2017 XB-21 Allison Pro Sport Set-Up

[Garry Hagins]

All,
When purchasing a XB-21 Pro Sport it is very important that you know something when selecting the motor (300XS), lower unit (sportsmaster), and gear ratio (1.62) what to expect. I currently purchased a new boat and when the boat was set up it would not come on plane any quicker than 8 to 18 seconds w/28 P Bravo FS (prop worked by Robbie). I did go with a 36 volt trolling motor so I do have the extra weight of an additional battery in the rear.

When talking to the dealer make sure they add 2 degree wedges and they trade the 4 inch spacer for a 2 1/2 inch spacer. They may want to mount 1 or 2 of the batteries in front of the console to add some weight to the front of the boat to help it plane quicker.

I ordered my boat in February from a dealer that had never set up an Allison prior to mine. I now have my boat at Sanderson Marine and they are trying to work some of the issues out that is preventing it from coming on plane like it should.

It is my understanding that very few Pro Sports have been built and set up in the last few years so there isn't a lot of dealers use to setting the boat and motors up.

A person suggested to me to go with 1.75 gears but then you run into the problem of finding a prop big enough that it won't hit the rev limiter.

I will provide more information on the set-up once Lee Sanderson and Robbie has completed the boat and I pick it up.

Once on plane the boat would accelerate at a very quick speed. The acceleration will set you back in the seat and the handling of the boat was very good as I have reached 87 mph with very little trim and the motor even with the pad.

I can't wait to get the boat dialed in and running good.

 

[JWolff]

Anxious to hear what they come up with. I was around 7 seconds for holeshot last year. Added a foil this winter and had my 26 Bravo worked by Robbie. Will be interesting to see how that works out.

 

[GotMyAlly]

I think you did the right thing going with 1.62 gears. Smaller pitch props drive better to me......more pitch equals more paddle-wheeling on the top end. Not a good feeling.

Just out of curiosity, what dealer did the initial setup? It really shouldn't be all that different from setting up a 2+2. And experienced Allison dealer should be able to set it up, with some time on the water. Should being the key word......I know a lot don't put in the time to do it right.

 

[scj]

I would have given you my 2 1/2" spacers.

I used the same setup on my previous 2+2 as I'm using on my ProSport and I believe your original setup was the same as mine. I also have a SM w/1.62 gears and I never take off less than 30% trim.
I'm on plane in 2 seconds and it's hard for me to believe my SHO is that much better at hole shots than your 300.

No two boats are alike and Lee is an expert on Allison boats but I'll have to disagree that the changes made are an overall improvement.
Different folks, different strokes.
I hope he finds a setup that suits your driving style as my ProSport is an absolute dream to drive.

One more thing; I remember when I first bought my 2+2; I thought it sucked at holeshots and handling compared to my XB-2003 but it was all me not knowing how to drive the different boat.
Hopefully Lee will spend some time with you driving your boat as he's an excellent teacher.

 

[Garry Hagins]

I would have given you my 2 1/2" spacers.

I used the same setup on my previous 2+2 as I'm using on my ProSport and I believe your original setup was the same as mine. I also have a SM w/1.62 gears and I never take off less than 30% trim.
I'm on plane in 2 seconds and it's hard for me to believe my SHO is that much better at hole shots than your 300.

No two boats are alike and Lee is an expert on Allison boats but I'll have to disagree that the changes made are an overall improvement.
Different folks, different strokes.
I hope he finds a setup that suits your driving style as my ProSport is an absolute dream to drive.

One more thing; I remember when I first bought my 2+2; I thought it sucked at holeshots and handling compared to my XB-2003 but it was all me not knowing how to drive the different boat.
Hopefully Lee will spend some time with you driving your boat as he's an excellent teacher.

Steve,
The boat takes 8 to 18 seconds to get on plane. The boat was not set-up right from the very beginning. How many batteries do you have in your boat? I have 4 and 2 of them are in the right rear compartment. One is all the way to the front and the other all the way to the back.

It is just frustrating that you spend that much money on a boat and it won't even get on plane. I went and got it from the other dealer as soon as I possibly could because I was afraid they would screw it up and not be able to fix it.

I am hoping that Lee and Robbie can get it dialed in. I would like Lee to go out in the boat with me and give me any tips he can.

What did you end up doing for your set-up in the end?

 

[scj]

It's all about set up. Lee will get your boat performing exceptionally I'm sure.
If I were running four batteries, one would be in the right all the way to the front, one in the center and two in the left compartment. The two on the left offset your weight.
I never lower my jackplate to take off. It accelerates better with the engine higher and as I mentioned in the other post, I never trim all the way under to hole shot. It's just not necessary and I plane out much smoother and faster that way. Therefore, wedges are not needed.
You know, you're only moving your engine 1 inch forward by changing to 2 1/2" brackets and adding wedges. The wedges add a 1/2" to your setback.

I used the setup I have now on my 2+2 with the same results and Tim Powell just installed a similar setup on his BasSport and claims improved performance. That's one of every model of Allison 21 footer running additional setback with no negative performance. Tim is running his engine higher than I do and he leaves it up for hole shots and I believe he also stated it's not necessary to trim all the way under.
I hate to see you make changes away from something that is proven to perform well. Time in the seat making changes to height and trim angles, trying a 26/27" prop or moving weight (or batteries) around would be a lot less expensive.

 

[Garry Hagins]

It's all about set up. Lee will get your boat performing exceptionally I'm sure.
If I were running four batteries, one would be in the right all the way to the front, one in the center and two in the left compartment. The two on the left offset your weight.
I never lower my jackplate to take off. It accelerates better with the engine higher and as I mentioned in the other post, I never trim all the way under to hole shot. It's just not necessary and I plane out much smoother and faster that way. Therefore, wedges are not needed.
You know, you're only moving your engine 1 inch forward by changing to 2 1/2" brackets and adding wedges. The wedges add a 1/2" to your setback.

I used the setup I have now on my 2+2 with the same results and Tim Powell just installed a similar setup on his BasSport and claims improved performance. That's one of every model of Allison 21 footer running additional setback with no negative performance. Tim is running his engine higher than I do and he leaves it up for hole shots and I believe he also stated it's not necessary to trim all the way under.
I hate to see you make changes away from something that is proven to perform well. Time in the seat making changes to height and trim angles, trying a 26/27" prop or moving weight (or batteries) around would be a lot less expensive.

I have raised the motor lowered the motor, trimmed up and trimmed down. It is not able to plane in any type of reasonable manner. Lee is going to move batteries to try to get some of the weight off the rear of the boat.

We will see what happens. Steve your boat has the 200 Yamaha and it has a lot more low end torque. Tim Powell is running a BasSport elite correct? That boat is almost 200 pounds heavier in the front end of the boat and his batteries are in the center console. Geoff is running the same set up on his pro sport that Lee is going to do to mine and reaching speeds of 99.2 mph. The motors and hulls are both variables. I was told if I had DBR to the modification to my computer it increases the low end torque and horsepower. We will see soon. I am sure Lee will do what runs best.

 

[scj]

Yep, you have your boat at the right place.

 

[Garry Hagins]

I spoke with Lee today and he is going to take the boat to the water and try to decipher what is going on with it. He says he will make the necessary adjustments to make it run correctly.

 

[RiverRocket]

I have the same setup with two exceptions. I have 3 batteries and the standard lip. I don't think the new shaved lip has any impact on hole shot. I'm excited to see if what it does to the top end.

It has been my experience that the 300xs with 1.62 will not get out of the hole with a high pitched props without being tucked under. I noticed this with 27/28P props that I tried. I have tried this with no less than 10 different props. I have run both Bravo XS props and Hydromotives right in this pitch range (both are known good hole shot props). The only prop I have run that will come out strong at anything other than fully tucked is my 25 bravo xs. I was testing for a race next month this week and it can pop out at neutral trim, but it is a 25. I'm running wedges as well.

I consider a good hole shot at under 3 seconds. Tolerable or decent is under 6 seconds. Over that I consider poor. All my testing is done with a full fishing load and at least 1/2 tank of gas. I tournament fish, so I also test with a full live well. Summer heat makes a huge difference as well. I have tried each prop with the motor tucked just shy of in, to see if I could pull the wedges and the wedges make a difference on my boat. I don't trim over 8.7, so I have 1.7 increments of trim left with the wedges. If I had to trim more I could see an argument to pull the wedges, but at this point I'm fine.

My current props are:
25p Bravo XS (2.5 seconds) Stock
30p Promax (not timed yet) I just got it. Based on testing of my bud's I will be getting 4 more PVS holes added. I will also have it B&B. I'm hoping this will be my daily driver.
27/28p Bravo XS (3.5 seconds) 1" holes, B&B and tweaked for hole shot. I just sold this prop. This was my best all around prop. Summer or winter it would pop out of the hole. It just had no top end. I traded it for the Promax. I hope I don't regret it.
30p Bravo XS (6 seconds) 1" holes, B&B
32p P4 BC (6 seconds) This is my big number prop. No other purpose to run it. The Bravo 30 and Promax 30 will be my mid 90's fun props.

I have also found the 300xs doesn't like the gas mashed to the floor at take off. If you feather it a little the motor will get out of the hole faster.

As we discussed on the phone, I would have 8 holes in any through hub prop. I tried a 25p 4 blade on my boat that a buddy ran on his XB21 2+2 with a 225 that he said was a rocket out of the hole. It took over 10 seconds to get on plane. I borrowed it for a race and couldn't even run it. It bogged like my 30p Bravo in the heat of summer.

The same props I ran on my 225xs with 1.62's are much slower out of the hole on my 300XS. That is apples to apples testing on the same boat and motor with no setup changes. After I get on plane they all out run what they did on the 225. The added horsepower makes a big difference in acceleration, mid range, and top end.

Right now my 30p Bravo is 6 seconds out of the hole. In the summer when it is 90 plus I will have to break out the paddle to get it on plane. It is not even worth running. It just bogs and plows water. It is a cooler weather prop only.

All my Bravo's that are over 27P have 1" holes and PVS holes for a total of 8. Even the two Hydromotives that I owned had this hole configuration (27 &29). I couldn't run any of these props plugged.

I just got a 30p Promax. It is going out for a second set of PVS holes. I have run a buddies and it is a great prop, the 300XS just struggles getting it out of the hole. My buddy with the 2+2 with 250xs plugs all 4 PVS. I run with all 4 PVS holes open and need more.

Nose weight will help. I was running a lot of weight in the nose a while back and it helped. I feel the Prosport needs a little nose weight anyways. I think you will be happy with the battery in the nose. It will make 95 plus speeds more comfortable.

I completely agree that I get on plane faster with the motor high. I run 1/2" over and never touch the jack plate. I also agree the paddle wheel effect is not so fun. To hit big number s you are going to need to run big wheels. You will find that different props will do this at different speeds. I bought the 300xs vs the 250 because I wanted to go over 100 and I wasn't confident the 250 could do that. Not saying the 250 can't, I just thought the odds were better with the 300. I knew the 300 wasn't as good out of the hole, but I was willing to sacrifice that for a chance at bigger numbers. I haven't been disappointed yet. Get ready for a lot of fun as you push into the high 90's.

 

[Garry Hagins]

UPDATE!!!
I picked up my boat on June 15th from Lee at Sanderson Marine. I spoke to Lee in length about the modifications he did to the boat and drove home. I got the boat back to Columbia, South Carolina on Friday and took it out to run it at around 2:00 p.m. in the heat of the day. The water temp was in the low 80's and the boat was able to plane in about 3.5 seconds with a 28 Bravo 1 FS on it. My daughter was with me running the stop watch. I was able to get it to 90 mph easily and ran out of room on the lake due to windy conditions. Lee was able to get it to 91 + he said with him and another guy in the boat. I think with the rpm's Lee was running he was closer to 95 mph. He wasn't for sure on the speed since he didn't have the electronics in the boat. I was very impressed with the lower unit modifications that Robbie did on the motor. The boat handles quite a bit better than it did before. I also let my daughter drive the boat and she was able to drive it to 66 mph without any chine walking. She had never driven a boat before in her life so that alone speaks for the improved handling of the lower unit.

Lee changed the set-up the other dealer had done by moving one of the batteries in the rear compartment in front of the passenger seat ahead of the console. He installed the wedges and moved engine up one hole. I also purchased a 24 pitch Fury 4 and this prop is crazy fast out of the hole. It pulls hard from start to end. A few jet ski's pulled up next to me and tried to play but I out accelerated them and it wasn't close. It's a very fun prop to play with. The prop worked well pulling the girls on the tube. We were able to be on plane in about 3 to 3.5 seconds with 3 people in the boat and 3 on the tube.

If anyone wants to know about the set-up let me know. I wouldn't let anyone other than Lee set-up any of my boats. He took the time and effort that I expected when I bought an Allison.

Thanks Lee for a job well done!!!!

 

[Rick Propst]

Garry Your boat is very Nice I like the colors,, I saw your boat at Lees while he was working on it

 

[JWolff]

The stories of Lee and good service are many. He is responsible for getting my boat ready before shipping cross country.

 

[scj]

Awesome!

Lee is as good of person doing business you'll find..............

 

[xb03fs]

Yes Lee is the man for sure.

NOTE: with the Optimax motors, if you run with trimmed flair as I do, the PVS plug setup in the prop is crtical, too few and the prop just slips and its hard to get on plane. Too many and it wants to bog. Just right and its pretty steller.

 

[Garry Hagins]

Garry Your boat is very Nice I like the colors,, I saw your boat at Lees while he was working on it

Thanks Rick! I love the boat. It's running well now for sure.

 

[Garry Hagins]

Yes Lee is the man for sure.

NOTE: with the Optimax motors, if you run with trimmed flair as I do, the PVS plug setup in the prop is crtical, too few and the prop just slips and its hard to get on plane. Too many and it wants to bog. Just right and its pretty steller.

Lee had to plug some of the holes and leave some open. He has it dialed in and it is running WELL!!

 

[Garry Hagins]

I agree Lee is a gentleman and did a great job setting up the boat. The lower unit modification is a huge benefit in drivability. I would highly recommend it to anyone.