1979 exciter update

[Bronc71]

Yes he is, at this time of year especially. I'm going to be driving right past his shop tomorrow morning anyway so I can stop in and see if he's there. If he is I can ask him about that 1999 ProMax 225 as well as what his price is on a new 200 Opti. If you can PM me the seller's first name for the 225 ProMax that would be good - Top Gun rebuilds A LOT of motors for people and many of them are 225 ProMaxes, so if I just say 225 ProMax he probably won't know which one I'm talking about.

PM Sent
Thanks

 

[Bronc71]

Thanks to FORBESZ who went and talked to Paul at Top Gun i have bought the 1999 Pro Max 225
Thnx again Forbes
Marc

 

[Ramifications]

The boat should fly with a 225 PM! What prop are you running currently? I had an exciter with a worked Mercury 2.0, 10" hydro jack plate and 1"-1.5" above the pad - ran right at 70mph at 6600 + RPM's with a 25 Tempest plus. That was the best performing prop I found for my setup. I was thinking of doing something similar for power before I sold it, so I sat on the engine when the boat was in the water and it floated fine with an extra 200lbs back there - not sure what it would do to the running performance though. Good luck

 

[Bronc71]

Well right now I have a 23 pitch laser 2 that would run close to 65 mph with a regular speedo but was checked with my son running our seadoo that has a gps speedo and it's very close. Now that speed was with my fresh 2.4ltr at 6000rpm before I through a rod out the block with the tired 1993 2.5ltr I get 60mph at 5600rpm it just won't spin any faster.
I'm hoping to get in the low 70's if my prop is to small I'm thing of going with a fury 25 pitch I think pro max rpm is 6450
Also pro max is lighter than my 2.5ltr it's closer to the 2.4ltr for weight so should not be a problem

 

[Bronc71]

I also have a 21 pitch high five for water sports I'm running a 5.5" manual jack plate
Also going to change the decals on pro max
-don't like the yellow
-don't like the font looks like a 5th grader made them for Mercury
-going to change hp rating to 200 wife already thinks the boat is over powered

 

[ForbesZ]

Well right now I have a 23 pitch laser 2 that would run close to 65 mph with a regular speedo but was checked with my son running our seadoo that has a gps speedo and it's very close. Now that speed was with my fresh 2.4ltr at 6000rpm before I through a rod out the block with the tired 1993 2.5ltr I get 60mph at 5600rpm it just won't spin any faster.
I'm hoping to get in the low 70's if my prop is to small I'm thing of going with a fury 25 pitch I think pro max rpm is 6450
Also pro max is lighter than my 2.5ltr it's closer to the 2.4ltr for weight so should not be a problem

Sounds like you're getting good slip numbers with the 23p laser 2 but I figure the 225 ProMax would spin a 25p to 6450 rpm no problem. That would put you around 75 MPH assuming the slip numbers are about the same. If you get a chance to try that 25p Fury be sure to let us know what it does! I would also suggest trying a 25p Trophy Plus if the opportunity presents itself. I have a 23p Laser 2 and two Trophy Plus props (a 25p and a 28p) and on my boat I find the Trophy Plus props runs smoother and have more bow lift which makes the boat "fly" a little better without needing as much positive trim.

 

[Bronc71]

Thanks for the info on the trophy props so far i don't think i have a problem with bow lift when i trim to best speed the motor is just off of level (a bit higher) boat is very light since the rebuilt with all the foam removed. I will be picking the motor up next friday been busy here no time for the drive down south.

 

[ForbesZ]

boat is very light since the rebuilt with all the foam removed.

Right ... that makes sense!

Will be great to see the new motor mounted. BTW - I got some replica Mercury decals for alien cowling online from a place in Peterborough a while back. The decals were shipped to me really quickly too. Here's their eBay listing:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mercury-Pro-...e-8-Piece-Repro-Vinyl-Decal-Set-/161101067255

Maybe you can email them ask if they can make the decals show 200HP instead of 225.

 

[Bronc71]

I know that guy his name is Gord back in 1996 a friend of mine and I went and stayed at his house and did some snowmobile riding we were all racing snow cross at the time.
I will send him an email.
Thanks Marc

 

[Bronc71]

Update

Picked up ProMax on Friday and did the swap on Saturday. Motor is like band new will post some pics soon as for the way it runs well only one word for that awesome!!! Starts at the touch of the key idles is very smooth way more bottom end pulls great in the mid range top end is 66mph with gps app on cell phone can't trim it as high as the old motor before major chine walk. That's with my 23 pitch laser 2 and at 6100 rpm and I back off never had chine walk that bad with the old motor I can tell there's a lot more there I just get scared lol. Also ran it with my 21 pitch high five and let me just say that's nuts accelerates like nothing a have seen goes to 55 mph right away at 6000 rpm thaen I start trimming to around 62 mph and running at 6500 rpm with half the trim as the laser and lots to go but I don't want to over rev it.
So now I think it's time for more prop looking for some ideas I think I will look for a 26 fury does anyone else have an idea as to what to go with
Also going to get a hydraulic jake plate but that with have to wait till next spring

 

[karzrus]

With the speed you are able and wanting to run and the fact you want a jackplate which will result in surfacing the prop.

I think you may want to look at the Trophy plus line like many of us run on our Pulsares. Both are pad bottom hulls that like to chinewalk. I can't remember if you posted your set up, but most guys run at least 10" of set back and the ability to get the prop centerline level or even a bit above the pad bottom using the jack plate.

 

[Bronc71]

Thanks for the info I will look at the trophy line as well. Right now I have a manual jack plate with 5.5" set back don't want to go to far back for fear of low speed drivability moved it up and down all weekend just trying to get the best compromise with speed,chine walk and tight turns and came to the conclusion hydraulic is the way to go

 

[karzrus]

Most find that it takes about 14" of setback to really tame the chine walk. You still have to learn to drive the boat but setback really helps. That's not to say that you can't learn to drive one without any setback, just that it gets easier with more. If you go to a hydraulic jack plate, then you can run the motor down and get decent low speed handling even with all the setback and up for speed.

If you really need more low speed performance, then dropping the pitch of the prop works well.

 

[Bronc71]

Not the best pic more to come this week

 

[Bronc71]

 

[Ramifications]

I ran my Exciter with a 10" hydro jack plate and a 25p Tempest plus. If I had the engine jacked up and trimmed, low speeds were not possible without a severe porpoise. To settle it right down, all I had to do was lower the jack plate and tuck the engine and she would settle right down. To me, 10" of setback, was perfect on the Exciter. I could cruise at 20-25 mph with no porpoise or jack it up and hit 70.

Here are a couple videos of my boat where you can see me adjust the trim to dial the ride in.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zWzPLFZzss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrrv_5oP9UI

 

[ForbesZ]

Picked up ProMax on Friday and did the swap on Saturday. Motor is like band new will post some pics soon as for the way it runs well only one word for that awesome!!! Starts at the touch of the key idles is very smooth way more bottom end pulls great in the mid range top end is 66mph with gps app on cell phone can't trim it as high as the old motor before major chine walk. That's with my 23 pitch laser 2 and at 6100 rpm and I back off never had chine walk that bad with the old motor I can tell there's a lot more there I just get scared lol. Also ran it with my 21 pitch high five and let me just say that's nuts accelerates like nothing a have seen goes to 55 mph right away at 6000 rpm thaen I start trimming to around 62 mph and running at 6500 rpm with half the trim as the laser and lots to go but I don't want to over rev it.
So now I think it's time for more prop looking for some ideas I think I will look for a 26 fury does anyone else have an idea as to what to go with
Also going to get a hydraulic jake plate but that with have to wait till next spring

The pictures look fantastic and it sounds like the results are great too! If top end speed is not your ultimate goal right now, you might just want to get a hydraulic jack plate with 6" setback to save yourself messing with the manual jack plate and then just try different props. Based on the results you mentioned, I'm thinking that a 23p High Five should bring your RPMs down down a bit, your top end up a bit, and your low end punch should still be better than the 23p Laser. When you get to the point where you do want to explore top end speed, you can always add setback with a bracket and then explore props with more pitch. Another thing is that more setback will require all your rigging to be longer, so if your shifter, throttle, and steering cables don't have an extra foot of slack in them, then it's not as simple as just bolting on a 6" or 8" setback bracket. You might prefer to just enjoy the boat for the time being and then consider adding setback during the winter months when you can't be out boating anyway.

Otherwise I think all the other replies are good advice for when you're ready to see how fast it really goes. Getting the motor further back and up definitely helps calm down the chine walk, and then it's also a bit easier to practice balancing it on pad. With enough practice it will become second nature to you. The porpoise will also be manageable with 10" to 14" setback - you just have to keep the jack plate and trim all the way down whenever you're going under 40 MPH. I used to have 16" setback on my Pulsare and even with that much setback it wouldn't porpoise with the jack plate & trim all the way down. Bolting on a drag plate helps with this too, if you need it.

 

[Bronc71]

Thanks for all the great feed back!!!!
I bought a 25p fury off of kijiji going to try that for this year and over the winter I will look for a hydraulic jack plate with around 10" set back (I have enough slack in the rigging for sure)
Hopefully I get the prop before the weekend and will post results
Marc

 

[Bronc71]

So tried the fury 25 pitch and seems to be on the right track pulling boat out of the water today and will look for hydraulic jack plate over the winter heres a few pics of gps speed and of boat in water with 25 fury prop

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[Bronc71]