Going lithium

[Brad Jones]

721/sho, poles, hydraulic jackplate. I’m goin interstate cranking 31 and 36 volt 60ah lithium battery with onboard charger. So I’ve read that some people loose top end speed, is it possible to get back with trim shims or is it gone forever? I know someone will have the answer to ease my worries.

[Jasonrs]

Ive heard you can drop the plate down a little, also maybe have some cup added to your prop. I havent sprung for lithiums yet, but have been reading up on em a little

[Skincheese]

I have a friend with a Phoenix 920 and he switched out all of his lead batteries for Lithium's and now has issues with boat control. I was also speaking to a support person at Power Pole about a charging issue with my charger and I made the comment about switching to Lithium and he told me that some boats (including Phoenix) have not addressed this issue yet with their hull design because of the lighter weight in the rear by switching to Lithium batteries. I also have a 920 and at one point considered switching to lithium but now I am not so sure I want to make the switch. Have other Phoenix owners experienced boat control issues after making the switch?

[ThomasD]

I have a 920 Pro XP and went all in on lithuims about a year ago. 3 50a's and a 125a. No handling issues whatsoever but did lose a little bow lift and a few mph up top. On the bow I have a 36v Ultrex and 2 12" graphs. Sent one of my props off to Croxton to get balanced and blueprinted along with some cupping to help with bow lift. It now runs as fast if not faster than before.

[sdendy]

I have all lithiums never any control issues but did lose 2 mph top end. I will say everything else still makes it worth it to me. Planning speed, shallow water draft, speed of recharging, and when you tow watch how the trailer bounce is a heck of a lot less than before. I will always say this it is not a purchase it is an investment I have had them since 2018 and I have gone to a Lithium battery for starting for this year and a separate Lithium battery for my electronics.

[DREWTICK]

I have setup many Phoenix's with Lithium's and never seen any loss of boat control, in fact most experience better handling, loose speed yes if you just stick them in and leave everything the same, you will loose 1.5 to 2 mph but this can be gained back plus some, first is to lower the jack plate , second reorganizing and moving heaver stuff to the back , 3rd cup in the prop, if you want to go further add trim wedges
we setup 2 that loss 2 mph but gained 4mph back after charges, so running 2mph faster with lithium's.

[fishin couillon]

Explain the boat control issues.

I have a 619 and all Li batteries..... not as fast as others but I didn't see any loss on top end. Still runs the same, no walking, fast out the hole, and sitting still bow is not as high. So far, no regrets on the full swap over.

[haus9393]

I have a friend with a Phoenix 920 and he switched out all of his lead batteries for Lithium's and now has issues with boat control. I was also speaking to a support person at Power Pole about a charging issue with my charger and I made the comment about switching to Lithium and he told me that some boats (including Phoenix) have not addressed this issue yet with their hull design because of the lighter weight in the rear by switching to Lithium batteries. I also have a 920 and at one point considered switching to lithium but now I am not so sure I want to make the switch. Have other Phoenix owners experienced boat control issues after making the switch?

The boat will be prone to walking more I find when going to lithium. It is lighter and acts more squirrelly with the less weight especially running wide open in a 1ft chop and not much gas in the boat. That is probably what your buddy is experiencing. He will get used to it over time.

[Bartman]

I have setup many Phoenix's with Lithium's and never seen any loss of boat control, in fact most experience better handling, loose speed yes if you just stick them in and leave everything the same, you will loose 1.5 to 2 mph but this can be gained back plus some, first is to lower the jack plate , second reorganizing and moving heaver stuff to the back , 3rd cup in the prop, if you want to go further add trim wedges
we setup 2 that loss 2 mph but gained 4mph back after charges, so running 2mph faster with lithium's.

X2

[Brad Jones]

I’m gonna go ahead and get my prop worked and I’ve already bought shims (5 degree). Has anyone had any porpoise issues at slow speeds with wedges in a 721

[va floater]

We added power poles and lost a couple mph because we added weight to o the back, so we put Lithiums in and take about the same weight out of the back. You should be back to where you were without power poles. Everyone has gone to 3 to 4 graphs with 360 units and ffs, heavy trolling motors all mounted on the front of the boat, that’s the worst place to add weight. Then they cry when the boat is bow heavy. People really need to look at what they are doing and understand what boat balance is. Just my $.02

[BroWhoop]

Don't have lithium but cab tell this about weight positioning in the boat. I have always run heavy. I totally emptied out my back compartments and wells were empty. Changing nothing else at WOT the boat was uncontrollable. The weight balance is very important. I did it as a test. I just don't go fast as I want my tackle up front. When my partner (son) puts all his stuff in there its fine. I don't tournament load as earlier stated, I fish heavy. As G man stated I junk fish a lot. I really shouldn't do that, just can't help myself sometimes. An addiction, got to get my junk fishing fix!

[haus9393]

I’m gonna go ahead and get my prop worked and I’ve already bought shims (5 degree). Has anyone had any porpoise issues at slow speeds with wedges in a 721

No I run 5 degree wedges on my 2021 and can run about as slow as I want on plane without any isssue. Honestly I can’t give an exact speed but maybe 15-20mph on plane. Hydraulic plate is key and wedges help with bow lift that you will lose when going lithium as well.

[Brad Jones]

Ok so I have dual power poles, so maybe that will help with weight, I plan on putting my spare prop back in and moving all my tackle to the rear boxes. I’m hoping that with those changes it will be close enough on the top end, the issue is mine is already kinda slow compared to some running 77-80. Mine has seen 74.2 but realistically runs 71-72 with my partner. In my mind if I’m gonna have a narrow boat I wanna at least run 72ish lol.

[DREWTICK]

my buddy just got his 2023 920 elite with Merc, during break in ran 81mph, running 50ah IONICs , 2 125ah spare prop poles and 12" bobs
3 graphs on the bow with 360 and a livefoot
boat was empty and 1.2 tank of gas
it should end up 77 to 78 tournament ready

[haus9393]

Ok so I have dual power poles, so maybe that will help with weight, I plan on putting my spare prop back in and moving all my tackle to the rear boxes. I’m hoping that with those changes it will be close enough on the top end, the issue is mine is already kinda slow compared to some running 77-80. Mine has seen 74.2 but realistically runs 71-72 with my partner. In my mind if I’m gonna have a narrow boat I wanna at least run 72ish lol.

My boat setup in my signature will do about 74-75mph 1/4 tank of gas and 73ish by myself with a full tank of gas. With 2 people I’m very lucky to get 73 out of it and usually running 71-72.5 mph depending on how much tackle my co angler brings. I get similar performance between a 24 and 25 fury 3 blades. My 2016 721 ran like 78 and I even ran the same prop that I used to get 77-78 on this boat and it only ran 75 under ideal conditions. Some boats just seem to be slower than others it seems but speed is typically depending on boat setup such as trolling motor accessories and how many graphs are on the bow and how big each graph is as a 7” vs a 16” Lowrance will weigh totally different as well as tackle storage especially towards the front.

[zachmeredith]

‘22 818 175ProXs, 23p Tempest, manual jackplate and dual PP’s

No Tackle pre power poles with Lead acid batteries 65mph
added tackle, power poles with lead acid batteries 61/63
added lithium 59-61mph.

my biggest issue is no hydrologic Jack and need to jump into a 22P prop, Fury or Tempest.

[Brad Jones]

Anyone in a 721 get faster after shim, prop work with lithium’s?

[chad202]

I’ll let you know soon. Just purchased 2018 721 with 2-stroke. Went full lithium today and thinking I’ll end up at 14” setback. Bringing it in to get serviced next week so it’ll be a few weeks.

[Brad Jones]

Mine is goin in tomorrow I’ll keep you guys posted.