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hi, i'm the new guy in town so please excuse any faux pas...i bought this whaler and i had in my basement a MY 2000 yamaha 6 hp 2stroke. just had the water pump replaced and she runs great, but i can't get the little tender to plane down. should i buy an 8 hp? the tender is rated for 5 hp. i weigh 175 lbs and the engine weighs 65 lbs....any ideas out there?? thanks, tuck

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8 HP vs 6 HP is not going to make a lot of difference........I would guess the mounting of the motor will be the major factor in getting the boat on a plane. You might try moving the fuel tank as far forward as much as possible. Check the tilt on the motor and make sure it is all the way down. Does the 6hp appear to be running to it's full potential?

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I looked through the Boston Whaler catalogs and don't see the 9' tender listed until 1977 and it is called the "Standard 9"...
In 1978 they call it the "Tender 9"...

At any rate, they don't mention the length of shaft for this 9' model so I assume it would use the 15 inch short shaft motor but I could be wrong.

What length of shaft is your motor?

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it's a 15" shaft. i need to measure the transom but i think my wife told me it's 17". my marina guy said i could use a 15 or 20 inch shart. the motor runs great. i bought a tiller extension bar and i'll try sitting on the middle bench seat. i'll also try to sit on the bow anchor locker while my wife operates the tiller. somebody here at work told me to try one of those fins on the motor shaft or to DECREASE the size/pitch of the prop?? thanks, tuck

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if i post the hull #, would it be possible for someone to identify the year of the tender?? the New York registration says 1972...which doesn't make sense to me either. it wouldn't be the first time DMV got a boat year wrong!! --tuck

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Tuck, I had a 9' tender this summer with an 8hp Evinrude on it. The manual says it is not designed to plane off but with one person in it get way up front upon throddle up. Once she gets up on plane you can come back to the middle seat. As far as the length of the motor, you just need to make sure that the fin on the lower unit is at or below the keel of the transom. The concern is the motor being able to pick up water when up on plane. That 6hp Yamaha should be able to plane of too if it's tuned correctly. I need to check my hull ID and get back to you to see if it corresponds with the year. Best. M.

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GREAT ADVICE!! THANKS, I'LL CHECK THAT BOTTOM FIN TO MAKE SURE IT CLEARS THE BOTTOM OF THE TRANSOM. I'LL TRY THE PLANING-OFF PROCEDURE YOU RECOMMEND. THANKS, TUCK