prop driven tunnel hull HELP

[wetaline]

Hey guys I just bought a 2072 Tunnel hull Seaark witha 90 hp optimax on it. I have been wanting to fish an area that gets down to about 16 inches in one spot for about 50 feet. I am scared to death to hit it on plane. Do any of you guys have any experience running very shallow in tunnel hull. Just scared I may rip the prop to pieces.

 

[b.lee]

You need to know what you are running across before you commit. 16" of water over a soft mud bottom is very different than 16" of water over gravel or rocks.

Does your rig have a jackplate, or fixed-mounted engine? You should be able to figure how your boat runs, do some measurements and have a good idea of how much water you need. You probably have already done this.

If you can run in 15" of water, theoretically you could run in 16", but a single 2" hump or rock or log could be bad, again depending on the bottom.

Do you have an aluminum or stainless prop? I'd be more concerned about your skeg and lower unit than the prop. Props are easy to fix, but significant damage to a stainless prop usually means more damage to the lower unit.

I have a tunnel hull boat that I built for fishing flats in FL, a shallow water machine. We ran over sand bottoms though, no rocks in sight.

Shallow water is a good argument for "when in doubt, don't."

 

[wetaline]

Man thanks for the reply it's rock I am trying to crossover the old Indian fish trap that is about a 1/4 mile down from where the ocoee runs into the hiwassee. Stainless prop and I don't have trim but boat drafts about 7 inches and with skeg at the lowest possible point it's about 4 to 5 inches lower than the draft. I have no experience runnin in less than two feet I have of course floated it but not ran in it so it just makes me nervous