Navy inflatable assault boat help needed...

Small Boat Forum

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Hi,
First, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mike, I'm a military vehicle collector and enthusiest. I am new to boating and have much to learn on the subject.
Recently, I've come into possession of a US Navy inflatable assault boat. It is 21 feet long by 7'10" wide. The floatation tubes are 2' in diameter. The bow design leaves a channel under the boat between the pontoons. The deck is a high pressure inflatable type. Basically, it is an older (1990) Zodiac SEAL assault boat. The transom certificate plate rates the boat as is for a 40hp motor. I was able to acquire a 30 hp motor made by Mercury second hand.
Yesterday, I took the boat out for a shake down cruise on the Potomac river. While I was basically happy with the results, I did find a couple of issues I need some help on.
1. I believe the prop may not be in the water deep enough. When I throttle up on the engine past the "start" point, the engine seems to either cavitate or is getting ventilation from under the boat. Part of the problem may be that the inflatable deck is bowing when I accelerate. Any suggestions?
2. If I am getting ventilation (air trapped under the boat going through the prop) how can I solve this problem and do I need to reinfoce the bottom of the boat to change the profile in the water?
Going upstream, I attained about 4 mph according to my GPS. I feel I should be able to get quite a bit more speed out of this boat since empty it weighs 210 pounds and has a draft of maybe 2 inches.
Any help is appreciated and thanks.
Mike

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Topic - Navy inflatable assault boat help needed... - bcr #226 09:55:11 08/18/03 (0)

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