# Pods vs Trim tabs



## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

Weld on the pods and then mount a cav plate on the lower unit like a Permatrim foil.


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## Snakesurf (Jun 18, 2019)

X2 Pods. My buddy has them on his boat and they work great. He put a cavitation plate on but he said he did not notice a difference, but he also doesn't have a jack plate. If you add a jack plate then I believe you will want the cav plate. It will help hold water around the prop when it is lifted.


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## Gatorgrizz27 (Apr 4, 2015)

How shallow do you want to run? If you do a decent sized tunnel, the pods will probably just offset that volume loss, and you’ll end up with the same static draft. No better when actually poling. 

I’m excited to see what my boat will do with a Powertech SRA 3 prop and a compression plate. From the people I’ve talked to it should be able to run pretty dang high. I’m not running a tunnel or pods.


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## Jarett (Aug 23, 2016)

Gatorgrizz27 said:


> How shallow do you want to run? If you do a decent sized tunnel, the pods will probably just offset that volume loss, and you’ll end up with the same static draft. No better when actually poling.
> 
> I’m excited to see what my boat will do with a Powertech SRA 3 prop and a compression plate. From the people I’ve talked to it should be able to run pretty dang high. I’m not running a tunnel or pods.


As shallow as possible! However since this hull wasnt designed for a tunnel I'll only got 2-3 inches max.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Jarett said:


> As shallow as possible! However since this hull wasnt designed for a tunnel I'll only got 2-3 inches max.


Your tunnel might be 2-3 inches but you may lose 3-4 when at rest resulting in a net increase in draft.

Weld on some pods and go fishing/hunting. Skip the work and hassle of the tunnel.


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## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

You can't polish a turd. Not that a $300 Alumacraft boat and trailer combo is a turd, but it's not a rig to worry about extensively modifying. It is what it is and it's not a poling skiff. Neither pods nor tabs will make a very significant change in the boat's functionality. Just balance the weight you add, hang a motor and go fishing. There are better projects on which to spend your time and money.


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## Salty Dawg (Mar 10, 2020)

I picked up a 1956 16' Alumacraft and trailer and re-did it about 10 years ago. I paid $100 for it at a garage sale. It was pretty much a wreck, but had a clear title.










I striped it down, put in a small console, built a forward raised casting deck, put on a 20hp motor, and fished it on the shallow flats here in Homosassa for about 5 seasons until my next project.










I never found a need for tabs, the motor wasn't too heavy and didn't weigh down the stern.










If a higher speed is wanted and you put a big, heavy motor on, you might want to add pods. Skip the tunnel.





.


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## GaG8tor (Jul 8, 2019)

Salty Dawg said:


> I picked up a 1956 16' Alumacraft and trailer and re-did it about 10 years ago. I paid $100 for it at a garage sale. It was pretty much a wreck, but had a clear title.
> 
> View attachment 132582
> 
> ...


That is sweet. Nice job


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