Liquid Diet 2
Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2006
- RO Number
- 19955
- Messages
- 262
He is trimming the drive out once on plane, correct? I know he's mentioned the tabs a lot, but nothing about trimming the drive. Just a thought.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
wot
- Thread starter krb260
- Start date
I cruise at 3200 for 21KT/GPS or 67% of our 4800maxRPM. 35KT at WOT. A friend just changed his 350 for a 454 because he had to turn 3600 to cruise at 19. He's an ancient aviator who doesn't like to see an engine cruise at more than about 70% WOT. The 260DA's top speed doesn't sound that bad. If you'd taken a two way run and averaged them, you could have had a respectable 34-35KT if you were right about the tide. I just don't get why it has so much trouble staying on plane. That B3 is supposed to help with stern squat.
My friend just replied to my email question. He didn't keep any of the specs about HP, drive ratio or pitch, but he DID say it would hold plane at 2800. That's consistent with my memory of how the boat operated. It'd lope along, about 18KT, at an RPM less than I needed. At 3000 I get about 18 but then once in awhile it'll fall off. That's why I usually run 3200. Heavier boat and same 5.7L as ours [signature] but also a bigger bottom, more HP and an better drive. His 2800 makes sense.
rrol393539
Member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2005
- RO Number
- 19324
- Messages
- 5
To All,
I know this is late to add, but having over 40 years of owning boats, I have always found bigger is better with engine size. I have owned many Sea Rays and think that Sea Ray is always to conservative on engines. A 260 with a 350 is marginal at best when you put an average load in it. When they do their test, the boat has a minimal load and doesn't have paint on the bottom.
I have a 2002 29' Amberjack and could only get 305's and bravo 111's or 350's with v-drives (which is really a dog)at the time I ordered the boat. It came with a 22" prop set. I finally was able to get a set of 20" and that improved my performance from all areas. I cruise at about 3500 to 3600 RPM'S at 28 to 29 MPH and no tabs. The boat has bottom paint.
I alway suggest to people to upgrade when it comes to engines, not for speed but for torque. There is nothing worse than an underpowered boat. And after you have bought it your stuck.Remember the lightest your boat will ever be is when you pick it up. After that, it is kinda like people, most of the time the older you get the more weight you put on.
Hope this helps you out in the future.
I know this is late to add, but having over 40 years of owning boats, I have always found bigger is better with engine size. I have owned many Sea Rays and think that Sea Ray is always to conservative on engines. A 260 with a 350 is marginal at best when you put an average load in it. When they do their test, the boat has a minimal load and doesn't have paint on the bottom.
I have a 2002 29' Amberjack and could only get 305's and bravo 111's or 350's with v-drives (which is really a dog)at the time I ordered the boat. It came with a 22" prop set. I finally was able to get a set of 20" and that improved my performance from all areas. I cruise at about 3500 to 3600 RPM'S at 28 to 29 MPH and no tabs. The boat has bottom paint.
I alway suggest to people to upgrade when it comes to engines, not for speed but for torque. There is nothing worse than an underpowered boat. And after you have bought it your stuck.Remember the lightest your boat will ever be is when you pick it up. After that, it is kinda like people, most of the time the older you get the more weight you put on.
Hope this helps you out in the future.
rrol393539
Member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2005
- RO Number
- 19324
- Messages
- 5
To All,
I know this is late to add, but having over 40 years of owning boats, I have always found bigger is better with engine size. I have owned many Sea Rays and think that Sea Ray is always to conservative on engines. A 260 with a 350 is marginal at best when you put an average load in it. When they do their test, the boat has a minimal load and doesn't have paint on the bottom.
I have a 2002 29' Amberjack and could only get 305's and bravo 111's or 350's with v-drives (which is really a dog)at the time I ordered the boat. It came with a 22" prop set. I finally was able to get a set of 20" and that improved my performance from all areas. I cruise at about 3500 to 3600 RPM'S at 28 to 29 MPH and no tabs. The boat has bottom paint.
I alway suggest to people to upgrade when it comes to engines, not for speed but for torque. There is nothing worse than an underpowered boat. And after you have bought it your stuck.Remember the lightest your boat will ever be is when you pick it up. After that, it is kinda like people, most of the time the older you get the more weight you put on.
Hope this helps you out in the future.
I know this is late to add, but having over 40 years of owning boats, I have always found bigger is better with engine size. I have owned many Sea Rays and think that Sea Ray is always to conservative on engines. A 260 with a 350 is marginal at best when you put an average load in it. When they do their test, the boat has a minimal load and doesn't have paint on the bottom.
I have a 2002 29' Amberjack and could only get 305's and bravo 111's or 350's with v-drives (which is really a dog)at the time I ordered the boat. It came with a 22" prop set. I finally was able to get a set of 20" and that improved my performance from all areas. I cruise at about 3500 to 3600 RPM'S at 28 to 29 MPH and no tabs. The boat has bottom paint.
I alway suggest to people to upgrade when it comes to engines, not for speed but for torque. There is nothing worse than an underpowered boat. And after you have bought it your stuck.Remember the lightest your boat will ever be is when you pick it up. After that, it is kinda like people, most of the time the older you get the more weight you put on.
Hope this helps you out in the future.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2004
- RO Number
- 12714
- Messages
- 615
krb260,
I know you had the props checked but were they checked by a shop that uses Prop Scan? You should have a printed readout that tells you exactly what the pitch of the inner and outer props are. This is important since prop shops without Prop Scan will use pitch blocks to check the props and they are very inaccurate. I'm speaking from experience here so unless your props have been checked using Prop Scan technology you don't really know what the pitch of each prop is.
The speaking from experience was I bought a brand new boat in 1999 with a 5.7 BravoIII setup and it would never perform the way I thought it should. After the dealer verified everything was within specs and this is how the boat is supposed to perform, I saw a prop guy at a boat show who offered to check out my props for free using Prop Scan. The props were so far out from each other but still within Merc specs they could not be tuned in. What do I mean, given your 20" propset they are allowed by Merc to be +/- 1/4 of an inch. What happened with my props were the inner prop was 3/4 high end and the outer was 1/2 low end of the 24" pitch that they were supposed to be.
I don't know if I'm explaining this as good as I should but with duo prop set ups the inner and outer props are different diameter but must be the same pitch or else they work against one another. Don't think for a minute that the dealer or a mechanic is going to try any harder to resolve this problem beyond what they've done already. My situation was resolved by me pushing for answers. Once I had the printout from the Prop Scan I called Merc because I was still under warranty and set up a contact for the Prop Scan guy to talk to. Once they spoke Merc said for me to go to the dealer and they sent me a new set of props.
This was not the end of my problem. I brought the boat to the dealer and they installed the replacement set of props and the boat did run better. I forgot to mention that I started out only being able to reach 4400rpm. According to Merc my specs were 4400-4800 rpms. The replacement set reached 4600rpms. The dealer says whoopie problem solved case closed. I sent the replacement set to the Prop Scan guy who said they were still out and for 350.00 he could tune them. I had them tuned and was now able to reach 4850rpms. The boat finally ran the way I thought it should.
I hope this story helps, your not crazy but it will take some persistance to get your problem solved. Let us know how you make out.
Rob
I know you had the props checked but were they checked by a shop that uses Prop Scan? You should have a printed readout that tells you exactly what the pitch of the inner and outer props are. This is important since prop shops without Prop Scan will use pitch blocks to check the props and they are very inaccurate. I'm speaking from experience here so unless your props have been checked using Prop Scan technology you don't really know what the pitch of each prop is.
The speaking from experience was I bought a brand new boat in 1999 with a 5.7 BravoIII setup and it would never perform the way I thought it should. After the dealer verified everything was within specs and this is how the boat is supposed to perform, I saw a prop guy at a boat show who offered to check out my props for free using Prop Scan. The props were so far out from each other but still within Merc specs they could not be tuned in. What do I mean, given your 20" propset they are allowed by Merc to be +/- 1/4 of an inch. What happened with my props were the inner prop was 3/4 high end and the outer was 1/2 low end of the 24" pitch that they were supposed to be.
I don't know if I'm explaining this as good as I should but with duo prop set ups the inner and outer props are different diameter but must be the same pitch or else they work against one another. Don't think for a minute that the dealer or a mechanic is going to try any harder to resolve this problem beyond what they've done already. My situation was resolved by me pushing for answers. Once I had the printout from the Prop Scan I called Merc because I was still under warranty and set up a contact for the Prop Scan guy to talk to. Once they spoke Merc said for me to go to the dealer and they sent me a new set of props.
This was not the end of my problem. I brought the boat to the dealer and they installed the replacement set of props and the boat did run better. I forgot to mention that I started out only being able to reach 4400rpm. According to Merc my specs were 4400-4800 rpms. The replacement set reached 4600rpms. The dealer says whoopie problem solved case closed. I sent the replacement set to the Prop Scan guy who said they were still out and for 350.00 he could tune them. I had them tuned and was now able to reach 4850rpms. The boat finally ran the way I thought it should.
I hope this story helps, your not crazy but it will take some persistance to get your problem solved. Let us know how you make out.
Rob