I like your ideas and your enthusiasm for fine tuning. I just wish I had the time to work up all the things you dream up! I finally got my lights and bilge working about 2 weeks ago, and my seats screwed down (with a few screws) on saturday while waiting for our turn to ski at the regional tournament. There's still plenty to do before I even start thinking about some of this other stuff! Keep the ideas coming.
Actually, the best idea I've seen yet, from my perspective, is the swivel setup for the seats. It is easy to turn in the driver's seat a few degrees to see the skiier without twisting my back and neck. I just swivel a bit and I can see. The swivel mounts are stiff enough that it does not present any problem with driving. However, being able to swivel has allowed me to leave the rear view mirror off of the boat - I don't use mirrors, my head is on a constant swivel anyway. As for the passenger seats - well, it is really been great being able to face them backwards for skiiing and forward for play time. Of course, in reality, Jim was the root for this idea, not me. We've got all winter to dream up changes and additions. I need to add a stereo, a cup holder, grab handles for passengers, perhaps a foot rail for the rear facing passenger, and some sort of balast system. I'd also like to install a fire extinguisher somewhere and perhaps a horn so I can alert swimmers on the swim raft that I'm landing a skiier. That's my winter wish list. Oh - and perhaps a trick release on the tow pilon. A small order, compared to what I've been through with this boat over the last two winters. I guess in a perfect world I'd also replace my OEM throttle with a dual control setup so I can leave the boat in gear at very low RPM. With the Quicksilver OEM single handle system, you end up shifting in and out of gear constantly when getting the rope to a skiier, etc. Can't stand the constant clunk into and out of gear. Also, the OEM throttle has very little range, so it is hard for less experienced drivers to pull skiiers without killing them with way too much throttle. I forgot what system you have on your boat. Both DyneBob and I would like information on alternative throttle systems. I was going to install a rear seat/storage compartment by the tow pilon but I've scrapped that idea. After using this boat this summer, I realize that I need the space back there for people, waterskis, and access to the tow pilon. Moreover, I don't want to add any more weight at the stern. That's it in a nutshell. Got to have something to do this winter, after all...
I have the new style BRP flush mount throttle. It is the smoothest single lever throttle/shift controller I have used (but I don't think it will work with a Merc). I don't see why using a two lever system would make any difference for the need to shift in and out of gear. Your throttle should be able to go all the way down to idle speed when at the detent in either forward or reverse. And it should be fully engaged in gear before it even gets to the detent when shifting from neutral to either forward or reverse. I do like the seperate shift and throttle levers we have on our triple. They work well, and aren't that difficult to adapt to, but I think if you plan on having any random people driving the boat, you will want to stick with the ease of use of the single lever shift/throttle control to prevent any higher RPM shifts or any inadvertant meetings with obstacles or people because they think that the boat will stop when you pull the throttle lever all the way back (even though it's still in gear). Seperate levers should be limited to more experienced drivers, in my opinion. I too, still have a radio to install. Unfortunately, i will need to limit my time working on the boat to warmer weather times, since I don't have a handy dandy heated hangar at my disposal, and will more than likely be putting my boat into storage around the end of October, or early November.
Thanks for the info on the throttle/shift system. I was under the impression that it would help avoid going into and out of gear to maintain very low speeds. Your point about less experienced drivers using the dual control is well taken and probably should dictate against my use of that type of throttle. It always seems like my engine "clunks" into gear really hard and it makes my skin crawl, even if it is not hurting the lower unit or engine. The RPM is low - 500 or 600 or so, I think, but it really clunks into gear. Part of the problem is that I've got it trimmed way up due to shallow water when I put it in gear and probably with less water to resist the prop it goes into gear hard. The hangar does come in handy, until you mix a bunch of vinylester resin in there and fail to vent it properly, causing the fumes to get into the house. That nearly led to my demise. Not that the fumes were dangerous - just that my wife nearly ripped my head off. Nice talking to you today. Let me know if you're going to be up at Wild Rice later this summer and we'll try to meet up.
Mark I use a Yamaha 6x0 throttle (flush mount). You can see a picture and a reasonable price on http://www.fpmarine.com but can sometimes buy better on ebay. This throttle can be setup for push or pull. It should work out of the box for evinrude also but will need to follow instructions to change it for use with Merc. With the push to open throttles, a return spring on the motor does a lot to make them more accurate. A light, long spring can make a huge difference to the feel and usability. PM me with an email address if you want to see what the return spring setup can look like. As far as idle, I used to set my carb Yamaha to 430rpm (I had a very accurate Tach - a perfect pass). Any less and it would stall going into gear. If you idle your two stroke for very long, it will foul up (even at 600rpm but it gets quicker the lower you go). Also, they don't warm up well at low RPM like 600rpm especially in cold water. This was apparently a problem with Optimax engines and one of the rare causes for them blowing. Warming them up for 10 minutes in cold water then getting up them seems like the right thing to do, but engines don't warm up at 600rpm when fed cold water. Low idle is great for kids and slow speed stuff where you needed to let the skier get organized without a fast idle pull. You can always add more throttle if you have to. If you do go to the lowest possible idle, you will have to use the fast idle lever or hand control to warm up. I suggest warming up at 1200rpm. Then it actually does warm up and there is no risk of fouling. Going into gear at 500rpm or less will really help your clunk. The other trick is to use a newer prop with a rubber hub like the Mercury ones with Flo-Torq. Solid hubs clunk in harder. I'm not sure why you would go with ballast in the front in the first instance. I personally would have thought a wedge would be a much better solution. You don't have to trim the motor all the way down if you don't want to. And who uses all their positive trim -- except maybe you guys that do prop stands. Do you have to trim it all the way up? I do agree with bow tanks, but why would a person prefer bow ballast instead of extra negative trim. I'm not saying this is wrong, but I am genuinely interested in why. Greg
Good coments and questions Greg. Mark had mentioned wanting to be able to add bow ballast as the fuel in the bow mounted tank goes down. I believe a wedge, and possibly a different prop could minimize the need for this. But, when you start getting into pulling more weight off the pylon, the bow still comes up. I usually just use extra people in the boat to counteract this, because it's easier and cheaper to add an extra person in the boat than to mess around with a balast tank and pump system. When you start getting into the multi rigs though, I don't believe there is a show ski team around that doesn't have at least 100 lbs of weight up front at all times. Also, I would like to see the throttle and spring return system you have. If you get a chance, please post pictures here.
Greg I would need to defer to Riverrat as respects use of the wedge, because I have never used one. I do think I can answer a couple of your questions, however, adding to Riverrat's comments. One of the things that I actually do like about my current setup is that I can pull 80% of my skiiers without ever touching the trim, because near full down trim is just fine for both the initial pull and the ski run. In contrast, I spent years pulling skiiers behind a boat that requires full down trim for the initial pull and substantial up-trim for the ski run. It is a pain to mess with the trim for the first part of the ski run trying to get it right. I have therefore not ruled out a wedge but to the extent that a wedge will require more use of the trim, and more trim range changes, to pull heavier ski acts, it is not as appealing to me as extra weight in the bow. Also, I do not believe that more trim tuck range can replace the value of a well balanced boat in terms of bow weight and overall performance. I can prove this with one of our small family boats that has a 15HP motor and a very good tuck on the trim (manual trim, of course). If I have my 60lb son sit in the seat immediately ahead of me, towards the back of the boat, the bow rides high and the boat goes slow, barely getting on plane. I can get the bow down either of two ways. First, I can leave my son where he is and trim the motor all the way down. This will make the boat stay on a nice plane, but the speed is still fairly slow. Alternatively, I can leave the trim where it is and put my son up in the bow seat. This, too, brings the boat to plane but with significantly more speed. The reason for this is fairly simple. When you use more down (tucked) trim to keep the nose down, you are using valuable engine power to force the bow down (the engine, in essence, is not pushing the bow down but rather it is pushing the stern up). Since you are using some of the engine power for this purpose, the boat goes slower, although it is planing about the same as if you put weight up front. In contrast, if you put weight up front, the engine's power can be used to push the boat forward, rather than pushing the stern up. The added weight in the bow uses less available energy than does the use of tucked trim. How does this translate for purposes of waterskiing? The extra engine power required to hold the bow down with trim results in less available power for speed holding, resulting in more throttle adjustments to keep the skiier at a constant speed than if you used strictly extra bow weight. Use of a wedge to tuck the trim and keep the bow down will provide better speed holding at low speeds than if you were plowing water. Indeed, this is one of the tools jim uses to keep good speed holding for swivel pulling. However, I think the ideal is proper bow weight. Since you can't always have proper bow weight (particularly as you burn off fuel) the wedge can be a good solution and has worked well from the comments of members here. I simply think that for the reasons above an adjustable balast system might provide proper planing as fuel burns off with less robbing of engine power, less management of trim, and with just as much or more precision. Also, as Riverrat mentioned, when it comes to pulling weight from the pilon, even a wedge cannot substitute for weight in the front of the boat. I hope this makes sense. I am rambling a bit here...
Mark, Your and Bob's issues with the Mercury control box is common with the play in the throttle. If Jim ever sees your boat in person he will show you exactly where to place some springs for tension that will eliminate the "slop" in the throttle. It will perform then just like an inboard throttle. P.S. Drink holder should have been the first thing installed this year :yahoo: . And transom inlet is exactly where you want to install the ballast fill. I think all inboards have theirs located there. They fill them at a stand still. Also if you are still planning to go to the Nationals this next weekend, bring your boat too. Carl will be there from KW and you can order a release from him for cheap (he might even have one on hand) I polished mine after I got it. Not to mention we all want to drool over your boat. I know Bob is bringing his. Not to mention a little "race" might be in order. Greg
