Duck boat pods

I have a Triton 1756 center console w/ Optimax 75. The previous owner had "Beavertrail" pods added to the transom.
I like how the boat takes off quickly and with little bow rise, but I think the pods might have been installed at the wrong angle. Once on plane, they drag heavily and prevent the engine trim from being useful. The end result is the 75Hp lightweight 17ft boat has a top speed much lower than I would expect, ~22-24mph.

Should I suspect this is due to the installation of the pods, or is this typical of all duck boat pods?

Are they not parallel to the planning surface of the bottom of the boat?
Mine are and are about an inch above the plane of the bottom. I have heard of them being up to 2 inches above the plane in order to reduce drag. But in my opinion, flush with the bottom just adds extra planning surface. None of these scenarios should give the results you are speaking of.

1eyefishing said:

Are they not parallel to the planning surface of the bottom of the boat?
Mine are and are about an inch above the plane of the bottom. I have heard of them being up to 2 inches above the plane in order to reduce drag. But in my opinion, flush with the bottom just adds extra planning surface. None of these scenarios should give the results you are speaking of.

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As a general rule of thumb, if mounted parallel to the hull bottom, they need to be ~1" up from the bottom.

If mounted flush to the bottom, we generally have them slope upwards 1" over their length.

How do yours compare to the above scenarios?


Most people claim that they lose 1 - 2 mph of top end, but my customers gain more than enough in hole shot and boat stability to be very happy with them. Your results are way out of line, so something clearly is an issue.

The Beavertail pods come with a 'one size fits all' transom angle, and the instructions suggest using a piece of 1/8" sheet to fill the gap made by orienting them correctly. More times than not, the gap will be in the top (butt the bottom tight to the transom, space the top out), but I did have 1 boat where the bottom had to be spaced out.

It's entirely possible yours were simply welded straight on, and not spaced out to properly angle them.

Let us know how yours are oriented.

I see pods on new boats.... and scratch my head????? They are great when you realize you need more flotation, just add them on later. But if you buy them on a new boat.... you bought the wrong boat, 2 feet to short

Been thinking about this, apparently your pods are lifting your rear, causing the front to lower thus "bargeing". It would seem that lifting would be good but the goal is to lift starting from the front back. Where does your spray line show itself? If the 1st quarter from the nose then your pushing water. At that low of a speed, when you should be 45+ mph, I expect you to be spraying at the 3/8 mark. If half way, then your boat is not optimal, but that's where mine is due to a 150f jet on a 24 ft seaArk. As I drive along, I look at my spray, I adjust my trim on the fly watching for the spray to be as far back as possible. With your set up, your spray should be at the 3/4 point, with very little drag, and zero bargeing. I expect that you will need to change the prop when you get this worked out because your current prop was probably determined under the extreme "drag" scenario you currently have due to the pods being set up incorrectly. Correct prop makes a world of difference. It's almost like gearing on a straight drive car. Starting in the wrong gear or trying to go fast in 2nd.... you get the point. Once you get the pods set up right, then deal with the prop. If you need guidance on determining the correct pitch, then let us know, if you have a tach/rpm meter on the boat then it's easy enough. A low pitch does have awesome take off but no top end. Great for heavy loads. A higher pitch is for speed as long as it does not put your rpm's above recommended.... or never reaches optimal rpm's. Your set up has all your weight in the rear, thus the need for pods at shallow idle speeds, yet it should haul butt this way

1gr8bldr said:

I see pods on new boats.... and scratch my head????? They are great when you realize you need more flotation, just add them on later. But if you buy them on a new boat.... you bought the wrong boat, 2 feet to short

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This^^

Never understood why anyone would want them on a new boat when you just could have gotten a longer boat to start with.

cowhornedspike said:

This^^

Never understood why anyone would want them on a new boat when you just could have gotten a longer boat to start with.

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In many cases, having the buoyancy aft of the transom is desirable. With heavy outboards, they really can make a difference, as they put the lift even with the outboard, not forward of it.

I'll be putting them on my jet boat this winter. A guy I fish with has basically the same hull, configured the same, but 2' longer, and we put them on his, too, with excellent results. Kinda defeats the 2' longer hull idea.

bassboy1 said:

In many cases, having the buoyancy aft of the transom is desirable. With heavy outboards, they really can make a difference, as they put the lift even with the outboard, not forward of it.

I'll be putting them on my jet boat this winter. A guy I fish with has basically the same hull, configured the same, but 2' longer, and we put them on his, too, with excellent results. Kinda defeats the 2' longer hull idea.

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With my boat, I built it to allow the entire hull to do the work of floating. My cranking battery, gas tank, etc, is up front so that the front and rear sit exactly the same depth in the water. I have a level epoxyed on the console. If I am trying to putt through 5 inches of water, I may tell a passenger to come forward... or rearward inorder to get the boat level. Instead of 8 inches deep in the rear, and 3 in the front, I'm 4.5 and 4.5. This way I know I'm at optimal clearance. Boats rigged without intentional weight distribution... they do need pods, and work well.

1gr8bldr said:

With my boat, I built it to allow the entire hull to do the work of floating. My cranking battery, gas tank, etc, is up front so that the front and rear sit exactly the same depth in the water. I have a level epoxyed on the console. If I am trying to putt through 5 inches of water, I may tell a passenger to come forward... or rearward inorder to get the boat level. Instead of 8 inches deep in the rear, and 3 in the front, I'm 4.5 and 4.5. This way I know I'm at optimal clearance. Boats rigged without intentional weight distribution... they do need pods, and work well.

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I get what you are saying, but we aren't setting pods up for at rest flotation (at least on a new boat, the old boat with a problem is a different story). They are principally for hole shot. It's very easy to get a boat to level out at rest, but what about shallow water take offs? We want to keep that stern from digging any more than required.

Put enough weight forward to get fast stern lift, and it rides nose heavy at rest, or doesn't steer as comfortably on plane. Obviously, these are problems more noticeable with shorter boats, not really going to be an issue on a 24'er. That doesn't mean we have too small a boat, though. I go places you wouldn't dream of attempting, just due to a smaller boat.

Moving weight of people is great when idling, not so safe when accelerating to wide open.

I'm like you on the weight distribution. My boat sits perfectly level at rest. It's the stern lift during take off that we are looking at improving.

Trust me, I hated the idea too, when they first started gaining popularity around here. But, after installing a couple dozen sets (and opening my mind a bit), I really do see the benefit in certain situations.

bassboy1 said:

I get what you are saying, but we aren't setting pods up for at rest flotation (at least on a new boat, the old boat with a problem is a different story). They are principally for hole shot. It's very easy to get a boat to level out at rest, but what about shallow water take offs? We want to keep that stern from digging any more than required.

Put enough weight forward to get fast stern lift, and it rides nose heavy at rest, or doesn't steer as comfortably on plane. Obviously, these are problems more noticeable with shorter boats, not really going to be an issue on a 24'er. That doesn't mean we have too small a boat, though. I go places you wouldn't dream of attempting, just due to a smaller boat.

Moving weight of people is great when idling, not so safe when accelerating to wide open.

I'm like you on the weight distribution. My boat sits perfectly level at rest. It's the stern lift during take off that we are looking at improving.

Trust me, I hated the idea too, when they first started gaining popularity around here. But, after installing a couple dozen sets (and opening my mind a bit), I really do see the benefit in certain situations.

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I did not realize they were for take off. They became popular about the time of the heavy 4 strokes so I incorrectly assumed it was all about flotation.

bassboy1 said:

They are principally for hole shot. It's very easy to get a boat to level out at rest, but what about shallow water take offs?

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It's probably length in my case, but I am on plane instantly. It does not dive or push any water at all. However, it's sucking very hard at this point so any debris is going to get picked up therefore, shallow water takeoffs are not ideal. Bringing it off plane is another story. It does dive in the rear so I can't come off plane unless i have at least 12 inches of water.