I ski with the Sarasota Ski-A-Rees and I can too attest that those plates are amazing! I will try to get you guys pictures of those plates. I'm in the process of building some like those for mine so I can let you know as I go. I figured since 18dyne talked about the reinforcements of my 1989 Prostar 190, I would try to show some pictures of the world record 10 man around the boat. (I know this is the hydrodyne site!) I also own a 1978 18' Hydrodyne. http://www.skiarees.com/10_Men_Around.htm http://www.skiarees.com
I thought I saw a video of that. Did you post one on showskiers. Do you know what prop he is running on that 18? jim
Larry Brunners 18 has a four blade 17. He has a Merc high five 17 but he said it over revved. I'm going to try a three blade 17 on mine with the same motor and see how it compares to his.
I currently run a 19 Pitch and 21 Pitch High Five on mine with the 250XS Opti. ( I have hit the limiter on it running the 19.) I am shopping for a 19 pitch Rev 4 prop for it. (Ed Rinehart suggested I try one.) Had Livorsi make me up a set of controls for my 18. (positoned and canted the levers the way I wanted them.) It wasn't cheap , but I sure hope they have the speed control I'm searching for. The stock Mercury controls left alot to be desired........ Bob
I think part of your problem might be that you have a 250 xs Opti and not enough ass with a light weight 18'. Larry Brunner recently this year had a yamaha Vmax 300 on his 18' before the 225 Opti and it wouldnt hold a slow speed to save it's life. The yamaha 200 he had before that was just fine so I don't think it had anything to do with the brand. Just my .02 cent but I could be completely wrong! But on the other hand, I would like to see your control set up because I'm geting ready to set up my 225 L Opti.
It's all about porting, fuel map and torque for skiing apps. The 300 VMax had no more torque in the area where it counted than the 200 VMax 3.3L. BRP told me not to bother with a small block 200 vs the 175 or 150 for a water ski application. Low end has been sacrificed to get 200 hp out of the 2.6L block.
Do you think the boat you're building with the 225 Opti will "have enough ass" ???? (The 225 Opti weighs the same as the 250XS.......) Bob
It seems to me that adding some balast weight up front would remove the impact of the heavy stern, if that were the issue with regard to speed holding. My boat certainly could use more weight up front - particularly as it burns off fuel. I'd like to design a water balast system to add weight up front as fuel is burned off but I haven't quite figured out how that would work yet. I don't think Bob was talking about engine brand with regard to speed control - he was talking about the Merc. throttle assembly. I have a brand new Merc quicksilver throttle with my 225 opti-equipped 18' dyne and I have to agree with Bob that the factory throttle leaves a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, because I've got various family members of various skill levels driving my boat around the dock, and around people in the water, I'm a bit nervous about going to a dual shift/throttle design like a BRP, even though I'm sure it will be worth the money for the improvement. I'm interested to hear how it works out, too.
It has nothing to do with the weight.. It's about the block of the motor and the HP. Eventually I do believe on a single rig, you can have too much HP!
