Strut Angle and Placement

[2manymustangs]

I guess I'll need to start. I've asked multiple people where the optimum placement for the strut needs to be on a Spectra/Howard cruiser bottom. Every answer I got was, between 20 and 23 inches from the transom to the end of the barrel. So where did that number come from? The only person that ever gave me an answer to that was Bob Teague. His formula is to place the end of the barrel 1 inch per foot off the transom.
So unless somebody can give a better rule, let's say that it the rule for strut placement on cruisers. How about angle? What's the rule?

Cruisers:
Rule #1. Placement/position = 1" per ft from transom to barrel end.

Im going to throw something out here until someone that actually KNOWS happens onto this question... There have been plenty of threads on the other sites over the years where Rankin and others that are "in the know" have shared...

Seems to me that for any given hull design (flat or hydro) there is a time tested/proven sweet spot for the prop location depending on the strut angle/vdrive angle... The angle can and will radically change the way the boat acts, I will lets someone else talk to that...

As for the strut placement, that would depend on the TARGET prop location because you can only have so much prop shaft left between the strut barrel and the prop AND have the prop shaft survive...

SO you have to start with a known sweet spot/target prop location and work forward from there... The rig I saw for cutting the prop shaft hole was used AFTER the strut location was picked and the strut is in place... Then a prop shaft with a hole saw gizmo is used to follow the CENTERLINE of the barrel forward to the location where it intersects the bottom of the hull, the hole is cut and then you can start working toward the GEAR BOX placement...

With given angles of the strut and the gear box/vdrive there are going to be some basic dimensions that you will end up with once you pick either PROP LOCATIONS OR Engine location/angle... I don't know OR don't remember from past conversations but it is probably a compromise of engine placement but most importantly prop placement under the hull...

YOu don't want much prop shaft exposed between the front of the prop hub and the back end of the barrel...

Keep in mind that this ^^^ is for applications where you are putting enough load on the prop shaft to whip the shaft with tooooo much shaft exposed after the barrel... Which leads to prop placement, PROP placement under a performance boat is a HUGE factor in how the boat acts, even as little as .080 - .100 of adjustment in the prop locations fore and aft...

As I said, the sweet spot for prop location for a given hull is prolly more of a time tested/proven location than it is some kind of extrapolation any one thing... <<< speculation, im sure that the critics will have a field day with this...