SO……
 

My buddy shows up this morning to give us a splash. Drove through the gas station and paid $250 for 48 gallons. Oh well, let’s go Brandon. Dropped her in, no problem. Started right up. Ran a little wonky for 5 or so minutes. Every time we came up to 2,000 rpm, it would bog big time. Feathered the throttle for 5-10 minutes and after that everything was perfect.
Man! This boat is under powered. The bottom is a mess and we slopped on two more coats of paint. Got about 22 mph out of her and backed down to around 4,300 at 17-18 mph. Any lower and we were coming off plane. So cruising rpm is over 4K and the speed is under 20 mph. She’s gonna drink a sh!t load of gas. Oh well…… this is what the boss wanted. I figure we’ll burn twice the fuel and run at 3/4 speed.
So my boy is running the boat and I look back and see more wake kicking up on the starboard side. I take a look and the smart tab came off at the hinge. Aahhhh…… now I know why she’s listing to starboard. These smart tabs are set to drop the bow, unless you manually lift them up and install the pin that keeps them neutral. So now I’m gonna pull her up near the beach tomorrow, kick the motor up so I can work on her in a couple feet of water.
So to wrap up, she’s slower than sh!t, runs beautifully and I’m going swimming tomorrow.

Ahhh, the joys of yachting

As Phat said, the joys of Yachting and you even can go swimming. Hope it all works out well and you get her the way you want. Be careful and be safe.

thanks guys. if i could pop this motor on a center console, anywhere from 18 to 20 foot.... i'd have the perfect combo. this motor (thanks to Spareparts) runs like a yamaha. i would love to keep this motor forever! i might just dump the hull and bring the motor down south with me when i go. until then.... i'm gonna run slower than i should and burn more gas than i should and i'm gonna enjoy every dam second of being back where i belong.
tight lines, fellas.

Ive got a 150 Mercury

trade? and drive it up here? and remove yamaha? and install? and buy me breakfast?
just give me a ring when you're in the area and i'll give you directions.
boat would be perfect with a 150. let me go see how my money tree is doing.

you'll have to drop it off on your way to Florida

I don't want to go political here but gas is going to go up. Brandon and his cronies are invested in EVs.
A 150 is what you want and if spareparts has one you know it's going to be good
Hey Charlie. What boat/ hull do you have? Is it a Steplift ? I'm always asking spareparts to move to New Jersey but for some strange reason he won't. Can't be the high property tax, or the high prices for houses. But if he changes his mind,I will find him a home preferreably on my block not to far from me.

step, find us a 2 bedroom. me and old Spare will be roommates. i bought a 1992 V20. the boat is in fantastic shape. if the major lack of storage wasn't such an issue.... i might have kept this one. the tank hatch will need attention in a few years and if it was gonna stay with me i'd rewire it. couple small bugs in the wiring. everything important works and this motor would be perfect for a 19 or 20 center console. tap the key and it runs just like a yamaha. it would be perfect for a little 19 mako. i'm gonna hate to part with this motor.

Charlie, what engine do you have on her right now?

2001 115TXRZ. runs like a champ but just a touch to light for the V.

Agreed. I have a 110hp on my 16.5 Airslot. Perfect. But I would think a 150 or a 200 would be better for the V20's. Have you tried different pitch props to make sure you aren't lugging the engine at WOT?

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the guy gave me a brand spankin' new aluminum prop with the sale. i'm 100% sure it's not optimal for the application. fact is all my numbers would improve with the right stainless prop. the other fact is with all the nickel and diming this thing has done, the boss would have my balls if i were to even think about another $400 to $500 for a new prop. maybe eventually i'll find a decent used one, but for now... my numbers, gas economy and speed will suffer.
i just keep telling myself i'm back where i belong. who gives a crap how fast i get there?!?

ok, lets get back to basics. What size prop do you have on her now (dia/pitch) and what does your engine turn at WOT?

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We’re turning 5,200@22mph. I think the prop is 14X17. Don’t quote me on that. I’ll take a look tomorrow.

Book says 4500-5500 rpm @wot. So if you're running a 17P prop you're on the high side of the range.
Given that I would think it would be safe to go up to a 19P prop for testing. That will give you less rpms, but maybe more speed. 18P for a SS prop.

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that bottom paint is whats killing your speed

Yeah, the paint is a big part of it. The aluminum prop is an issue as is the size and pitch. I don’t know how to figure out the right numbers and if I did… I couldn’t afford it anyway. When I pull her out, I’m gonna hit the hull with a super stiff brush and take off as much paint as I can. Then I’ll figure out what my next move will be.

at those speeds, stainless steel isn't any help, its really not until you get into the 50+ mph range that stainless helps, its more of an issue with prop design than material. If you luck up and find one of the old straight back blade, black painted factory Yamaha stainless steel props, they are great for lower powered boats. You can pick them up used pretty cheap because they aren't pretty like other stainless props, check with your local prop shop. To give you an idea, my 17 Sea Hunt has a 150 Johnson V6 on it, spinning a 19 pitch prop 5200 rpm, I'm only getting about 44 mph out of it. It should be a rocket ship, but its not. The previous owner was a diving company, and they left teh boat in a slip with ablative paint. Its had a bunch on it. I've hit it with 80 grit on a DA, paint remover, and a pressure washer. I've got about 50% of teh paint off, and it helped(wouldn't break 40 to begin with). Every time I haul it out, I hit the bottom with the pressure washer, between that and sand bars, I'm slowly removing the paint. i need to crawl under it with a scraper at this point.

Soda blasting. Messy and it costs a bit but it works wonders for paint removing without hurting the glass underneath.

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Ok, numbers on prop are (I believe) 13X19. After running it a few times, the paint wore off. Almost looks stainless underneath. Weird that the paint wore off just from running it. We sure didn’t hit anything. Dying to get out there. Wouldn’t dream of leaving the dock on a holiday weekend. I took a shift with Wednesday/Thursday off for the summer so we could enjoy the water without the entire Italian navy and the Israeli fleet. Of course they’re calling for rain on W and T this week. I don’t give a sh!t! I’m going fishing!

Good luck on the fishing. :party: If you have a 19P prop and are turning close to max WOT then I would say to try a 13.5 or a 14 inch prop at 19P.

Hint... Check Craigslist for your area (NYC) under boat parts. You'd be surprised at the deals you sometimes find for props. I got a 4 blade 21P alum prop last year for my Merc engine for $100. Brand new, never been used.

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Destroyer, Ive used soda blasting for my customers several times, it does a nice job, but its not cheap. I'll keep pressure washing and sanding my bottom and let the sand bars do their work.

Charlie, if that prop has straight back blades, its the factory stainless prop I was talking about. For you to have a 19 pitch, you're slip numbers are way off, back to the issue with bottom paint again. Post up a pic of the prop

i wish it was a little (a lot) easier to post pictures and video. it's a cheap. no name aftermarket prop on there now. no markings except the size. i'm convinced i would see 30mph with the right stainless prop. until i can find the right one.... i'm just gonna burn way too much gas and go way too slow. it's funny. (not really) the place i keep the boat is a yamaha dealer and they won't rent a slip to anybody who doesn't have a yamaha on their boat. it was the first question they asked me. when you walk around the docks, every single boat has a yamaha on it. and 90% of those have the dealer's sticker on them. weird.
oh well, i'm going fishing. later gators.