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 Post subject: Newbie - Few questions
PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 3:40 pm 
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Guppy

Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2017 3:03 pm
Posts: 5
Hello All,
1996 Horizon 220 Volvo Penta the father in law bought new. I am now the owner. This boat has been taken care of quite well. I like to work on my own things if at all possible. We were able to get it out on the water yesterday. A few things I have been meaning to find out what I can do to improve things.
1. When pulling a slalom skier (my son) out of the water, it doesn't seem like it has much of a punch, however, he knows to hold on long enough until it gets him out. The boat seems to run great, just expect more power. I put new plugs and wires in it and a new fuel pump.
2. A few years ago, I replaced the throttle cable after the pivot point behind the stick broke and and when I put it in reverse it went forward. The cable is not a smooth push with the handle, but not really bad.
3. Could be related to the cable mentioned, the throttle doesn't stay at a steady speed. I constantly have to push and pull the handle to maintain the speed liked by the skier.
4. When putting it into gear, both forward and reverse, there is a clunk.

Any pointers on how I can improve on these issues? Thanks in advance

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1996 Horizon 220
Salem, Utah


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 9:00 pm 
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The speed will vary when towing a skier, it's part of the game. The forces against the boat are ever changing and magnified by skier in tow. Consider the wind, waves and force needed to pull him through water. When they cut on the skies then the pull on boat is increased also.

Not sure what power setup you have...horsepower etc. A change in prop pitch will improve hole shot but we can't guess size or pitch without more info on your boat. What is size of skier....pulling up a slalom skier is the biggest chore for a boat and they gonna get drug first regardless.

The clunk when going into gear may be normal for your drive model...im not familiar with that year model VP drive but others on here will be. It helps to give details on motor size, drive model etc though.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 10:42 am 
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Shark
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Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:41 am
Posts: 112
Location: Mukwonago, WI
Prop could definitely change how the boat exits the water. Small clunk noise is common for my boat when going into gear.

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2014 Four Winns H180 RS
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 7:34 pm 
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Guppy

Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2017 3:03 pm
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I will post more information about the boat when I have a moment. Thanks to those who have replied.

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1996 Horizon 220
Salem, Utah


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 12:59 pm 
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Guppy

Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2017 3:03 pm
Posts: 5
More info and more questions

The engine is the 5.8 FSI Volvo
The outdrive is the Penta DP duo prop

Trying to improve the throttle handle response. Not sure if the cable is even the correct one. I had gone to the dealer to get a replacement cable and they werent sure which one I needed. They only took my old cable and used it to measure the length. It has not been a smooth push on the handle since. Plus, I cannot maintain a steady speed when pulling my kids. I have to push and pull and adjust while on the move. I also wonder when I push the handle at what point should it begin to engine the outdrive. Mine I can push until maybe the 11 o clock position before any engagement and then I get as far as 9 o clock when the handle stops. Does this make sense on how I tried to explain?

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1996 Horizon 220
Salem, Utah


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 1:47 pm 
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Goldfish
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Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:49 pm
Posts: 33
Location: Albuquerque, NM
hobhancock wrote:
More info and more questions

The engine is the 5.8 FSI Volvo
The outdrive is the Penta DP duo prop

Trying to improve the throttle handle response. Not sure if the cable is even the correct one. I had gone to the dealer to get a replacement cable and they werent sure which one I needed. They only took my old cable and used it to measure the length. It has not been a smooth push on the handle since. Plus, I cannot maintain a steady speed when pulling my kids. I have to push and pull and adjust while on the move. I also wonder when I push the handle at what point should it begin to engine the outdrive. Mine I can push until maybe the 11 o clock position before any engagement and then I get as far as 9 o clock when the handle stops. Does this make sense on how I tried to explain?


You should be able to easily see if the throttle is fully open, with the air cleaner off and giving the handle full throttle, without the engine running.

The 11 o'clock engage and 9 o'clock limit sounds about right. The clunk could be the u-joints in the outdrive, which isn't too difficult to repair. Normally, you shouldn't hear any clunking from the gears since Volvo uses cone clutches vs. the Mercury Alfa drives using clutch dogs.

What altitude is the lake where you take it? Mine suffers at anything higher than 4500 ft. Using the proper pitch prop is the key to hole shot, and minimizing the weight in the boat and having heavier passengers sit toward the front, and having the drive trimmed properly.

The 5.8 sounds like it is the Ford Windsor 351? Mine has the Chevy 350 so not sure what distributor you have. Mine has a Pertronix distributor. When I first bought mine used, it had 220 hrs on the clock and was stored in a humid climate. When tuning it, the timing light jumped all over the place off idle. Upon closer inspection with the distributor cap off, I could see the ends of the springs for the flyweights for the centrifugal advance had corroded and snapped off, letting the flyweights swing out full stroke as soon as putting the throttle to it. I replaced them with the same size/spring rate stainless steel springs & timed it and it's been running great ever since.

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'96 200 Horizon
VP Cobra SX 5.7GL


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 3:10 pm 
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Livin' the Dream
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Location: Pontoon Beach IL
here is a formula for HP loss due to altitude

(elevation x 0.03 x hp @ sea level)/1000

so, (4600 x .03 x 320)/1000

I used my HP which would be a loss of 48.3 HP, which is 15%... curious what size/type/pitch the prop is also

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 1:01 pm 
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Guppy

Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2017 3:03 pm
Posts: 5
Thanks for the replies. I am learning.

The surface elevation of the lake we go to is 3652. Lake Powell in Utah.

I do not know the pitch of the prop, since this was not my boat. The father in law would have no clue what it is if I asked. I would assume there are some kind of markings on them that would tell me correct?

Are there any DIY's (I will do a search once I post this) on fixing the u-joints so the clunk will go away?

I am only getting more familiar now with the motor, but I was told the engine was a Ford.

My newest issue after this last weeks trip, the outdrive drive dash needle indicator does not show the level of the drive and while driving it, the needle bounces and spins all over the place.

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1996 Horizon 220
Salem, Utah


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:52 pm 
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Seahorse

Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2010 7:14 pm
Posts: 29
Location: American Fork, Utah
see the prop doc in Orem for prop questions and repairs. look around the collar of the prop for a size and pitch. iI run a 15 pitch up here at home, and a 19 down at Powell. the 15 gives me plenty of hole shot but suffer at top end.

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2007 190H 4.3 volvo Gxi
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:17 am 
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Location: Long Island NY
A few things....
For one it sounds like you may need a new shift/throttle cable set up, if they are not smooth.
The other is the clunking going into gear. A Volvo Penta cone clutch drive should not clunk into gear, unless the idle is too high and/or the cable is stiff, or out of adjustment. Dog clutch drives (Alpha, Cobra and all outboards) generally do clunk into gear, but when the idle is set right and the shift linkage is properly adjusted with good cables, the Cobra at least shifts without a noticeable clunk.

Prop pitch is something you have to look into. The first test you should do is a wide open throttle test to make sure that the engine reaches its specified RPM, usually this is from 4600-4800 rpm. If its is too low, then you may have too much pitch. Usually with watersports you are going to want to go with a lower pitch prop to get better hole shot acceleration for towing skiers. Kind of like a trailer tow gear ratio on a truck. So if you have a 15x17 on there now, it may need a 15x15 to do what you want. But you must verify your max wide open rpm first and also make sure that other possible causes of low rpm are taken care of before changing props....

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