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Prop for Gambler I have a 20' 6" gambler ski boat. When I bought
the boat it came with two props. 1 Was a 28 pitch 4 blade stainless steel
prop and the other was a land and sea torque shift prop. The man I bought
it from said it would run 80 with the right prop on it and that the land
and sea was the best one for it. However, It has a couple of parts on it
that I need to replace before I can use it. I have been doing some
research on the prop and have found a lot of people do not recommend it. I
have read that it is not very easy to set up and that it has a tendency to
throw blades or throw them off if you hit the bottom or get the
prop out of the water. I am wondering what you think is best? I
was thinking of going with a 3 blade 26" pitch chopper series prop?
Or should I rebuild the torque prop and see how it works out? Thanks, The
Land and Sea prop is ok if you maintain it every time it is used. More
trouble than it is worth in my book. Try a chopper or even a trophy 4
blade.
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ECU for Optimax I am in need of an ecu for my optimax. Are these things rebuildable. I
have two of them so far and neither are any good. I've never run the motor
and just to get it going to see if its worthwhile. It came out of the Mil.
surplus sale so no telling what cond. the engine is in. Any ideas?
It’s a 2001 150optimax
Short
of finding one used on the net, you are stuck with paying full boat for a
new one. I would make sure the engine is in running shape first.
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Repowering a Valero YT Randy I have had my 18ft Valero Thank you, The
225 HO would be a nice project. The set up is a little pickier but overall
it fits the bill pretty good. One of the new E-Tecs would be more user
friendly. Due to the weight of the new engines and the fact the transom
height is 24” to begin with; I would probably bolt it to the transom.
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Porting it to 115 Spec? I came across this:
Yes
– a 90 block can be ported to 115 spec. It is quite the project though.
Not something for the backyard mechanic as the port layout has to be
exact. One slip and your block is a nice flower planter.
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Prop Slippage I have a 18' stratos with a 150 johnson o/b , having a problem when boat is turning right when on plane , with prop slipping , having to slow down so prop can catch back up , trimming down helps a little bit , no problem turning left at planing speed .boat just started doing this .prop and skeg looks normal.
Sounds
like you might be a little high on transom height. You could try adding
some up to the prop. The Stratos boat tends to have a transom with a
little too much height.
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Vector with a 2.5 Merc Randy My
name is Casey Goff, from Thanks
in advance, Sounds
like your set up is going to be good right off the bat. Mount the motor in
the highest hole and get some 30” props. The last Vector I did with a
200 ran over 90 with nothing fancy. You should be near 100 pretty easy.
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Vector with Merc 175 I just purchased an 81 Vector. Its got a Merc 175 on
it. The speedo isn't hooked up right now and I know props make a
difference, but on avg. what would you say the top speed is that I could
get out of this boat with that motor on it. Right now there is a stainless
4 blade prop on it. Any recommendations. I noticed it beginning to fish
tail a bit to when I was at top speed. I do believe it was b/c I was
trimming the motor up a bit too much and lost control with the skeg not
having as much contact with the water. I’m also interested in locating a
windshield for the boat could you point me in the right direction. Any
performance tips or any heads up would be great. Thank you!
Most
Vectors with 175 like three blade choppers and such. They tend to run
“75ish” without too much trouble. The windshield is a problem. Not
much out there except used ones.
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150 XR2 on a Vector Hi there! I'm the owner of a 1982 vector with a
mercury 115 inline six. I’m currently looking at a 1986 mercury 150 xr-2
with power trim and tilt. It also has a 20 inch shaft. Would this motor
work on my vector. My father recently passed away and it was his dream to
put a 150 on this boat. I would like to make that dream come true! Would
the prop I currently have work on this 150. I’m running a chopper prop.
Couldn’t tell you the pitch of the prop. Thanks again for the info. Chris, Randy
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Not happy with V-King Randy, I am working on a 1984 vking, I installed
a (new to the boat) 1989 Merc Black max 175hp long shaft. At what height
should the motor be mounted? It is currently one bolt hole down from the
highest, that puts the cavitation plate about 3/4' above the pad, it is
mounted directly to the transom. The prop is a 25" Run
the engine mounted 2 ¼” up on the transom. This is the 4th
hole from the top if the transom was drilled correctly. We always ran a 14
½ x 26” chopper at that setting and you would have a nice 75+ mph boat
straight out.
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Setup for Vector with Bridgeport Randy, Let
me first thank you for offering your expertise to myself and all the other
boaters on this site trying to set-up their rigs. I have been an avid
power boater for the last 35 years and have always had a soft-spot for
Hydrostreams.... I
currently have a 1981 I purchased last year.... I have replaced the
rotten floor, reinforced the transom with additional knees. The boat was
already partially set-up as a drag-boat. It has opposing center steering
with dual cables, a hot-foot foot-throttle, turn-signal "type"
trim switch on the wheel and both the battery and fuel tank are to be mounted
behind the drivers-seat and placed in the center of the boat. I have
just purchased a 1986 2.4 Litre Mercury Bridgeport EFI racing motor.
I have both a manual and a hydraulic jackplate I can install on
the boat. My first question is which jackplate do you recommend I install,
secondly where should I have the engine height based on the pad of
the boat (as you know the engine already has a nose cone with low
water pick-ups to allow higher engine mounting heights...I
have been in a couple of Vectors and Vikings in the past and those
boats always seem to be prone to "chine-walking" once about
65-70mph was reached. Third...what
items can I have done to the engine to improve it's life and performance? Finally...what
type of prop can you recommend for my application..I am strictly looking
for top-speed..I have a 28 pitch big-eared Mercury chopper that I can
experiment with... Thank
you for your time... Sincerely,
You
sound like you’re going the right way with the set up and rigging. You
can start with the prop shaft ½” below and see how it takes a set. If
too high the engine will pull like it wants to make a right hand turn. The
chine walk is a function of you correcting the actions with steering
input. It won’t go away – you must control it. Try the chopper and get
some first impressions.
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Ventura Setup Randy,
A 20 or 22 Laser II would be a good start. The
rocking was probably the rubber mounts flexing. I do not know of anybody
that makes solid or rigid mounts for that engine. Your set up sounds fine.
A Laser should pick up the boat better and give you some more top end.
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Vision Blew Over Hello Randy, I have a 1989 Hydrostream Vision Canadian edition, with a 90
hp V4 Evinrude, The Boat blew over in a bad storm and caused the bottom
fin on the lower unit to bend. The bottom end, Motor and Transom all seem
ok But I am just wondering if I should worry about this at all and if
there are any problems with this how would I fix it ? Also I bought the
boat late in the season and have not had it on the water, what should I
expect for numbers? I was hoping at least high 40's low 50's MPH is this
realistic? DAN
The
speeds are realistic. You will have to apply heat to the skeg to bend it
back. Be careful and go slowly, not trying to bend
it back all at once.
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Old Cajun with Pro V 150 Hi randy, What a neat site!!! I just got an older cajun bass
boat with a pro V 150 Yamaha on it. It has sit for about 1 1/2 years
without being run. I am cleaning the fuel cell, have took the bottom screw
out of the carbs and sprayed carb cleaner into them and got a bunch of
gunk outta them. I have removed all dirt dobber nest and am curious
to fill it with fresh gas and crank it? Also is it possible for a rookie
mechanic like myself to put a new water pump in it? The friend whom I got it from says the boat ran
like a champ when he parked it. Thanks for your helpful site and advise. John Fisher
It
would be best to take the carbs off and clean them. Get a service manual
and the info will be there. Take your time and read the instructions over
a few times. You should be fine.
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Viper Windshield I’m
restoring a Viper and the windshield is broken on it, would you know of
any places that I could find a replacement? I live in Mass so the more
local the better however, anything will go
Andy, Randy
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Hook in Voyager Pad Randy, I
have an 88 Voyager with a "v" hull. Should this hull have a
hook in the pad? If not, what is tolerable for performance sake? Thanks Steve
Flat
as you can get it. If its not, get out the sander and get it as close as
you can.
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SST45 needs more Speed Hi Randy
Julian,
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'88 Johnson 150 Shift Problem The problem I am having is when I shift to reverse I get nothing. When I tried adjusting cable I lost drive and got reverse. There seems to be no happy medium can not get both gears engaged only one or the other. Do you think my controls are bad or cables?
Sounds
like the control box doesn’t have enough throw.
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Evinrude 70HP Dies Cheers Randy My 70hp evinrude1993 sometimes dies to a walk while
traveling along. I put it back to neutral give it a couple of revs with
warm up lever and away I go. This is not regular but happens sometimes and
other times I do a trip and it is fine. Would appreciate some advice on
chances of it being the bulb, fuel filter or carbies. Thanks,
Gary,
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Setup Struggles Greetings, I
have a 2004 PRO 205 with a 200 Mercury carbureted, 24 Tempest Plus
(worked), 6 inch Hi-Jacker jack plate, drawing about 15 psi water press.
At 5700 rpms WOT. I have the motor as high as I can get it without going
to the last set of mounting holes. The
struggle… 55 mph max gps with two people, full gas, live wells filled…
everyone else seems to be in the mid 60s to 70s with similar set up/boat. I
don’t know if I need to go to a 25/26 prop, or get it higher/lower??? I
have a great hole shot with no top end…. HELP!!
Don’t
be so concerned with jacking the engine up. You are probably too high by a
long shot. I would lower the engine about an inch and try to find a Trophy
4 Blade with 23 – 24 inches of pitch. I’m thinking your boat is not
lifting the extra blade will help.
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Skiing with a Valero Hi. I am
interested in purchasing a 1985 Valero with a V6 200GT Johnson currently
using a 26 prop. I was wondering if this boat with a different prop could
be used for family water-skiing on weekends (& speed on other days
with the existing prop!). What do you recommend? Thanks
Tom, Randy
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Viper Chinewalk I
have always wanted a hydrostream, and recently purchased a 78 viper with
76 135hp Evinrude. Was propped poorly. Got a 26" cleaver with
the engine raised about 2" mounted directly to the transom and
now run a scary chine-walking 62 at 5200 rpm. There is more but
I can't seem to steer out the chine walk. The engine does have a
skeg-guard which seems straight axially, but tilted towards the starboard
side at the bottom. I trimmed off the goofy wing on the bottom
of it, squeezed the crossection down for less hydrodynamic drag
and to tighten it nicely on the 1.3" of real skeg remaining. I
plan to but a new skeg on it, and possible contour it for torque steer,
but there does not to be much torque steer until I get the engine trimmed
way up beyond any real running trim. Therefore I plan to use a
normal replacement skeg. Any input here? I am
now playing with weight distribution. Winter is coming and I want to
get a feel for what will work with battery / fuel tanks (2 x 6 gallon)
placement. Interior is nothing but a plastic drivers seat, which will
become a 4 seater by spring. Chine
walk is the big issue. Any tips to reduce chine walk in the Viper?
I
will recontour the hull this winter if necessary, but I was thinking a
small trim-tab type damper at the chine if the skeg and weight
distribution have little effect. There
is a small chunk in the starboard side of the pad (.25" deep from the
side, 1.0" long positioned about 2" in front of the transom
step) which has a nice rounded shape.
I doubt this has much influence on the walk. Some
pictures attached. Regards,
Jerry, Randy
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Viking/Merc 175 Setup Randy, I am going to probably purchase an 81 Hydrostream
Viking with 81 175hp mercury next monday and would like some advice since
this is my first outboard boat. I am buying the boat from the
original owner and the boat is stock except for having the floor replaced,
the cables changed, some brand of nose cone, a hydraulic jack plate (don't
know the set back yet) and some aluminum prop of unknown dimensions at
this time. I will primarily drive this boat with my wife and we like
to go fast safely, so I would like some recommendations on a prop that
will not see skiers, but could have four people in the boat at one time.
I have not yet driven the boat but the current owner
talks about a lot of steering input to correct the boat at speed.
Should I look into solid engine mounts? What else can I do to the
boat to make it more user friendly. I also would like to do some engine modifications and
I was wondering what I should inspect first for wear and what order the
modifications should be done in. I would like to do small things
like compression, reeds and maybe some exhaust. Finally what do think the boat should run as
purchased with a good all around prop. I am sorry some of the info you need might be missing
since I am new and do not have the boat in my possession yet. Thanks in advance,
Most
V-Kings with a 175 and 26” chopper prop would run 75 mph out of the box.
Start there - modifying an ’81 engine is not going to be very cost
effective. It is probably tired and modifying it would seriously affect
its life span. If you rebuilt it then ok, but for that cost you could
build a newer engine. Take it out and enjoy it. Find a chopper prop and
see how far that gets you toward your goals.
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Please submit whatever questions you have to [Attention: at this time, Randy is not taking any more Tech Talk questions. If he resumes this column, then you can be sure that I will update this and reopen the e-mail...sorry!]. All questions and answers selected will be displayed on this page as they come in. Please be patient for a response as Randy answers as he finds the time. Note: though all boaters are welcome, priority may be given to I.H.R. members. Randy can not be held responsible for any advice given. Though his information and expertise is second to none, he has no control over what you do with your boat. It is up to you to boat safely and act responsibly, and his advice is only to be used as a guidance for your high performance boat/motor of which you are the one responsible for the risks involved. Please Note! Randy can not help you if you do not provide him with the necessary information. Please include as much relevant information as you can. For example, if you say, "I have a Vector with a 200 Merc and am running a 28" chopper. How can I go faster?", that is not enough information to get an answer. You should be supplying information such as how much setback you have, what RPM's you're turning, what gearcase, what modifications have been made to the motor, boat or prop, what is the motor height (propshaft height relative to the bottom of the pad), etc., etc. You need to include as much data that you can think of that might be relative to your specific question. In addition, please make an attempt to read his other replies that you think may be relevant to your hull or application and check to see if he has already answered your question so that it isn't duplicated. Also! Your grammar and spelling doesn't have to be perfect, but come on guys...some of the letters I have seen come through have been pitiful. I know some people don't excel in writing, but all I am asking is that you make an honest attempt to make your letter readable so Randy doesn't have to spend extra time deciphering what is written and I don't spend as much time cleaning it up. If Randy is taking the time to answer your questions, then the least you can do is take the time to write something legible and include background information regarding your application. If you don't, your letter will not be forwarded on to Randy. Thanks! Thanks, |
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