4 Ways to FIX Motor CAVITATION/VENTILATION

What does it mean when your motor is cavitating? Cavitation occurs when a boat and outboard are not setup properly. What happens is the prop is too close to the surface of the water. This allows some air to be drawn into the prop spin and the engine over revs. You then lose forward momentum and that is what is called cavitation. This is very common with a JET outboard.
Here are 4 solutions to this problem:
1. Ensure your outboard is on he lowest possible setting to start. After you start in that position, you can work your way until the cavitation starts and then come back one. An outboard has 4-6 different trim settings or shallow water drive settings.
2. You can use a hydrofoil to help keep the prop under water. Improve your get out of the hole performance, or your hole shot as it is otherwise referred to. This attaches to your ventilation plate on the outboard, when you give it some gas, it's going to rest on that. A lot of people who run their boats alone appreciate that at the back of the boat. A hydrofoil is something for the boat to sit up on and get up on plane faster to prevent ventilation.
3. Add a TH Marine transom wedge (5 degree positive tuck transom wedge). This puts the outboard at a 5 degree tilt further into the water. It allows the prop to bite a little bit harder or the JET outboard to grab a little more water especially in those tight Cornes.
4. The last solution is to try a prop change to fix a ventilation problem.
Thanks for watching!
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[@tx1hawkins357]

Cavitation and Ventilation are two very different scenarios. In most cases, it is as you noted having the propeller ingesting air from the surface causing loss of thrust. Cavitation occurs when the propeller compresses the water to such a high PSI that the temperature exceeds the boiling point and a gas bubble is formed. Both can cause damage to the propeller face. Someone somewhere named the “anti ventilation plate “ incorrectly and caused all the fuss. Thanks for posting this. Many many boaters could use some guidance on proper mounting and trim. Not to mention the right prop for the boat to start with. Engineer Jeff.

[@paulthompson1216]

Agree with everything except that water is not compressable.

[@armytruck08]

My issue is the new 25 mercury I purchased with a new 14 ft. Princecraft . It’s a 20” long shaft . 2023 , both models. The outboard when clamped down on the stern puts the ventilation, or anti ventilation plate two inches to low . It should line up with the lower keel @20” no? . I spoke to a mercury tech. and was told they measure from the inside of the clamp down to the lower unit bolts and not the ventilation plate . Most new small craft boats and some old have either 15” or 20” transoms . Why are the mercury small outboards 2” to long . Before it was stolen, I had a 25 four stroke Yamaha ( brand new) on the same boat a the fitment was just right , with in a half inch. Forgot to mention , I played around with the trim and jacked the motor up . By doing that it looses all its integrity not to mention it looks just wrong . Maybe one of those fins bolted would help .

[@geraldkoth654]

The fixes you describe have nothing to do with cavitation or the boiling of water due to a low pressure area. What you are trying to fix is ventilation which is pulling air from the surface into the propeller. That plate on the motor is an anti ventilation plate. This is the same sort of thing when people say quite instead of quiet, or loose instead of lose. Wrong description.

[@StrykerInflatableBoats]

Hi, you are right, it’s technically the wrong description, but the reality is people refer to this issue in the inflatable boat industry as cavitation. We are suggesting fixes for their Issues. I explain it’s actually ventilation we are fixing in the video.

[@kassugonanlahti1320]

Still dont know anything about ventilation cavitation. Try include driving sounds next time. SHOW DONT TELL!