Bayboater wrote:
Hi Mark,
Hard to get too enthusiastic to go skiing / wakeboarding this time of year in Vic.
Have you delved further into a new prop??? Interested to know your final choice.
Cheers, Craig
I have... sort of...19P high five!
My 17P pulls like a freight train but hits the Rev limiter in seconds, and top end limited... The other prop is a Mirage Plus 21P SS but is a 14.5 inch, not a 14.25 inch as per Four Winns spec, so WOT is 4100rpm & about 40mph. I think a 19P would be the best middle ground. The 5 blade will give the thrust, 19P just low enough to get the revs up and overcome the additional drag. Also reading posts at other sites (Club Sea ray, Ball of Spray, and barefoot forum etc) suggests the 19P high five will provide some stern lift, additional hole shot and still provide sufficient top end for bare-footing and reasonable cruising speeds on my boat/motor.
As I have said before I am a little disappointed in the boats performance so I am reluctant to spend money on the boat until I am satisfied it can do what Four Winns designed it to do. Power is not much better than my old Sea-Ray 180 with the 130Hp 4 cyl... but the sea ray was running bigger fuel jets and a 17P high five with all plugs removed from the PVS.
Also the handling of the boat is actually very dangerous and it tends to roll over and take water over the sides on moderate corners. An emergency / high speed change of direction will sink / flip the boat... I need to take the boat out now that I have removed the hydrofoil and test it again as I can't put my family it until then.
Certainly the wake is the biggest I have seen short of a wakesetter with a surf-gate, and again I have now removed the Hydrofoil and the high five will help lift its bum out. Trim Tabs wont fit on this transom either, but I bought a four winns because of the rear hull design which is suppose to do what trim tabs do..mmm
So you see I want to make sure the boat is worth it before spending too much cash on it as I may flick it and by something else. SO do I buy the prop and hope it solves the issue or do I continue to work on finding the problem and then buy the prop etc.... I do like the space and lay out of this boat and overall it gives me everything I want in a boat.
After all that.. I am an optimist and have found a few companies in the US that quote around $500 for a new one, then another $140 for freight. $640 for US shipped prop or $880 is the cheapest I have negotiated in Melbourne. Just need permission from the Minister of Home Affairs and Finances to spend the cash!
AAhh BOATS -
Bring
On
Another
Thousand