ntxwaterfowl
Member
Hi all, I saw my first Allison when I was about 10 at a boat show and I have wanted one ever since. 23 years later I have been fortunate enough to purchase a 1999 xb03 with a Johnson Venom 200. I won't really ask about the chine walking, I know it's been discussed ad nauseum on this site and others and I know there will be no replacement for seat time. That said I wanted to describe my setup and get some suggestions on the best way to prioritize/approach changes.
So setup... 1997 model Johnson 200 (60 degree V6) on the factory Allison manual jackplate I measured at 9" setback. The prop is a 24P Raker with a stock gearcase (top water inlet filled in)
I drove it Tuesday and it would max out around 5000 rpm. At around 58-60 I thought it was trying to get on the pad, it would chine walk but the rear would also swing (kind of like fishtailing) back and forth. My first (and second, and third) thoughts were of surprise. I had read about chine walk, read the red book, and thought I would be able to kinda at least get a feel for it. It was discouraging because everything felt sluggish and impossible to even get a reaction. But at 50 the thing was quiet and handled waves great.
Last night I measured the propshaft height, figured it was 3 inches below the pad or so, but it ended up being 6.5! So I raised it to 2.75" below and ran it again today. Completely different animal. Much more responsive to trim and today I was not only able to feel only chinewalk but also I could feel and hear the "pop" as it tried to come up on pad and it kept hitting 6000 rpm, but not at speed. I managed 65.7 gps before I bumped the trim back down and slowly backed out of it. I'm excited and ready to get more seat time. Sadly the motor got a lot louder, apparently the exhaust was buried before.
One thing I did notice is that I've been warned and read not to overtrim. As a result I've been very slow to raise the trim and it takes a lot of lake to even hit 60, I feel like it should accelerate quicker than taking a couple minutes and over a mile to touch 60. Also, the trim gauge shows to be like 3/4 high when I finally get enough speed to get on pad, I know that you can't rely on the trim gauge but that still seemed high. The steering torque was also greatly multiplied from the original setup, very hard to hold (cable, not hydraulic)
Sorry for the long intro, I really would love opinions on the best things to prioritize in my setup this winter. I know I should put a Merc on it but the only reason I was able to purchase this boat was the price and the OMC will have to do for a while.
Projects (in no particular order)
Solid Mounts
Nose Cone
Pin Carrier
Prop
4" setback plate (to raise the motor more and a bit more setback for the 200) I'm a big guy and will usually have my family in the boat with me.
Any recommendations on if I'm on the right track, overthinking it, getting ahead of myself or whatever would be appreciated. Also prop suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I've looked and seems that I haven't seen many people running a 24 Raker on and xb03.
Thanks in advance, this boat is a dream come true and I'm already enjoying it. (I've also learned the other side to Ally ownership, I've been stopped 3 times to look at the boat lol!)
So setup... 1997 model Johnson 200 (60 degree V6) on the factory Allison manual jackplate I measured at 9" setback. The prop is a 24P Raker with a stock gearcase (top water inlet filled in)
I drove it Tuesday and it would max out around 5000 rpm. At around 58-60 I thought it was trying to get on the pad, it would chine walk but the rear would also swing (kind of like fishtailing) back and forth. My first (and second, and third) thoughts were of surprise. I had read about chine walk, read the red book, and thought I would be able to kinda at least get a feel for it. It was discouraging because everything felt sluggish and impossible to even get a reaction. But at 50 the thing was quiet and handled waves great.
Last night I measured the propshaft height, figured it was 3 inches below the pad or so, but it ended up being 6.5! So I raised it to 2.75" below and ran it again today. Completely different animal. Much more responsive to trim and today I was not only able to feel only chinewalk but also I could feel and hear the "pop" as it tried to come up on pad and it kept hitting 6000 rpm, but not at speed. I managed 65.7 gps before I bumped the trim back down and slowly backed out of it. I'm excited and ready to get more seat time. Sadly the motor got a lot louder, apparently the exhaust was buried before.
One thing I did notice is that I've been warned and read not to overtrim. As a result I've been very slow to raise the trim and it takes a lot of lake to even hit 60, I feel like it should accelerate quicker than taking a couple minutes and over a mile to touch 60. Also, the trim gauge shows to be like 3/4 high when I finally get enough speed to get on pad, I know that you can't rely on the trim gauge but that still seemed high. The steering torque was also greatly multiplied from the original setup, very hard to hold (cable, not hydraulic)
Sorry for the long intro, I really would love opinions on the best things to prioritize in my setup this winter. I know I should put a Merc on it but the only reason I was able to purchase this boat was the price and the OMC will have to do for a while.
Projects (in no particular order)
Solid Mounts
Nose Cone
Pin Carrier
Prop
4" setback plate (to raise the motor more and a bit more setback for the 200) I'm a big guy and will usually have my family in the boat with me.
Any recommendations on if I'm on the right track, overthinking it, getting ahead of myself or whatever would be appreciated. Also prop suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I've looked and seems that I haven't seen many people running a 24 Raker on and xb03.
Thanks in advance, this boat is a dream come true and I'm already enjoying it. (I've also learned the other side to Ally ownership, I've been stopped 3 times to look at the boat lol!)