test run

[camoto]

Took the Sportfire out for a test run yesterday. If you don't know, I am the new owner of Boston Predictor's sportfire.

Everything worked like a dream. This boat is freakin fast. Had some guys on jet skis that thought they could hang.... not. Put the jack plate up and trim it out a little and - see ya later.

The only thing I was struggling with was getting it out of the hole. I found that if I trimmed the motor in all the way, it would die on me. If it trimmed it ALMOST all the way in, I would get out of the hole quick. I don't know why it was dying when trimmed all the way in. The lift wasn't even all the way down. Next time I might try putting the lift all the way down and trimming it in some and see if that has better results.

The only dissapointing thing was the fuel consumption. Ran it WOT for about 8 1.5 mile jaunts and burned about 6.5 gallons of gas. That seems excessive.

Anyways, it was a great test ride. Time for some upgrades!!!:bounce:

[Boston Predictor]

Sweet! Im glad It worked out well. As for holeshot, It works best with the jackplate 3/4 of the way up. If you are looking for good holeshot lose the prop. For some reason that 26p Hoss triton sucks on that boat.:confused: It is supposed to be the worlds fastest prop. My old 28 chopper worked way better out of the hole. Did you run with a GPS? I never did myself, wish I did. Keep us posted on your progress.:surf:

[camoto]

Thanks Geoff!

You wouldn't happen to still have that prop, would ya? :surf: I like the top speed, so I don't know if I want to lose the prop, although I plan on skiing, so I probably should. Maybe I can find a compromise.


No run with the gps. I was using the Speedo you put in with a new heavy duty pitot with a new tube all the way up. It was indicating 62, but my guess is that it was a little on the low side. I know those jet skis go faster than 62. I'm putting it away for the winter to start on the mods and upgrades, but next spring I plan on using a GPS on the boat so I can guage top speed accurately.

It's not that bad out of the hole. It would definitely yank up a skier with two skis, but I doubt it would yank up a slalom skiier unless he had Terminator Arms.

Does the fuel consumption sound right to you? I thought it seemed a little high. Do you know if the jetting is on with that motor? I might drop the needles and mains and see how it runs like that. I just don't want to lean it out too much.

[Blizz]

If it's still got the 200 on it it's not far off for an older carb motor. Or just about any other v-6 at wot

[onthehammer]

As far as fuel consumption it sounds about right to me. My Pulsare with a 95 225 EFI Merc burns around the same amount of fuel making the same wide open passes as you are speaking of.

[Boston Predictor]

The gas consumption sounds about right for WOT. If you cruise at 30 mph or so keeping it under 3k you will get reasonable gas milage but any carb V6 merc is gonna be horrible on gas. I dont think it needs to be rejeted, I had that looked at in june before the trip to NY, but It cant hurt to check again. The 26 hoss seemed to slip more than any other prop Ive tried, even at crusing speeds so thats definitely not helping. I actually traded that 28 chopper for the 26 triton because I thought it would be better. I kinda regret that. If top end is what you are looking for Ide go back to a 28 or 27p chopper. If you want some great insider specials on props talk with boatman on this site and he will set you up with the perfect prop.

[camoto]

If I look for the "perfect" prop, what do you think I should be looking at as far as pitch and diameter are concerned? I want to be able to get out of the hole fairly easily without compromising too much top end. Do you think someone would want to trade this prop for what I am looking for? This prop is in mint condition.

As far as fuel consumption goes, this motor is a 2.0L that is bored over .30, so essentially it's a 2.4L. 6 gallons seems like a ton of gas, but I guess I'll just have to keep an onboard spare tank. Geoff, you must have had some short days on the water with that little shot-glass sized tank you were using!!:D

[Boston Predictor]

lol. Yeah I had four of those and 2 spare 5 gal refills:D I usually went all out and filled them all. Ive spent more than 100 dollars a day on gas before.:sick:
I cant beleive that my mechanic told me the motor is a 2.5. I asked him before if he was sure that it was and he said yes, because at one point I asked someone here to check the vin number for some specs and he told me it was a 2.0. I told my mechanic this and he said nope, its definitely a 2.5.... Im going to have to talk to him about that maybe there is more to the story that we dont know about....
As far as the perfect prop Ide try a 14.5x 25 or 26p speedzone from boatman or maybe he has a tempest or laser II. I dont think you would loose too much top end with a through the hub prop. The 26p Hoss is a desirable prop so im sure it will go fast.I would buy one from boatman for skiing, and trade the chopper on S&F for a faster 27 or 28p chopper. have you checked out screamandfly.com ? they have a great buy and sell fourm. Talk to boatman first, tell him the numbers you are seeing as far as RPMs and he will send you a prop to try. if you dont like it just send it back and he can give you another to try.

[camoto]

Well, if it was bored .30 over - it just about is a 2.5.... 2.4 is close enough. LOL :rof:

I would have words with him if I was you. There seems to be a big $$ difference between a 2.5L and a 2.0L engine from what I am seeing for used motor prices. Not to mention he sold it to you as a 92? It's really an 87. That's a few more bucks right there. Are you 100% sure he even bored it over? I would guess that he did, but there's no surefire way to tell without tearing it down.

I was thinking about buying a 250 HP motor, but I would probably trash the boat not to mention fuel efficiency would probably get worse.

Is boatman the name of a member on this forum?

[Boston Predictor]

yes its boatman4021 (http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/member.php?u=12143). I always wanted to get a bridgeport or promax for it, if I had the money I would have got a new e-tec or optimax. That would be the a history making checkmate:surf:

[Boston Predictor]

I think you would actually get better gas milage with the e-tec

[Blizz]

E-tecs are not that great on gas no where near what they're claiming the opti's are pretty good.

[camoto]

E-tecs are not that great on gas no where near what they're claiming the opti's are pretty good.
Thanks guys. For now I am going to see what I can do with what I have as far as the motor goes. I think if I can find a prop that doesn't slip as much out of the hole, I will save some gas right there. If I can get myself a prop that still carries a good top speed and get me out of the hole quickly, I will be happy (for now...)

[Blizz]

Good lick with your setup

[camoto]

I might have a deal going for a 26p trophy. I should know more later this week!

Spent the day doing some more stuff to the sportfire. I installed a battery switch, re-installed the battery bracket and oil reservoir bracket, now nothing sits on the floor of the stern except the battery and the oil. All the cables come from the top down so nothing should be getting wet. Degreased the engine, lubed up the steering pivot and tilt pivot. Installed a 12VDC power outlet. Installed a volts guage. Installed a strut for the windshield to give it a little more rigidity. Then I powerwashed the whole thing, in and out. The carpet came out surprisingly clean.

Now I need to change the lower end oil, install a new water pump impeller, a radio (I already have the XM part) and I was going to get all new fittings for the swim ladder. It's coming along nicely.

I did notice a couple of cracks in the corners of the well in the transom. I think they are just in the gel coat and not going through. Nothing on the inside shows any signs of cracking. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can double check this and be more sure?

[Boston Predictor]

To check the transom to see if there are any soft spots you can tap the inside of the transom with a hammer and listen for variations in sound. I did that the day I bought it and sounded fine. The cracks were actually there when I bought it last year and I didnt worry too much about them. If you want the added security and peace of mind you could reinforce the transom like illMATTic did. I was going to but never got around to doing it.
I cant wait to see some pics of the work you have done
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v694/checkmate414/DSC01912.jpg

[camoto]

Thanks for the tip! They are probably nothing, especially seeing how small they are. It almost looks like they are from a motor that was hung directly on the transom. I'll check it out with a small plastic hammer.

I should snap some pics so you can see the progress so far.

[Big Dave]

MIke at the Factory has stainless steel replacement hinge kits for the ladder to replace the old aluminum ones

[Blizz]

To check the transom have someone stand on your cav plate and jump up and down while watch for any deflection. If your cracks are flexing your transom is weak. Tap hammers work good but unless it's really rotten ,waterlogged or disbonded you probably won't notice enough difference to really tell..

[Boston Predictor]

If you stand on the plate and jump up and down any transom will flex. I dont think thats a good way to check for sure.

[Blizz]

No a solid transom should not deflect It's 2 plus inches of solid wood encased in glass if it's sound it shouldn't flex. Most performance boaters will tell you if your questioning transom check that way.