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I got to foil behind and drive a 97 super sport with 1500 lbs of ballast. Loved the HUGE wake. Hated the performance of the boat. I really felt bad for the poor nautique as it seemed to labor under the intense weight. What type of longevity can one expect from their boat with the added demand? It reminds me of how I killed my Suburban by pulling my boat across 110 desert for bimonthly trips to the river in the summer. Any thoughts?
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RE: Ballast Question?
That's a pretty good question and I bet alot alot of people are simply waiting to find out how their boats do after years of weighting abuse. A prop made for low end torque will help this "laboring" alot. Even with a good prop it takes a while for the boat to get on plane. We have also found that balancing the boat helps a great deal, weight in the front as opposed to slamming down the back and porpoising.
Our ride with about 1600 lbs of ballast total and 6 people in it is undoubtedly not quick out of the hole, once on plane it is fine and runs at about 3000 or so RPM, really not that bad considering how big the wake is. We also run at about 23 mph and oru prop is somewhat of a middle of the road for low end torque and high end speed.
Really, folks have been sacking out their boats for about 6 or 7 yrs. I think we should be hearing alot more about blown engines and trannies if weighted down boats were dying early. Most of the maintenance and tech questions concern the usual stuff like PP not working, blown impeller, hit a log under the water etc.
My 02 is still under 200 hours, it will take me a few years to get back to you on this. -
RE: Ballast Question?
This boat has 600 hours and funny thing was his v drive gear box light came on last trip. He was low on oil! He does put a sack in the bow to keep the boat from porpoising.sigpicComment
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RE: Ballast Question?
I agree with the prop making a huge difference. I have a 97 super sport with 2100-2300 ballast plus people. I am running the Acme 536 prop and it is much better out of the hole and in the corners than the 14x18 standard OJ prop that was on it when I bought it. Some other people run the 844 acme but I personally didn't care for it at all so I went with the 536. Great prop for the super sport, it will make a big difference.
As far as wear and tear on the engine I guess it is hard to say my old mastercraft 1988 tristar 190 I put 450 hours on in 3 years with 2000lbs in it all the time with no problems what so ever it had 400 hours when i bought it so 950 hours total and still running strong with a kid who has it on my lake.Comment
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RE: Ballast Question?
I guess the main difference with my car vs boat comparison is the fact that the boat is able to maintain a much lower temp thanks to a constant supply of cool water. Glad to hear that our boats are up to the task.sigpicComment
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I put 600 in the nose, 600 in the locker, and two more 600's in the engine compartment, totaling 2400lbs. before gear and people, of my 97 Super, with the weight distribuited that way I plane out quicker than most weighted boats and run at a consistent 2800 rpms at 22.7 on perfect pass. Huge wake and even decent gas consumption. I service engine, trans, and v-drive every 35-40 hours because of it though.Comment
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He does do that...I've seen him! ha ha.
As for what it will be like after loading boats down for a while. I load mine down. It has 650 hours and still running strong with no problems.Comment
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