atlas on 11-12 as she starts to break over I start jacking the plate down to 4 which is about were I run it at and start increasing trim until the front gets up then I wait for the speed to max and give it another bump on the trim and repeat until it’s too much the one bump down and run. 70-73 full load and full fuel I run a 36v system and dual blades.

I don't have a jackplate gauge so the numbers don't really help me much. Do you have the measuring ruler on the atlas? If so would you happen
to know the measurements of where you are starting for hole shot and where you drop it down to for running?

[Hollada]

Did the razor make it smoother to turn the steering wheel?

I never had any issues turning the steering wheel that I can recall. I was 3.25 PTP if that helps. Manual jackplate. Hopefully my new boat is here next week and I can get out and relearn everything. Got the G2 coming on this one and a hyd jackplate

[TAKFishing]

I never had any issues turning the steering wheel that I can recall. I was 3.25 PTP if that helps. Manual jackplate. Hopefully my new boat is here next week and I can get out and relearn everything. Got the G2 coming on this one and a hyd jackplate

Pics upon arrival!

[Hollada]

[Cajunhunter67]

I don't have a jackplate gauge so the numbers don't really help me much. Do you have the measuring ruler on the atlas? If so would you happen
to know the measurements of where you are starting for hole shot and where you drop it down to for running?

Normally if your getting to much torque in your steering, your either trimming up to much, or the jack plate needs to come down. Possibly both.
I would lower the JP quarter inch at a time. If your rooster tail is above the engine cowl, your trimming up too much.

[franktank009]

Normally if your getting to much torque in your steering, your either trimming up to much, or the jack plate needs to come down. Possibly both.
I would lower the JP quarter inch at a time. If your rooster tail is above the engine cowl, your trimming up too much.

Yea I now know my jackplate was way too high for the caracal. It was 2 inches ptp. I'm going to drop the atlas down 2 inches and start there
this weekend. With the jackplate that high it seemed to need excessive trim to lift the bow and gain speed but the steering was so torqued up id made it extremely
hard to drive.

I'll start at 4 inches ptp this weekend and report back.