New steering installed and it took out all but the smallest of play in the steering. Lake test revealed that the issue where the boat was misbehaving has been resolved. Speed run of 46 mph with two people on board. Ferman, I didn't get to lake test your props yet. With the additional person I could tell the holeshot was a little slower and the lowest speed to stay on plane went up to 13.5 mph.
A quick snapshot at cruise of
30MPH 4GPH Fuel burn for 7.5MPG -- That is what the Mercury tests showed for 3500 rpm on their test mules too..
What a PITA taking out the old steering. As I already suspected there were no place to tie wires once the old cable and head were out of the way. I cut and fit a 6"tall x 30"wide piece of 1/2" Starboard with 15 ty-wrap holders and a place to mount the junction box. From there I cut all the old wire ties and straighted out each and every harness for the third or fourth time now. (LAST I HOPE) I am so happy I took the extra time to do so as it is the best rendition yet... :happy: Now it is FN DONE I said it. Labor of love the first time. Second time, not so much. :news:

Glad to hear she's coming together for you Ridge.

I see that there were a few people checking out this thread. I get wordy fast as you know. ??IDK what to say??
Thanks Bradford. Yes it is coming together. Save for the all important prop selection. I know you can appreciate the feeling of accomplishment you have at the end of a project. When the late and over-budget object of my wonderlust has had the last screw tightened and hatch battened, THEN WHAT?

I TELL YOU WHAT>> SEE YOU IN THE FISHIN SECTION...

I've found that they are never really completely finished. Always something new to add. I still need to install nav lights, finally just installed a new gps/sounder, it's almost time to redo the varnish on some of the teak, and I'm thinking about swapping my bow rail for the two piece one off the Chris Craft to work better with the bow pulpit. Want to put my deck drains through the back of the liner too instead of through the deck, and also add some hatches to give better access to the drains and scuppers.

Nothing but time and money, break out another thousand. The important thing is she's usable!

i've been checking it out also ridge. i got the v back from the dealer with the new 4s 150 on monday. got the new dash in, electronics mounted, new fuel tank, all new hoses, fill, vent, & fuel. now the break in & prop dial in. hope i'm as happy as you are.

I am going to predict, you will be happy. Mezmerized by the quiet power, momma is going to love it and fuel mileage is a fixin to go through the roof.
I just have one more repair to make on the V (Bradford is so right, it never ends), meanwhile the honey-do list is shrinking at the same time. Win-Win Add another win putting some slime on the deck. :beer:

put 2,5 hours on it this morning. definatly not in kansas anymore. very strong motor, seems to have a lot or torque at any rpm. i was loaded light, myself, safety gear, and 30 gallons of gas. topped out ay 5400 rpm 41mph. would have gone faster, just can't leave it at wot too long yet. put 35 miles on it, burned 8 gallon of gas.

Sweet, good to hear Phat!

I made it to the lake to try Ferman's 21P High Five prop. It is on plane in an instant and will stay on plane down to 11 MPH with two people on board so it wins in that department. It isn't as efficient as the 21P Thunderbolt 3 blade but it is real close. Top end was 44 and MPG of 7.1 at 3500 RPM running 26 MPH. The biggest difference is noticed in the mid-range punch. It was very smooth. I never ran the jack plate up, it was just an easy cruise for the most part.

what was hte max rpm at WOT? 23P High Five perhaps?

Figured it would work well for you. The high five was great for getting on plane, and held good, just didn't have much speed to it. It ran 50-52 on my PROLINE with just me in it, or 5 of us in it.

The High Five hit the limiter harder than the other 21P. It started cutting out cylinders (not so soft either) but that is with trim.

Sounds like it needs more prop, or more cup in the 21. At least now you have a baseline to go off of instead of buying one blind.

I'm buying yours iffin you don't mind. LOL! By the time I get a fishing load and all my catch I will need the extra RRRR's It is a remarkable piece. I don't think a 23 will be doable.

You can try that other one out to and see how it works. I think it was supposed to be close to a TEMPEST, just made by PRECISION. I would say the offer to trade out for a feeshin trip or 2 still stands, but I doubt you want whatever funk is on me getting on your boat. Last trip out I only got 1 trout, and didn't fair much better yesterday. It was such a slow day I kept a bluefish:sick:. Fishing in the backwaters north of Chas for redfish on an oyster bed, and hook up with a 20" bluefish. I then catch a 22" jack on the backside of it(and about 20 more out on the flats). I did end up picking up 4 small trout on 2 other bars on the edge of the bay. I keep seeing reds, can't get one to touch any of my lures for nothing.

I think you are too hard on yourself. You got a good trashcan slam.. That is better than the luck I had for sure..
While I was testing the prop, some lowlife SOB stole my blower and weed eater out of the garage. Wife and daughter were home at the time. Garage door was open, two trucks in the driveway. Someone just wandered up and decided they wanted them more than me...so I would rather lick a sailcat than to come home to that... Lets hope karma catches up to the lowly thief before anyone profits from the deal. Sorry to rant but I fear that black cloud is still looming over my head. It is you that should take the money and run my friend, standing next to me at this point is HIGH RISK. I will gladly take you fishing, multiple times if you dare, that is a real good offer. BUT that might be a bit too generous. Yikes props are $$$BIG$$$$. We will definitely work something out. :beer:

I caught sailcats on my last 3 trips, but none this one. What really got me was I lost a GOOD trout right at the boat. I had bought a DOA deadly combo to try out, and hooked up. Got right to the boat and he got away. Pulled it in and the jig was gone, the knot had come untied. So much for them being pre rigged and ready to use, and shame on me for not retying them. Pulled out another one, and it fell off just taking it out of the bag. And I almost got a 3 foot shark that was chewing on one of my jacks, and I couldn't escape the dolphins for the life of me.

Sounds like we could make for an interesting day on the water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLIaISHu2Mo :rain: :you:

Umbrella would keep some of the flying poop from hitting home.. just sayin:embarsed::beer::you:

I was expecting to see this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXL_ufssqcc

Went to the bay last night with the NV Skiff. Never got out of Cockroach Bay. Going out the channel had me jumping waves in the dark. First one over the bow had me heading toward shelter.. Did I mention it was clear and a little windy. I wish you all could have seen the sunset it was red and spectacular as always.. I proceeded to freeze half to death in my half wet clothes until the trash fish started to bite. Slept in the boat due to boredom. Got in late, boat to clean. I think I logged another 10 minutes on the hour meter. Burned another ounce of fuel.. It is bad when your weed eater has more hours than the boat.. just saying

glad ya got to go out. sounds like your getting it dialed in. i've got 15 hours on mine, 135 miles & burned 31 gallons of gas.
lotta that is trolling. these things love to troll.

I'm hoping to head out next weekend. I was good boy this weekend and took the wife to her 10 year class reunion, so hopefully that means I can get a pass to go next weekend. Onoy seems fair since it is the weekend before my birthday.

I went fishing but couldn't do it during prime time, or daylight hours for that matter. Soccer Friday night practice, Saturday noon pictures and 2:00 game. Sunday was the Harvest Hollar Corn Maze for 4 hours, after washing the boat and taking care of a few chores around the house. Somewhere in there I put in for a nap, cat nap in the boat was OK but not long enough. Ferman, I will check next weekends schedule, might skip out on a game if you want to go fishin.. my treat/payback for prop. I will call or send a PM when I know what is going on.

Let me know, I've been checking the weather, and they're forecasting the wind to blow next weekend.

Sorry Ferman, it did blow all weekend as you said.. We will plan something soon..
Suwannee was last weekend, I tried a 23P Tempest with vent holes and it had too much slip down low to be efficient. Better top end at 46 MPH, so off it came and I put the High Five back on it. High Five has the best holeshot by a mile. So far the 21 Mirage is the most efficient in the MPG department. I averaged 6.5 MPG for the weekend. What an improvement. I would normally burn 24 plus gallons to go up river and back. Now I can do it on 11 gallons. (75 plus miles)

It's hard to beat teh high five for holeshot. That sucker would LAUNCH out. Should have felt it on the 18 PROLINE I had with the XFI MERC on the back.

I wasn't running it real hard, but then again, I was the slowest on the river even at full tilt. Scream and Fly was on the Suwannee. I was passed a couple times over (up and down the river) by the entire fleet of over 100 go-fast boats. It was as impressive of a turnout as I ever seen. I saw a lot more of the river than normal because my favorite and most used cruise speed for the cooler temps we were having was 26 MPH.. burning a mere 3.2 up river and 3.1 down stream. Probably some small rpm difference in there due to the current which was 3 MPH in places. If I never raised the speed above 26 I could have made the trip in a little over 9 gallons. That speed and fuel burn tops the best test Mercury has shown in any of their tests to date. That is better than expected and I must say, I said it out loud but never fully expected mileage to be this good. Had I opted for the 70 Yamaha it would have made fuel... :part::love:

Sounds like you're getting her dialed in Ridge. Good to hear your reports!