Hydrostream Voyager XT with 300 XS

[stokernick]

think of it like teeter totter,by mounting the engine furthur back your boat is balanced and you don't have to trim it up to fly the bow!

[Mackenzie Bros.]

I would be careful with setback with a 3.0l motor. You have tons of weight already hanging on the back of that thing. Those hulls were designed for 400lbs motors. The boat will get very difficult to drive and I think it may porpoise so bad 60 mph would be a white knuckle drive.

[XSive]

You are using that boat alot for watersports... I'd leave it as more set back is going to give you more bow rise..

[Over Easy]

What year is your Voyager?

I currently have a 05 Voyager from Tenn. with 250XS w/Sportmaster lower.

But I owned a 91 Voyager w/ 200 for 15 years. The hull mold is not identical. it is the Pipkorn mold, but Jim made changes.

The new hulls have porposing issues between 20-35mph, that can be controlled but not eliminated. The original Voyagers never had that problem.

With the 250XS and a Trophy Plus 27" we saw 89.5 GPS, but honestly I have been chasing to get back to that point, I am stuck
around 84 now.

At one point I spoke to a fellow who had a 300 on a 06 Voyager up in Minn, and he was seeing 95MPH.

I'd like to speak to you Bruce 609-965-4899

[XLR8FAST X-STREAM]

What year is your Voyager?

I currently have a 05 Voyager from Tenn. with 250XS w/Sportmaster lower.

But I owned a 91 Voyager w/ 200 for 15 years. The hull mold is not identical. it is the Pipkorn mold, but Jim made changes.

The new hulls have porposing issues between 20-35mph, that can be controlled but not eliminated. The original Voyagers never had that problem.

With the 250XS and a Trophy Plus 27" we saw 89.5 GPS, but honestly I have been chasing to get back to that point, I am stuck
around 84 now.

At one point I spoke to a fellow who had a 300 on a 06 Voyager up in Minn, and he was seeing 95MPH.

I'd like to speak to you Bruce 609-965-4899

Bruce,

My Voyager XT is a 2004. I also had porpoising problems at low speed. I fixed the problem with a whale tail mounted on the cavitation plate. The problem is Jim made the keel to wide, and is therefore to bouyant at the lower speeds, and also traps water in the tunnels.

I hit 86 mph pretty fast with the 26 tempest, not been past that yet, since I only attempted top speed the one time since engine break-in. With more trim I will likely run out of rpm at about 90 mph. I will attempt again next week.

I really have not noticed any difference in handling or porpoising between the heavier 300XS and my previous 200XS. I'm only running 5" set back.

I wonder how stable the voyager is above 90 mph, I've been told 95 mph is the limit, because of the aerodynamic of the open bow. Where as the sister haul Vegas is good for 100 mph with the same engine.

A friend of mine has an older pipkorn voyager with a 225 promax. His boat handles much better, less porpoising, smoother ride, and he is able to hit 84 mph.

[hydro]

What kind of setback, prop, engine height,etc is your friend running with his older Voyager?

[XLR8FAST X-STREAM]

What kind of setback, prop, engine height,etc is your friend running with his older Voyager?

Hydro,

My Friend goes by CALHOON on Scream and Fly, you could talk to him direct.
He is running 5" set back and runs both a 24" trophy (all around), as well as a 26 tempest (speed prop).

Regarding engine height you should speak with him. He has a hydraulic jack. The best way to set yours up... Assuming you have a jack run the cavitation plate at the same height as the pad, when the engine is down. This should be go for low speeds, turning, towing, etc. Then as you raise the jack you will be able to run the prop as much as 1/2 out of the water. Depending on how much weight and top speed, will depend how much you can raise before you experience to much slip. You should at least be able to run the cavitation plate 2.5 inches above the pad for top speed.

[Vegas XT]

Here is a video of my friends Voyager at 94 gps.Boat was rock solid at speed,after I got out he hit 99 by himself.you have more left in your boat you need a bigger prop I think his is a 32 I also wonder how much the tall windshield slows the boat down compared to the short.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXjncV7ok3s

[TUNNEL T]

XLR8 , i understand your still getting used to the new speeds ,but your only limited to rpm due to the prop your running that motor has plenty of torque to spin a BIGGER wheel . you say your happy running 90 for now then 100 ,110, and so on thats were we all started its a very bad addiction . BUT I WON'T CHANGE I STILL NEED MORE !!!!TUNNEL T

Hello Stokernick,
The picture you are commenting on was with my old 200XS. Because of the lack of power I would trim right out to get the boat up on the pad, then bring the bow down a bit to run up to 75 mph. Now with my new 300XS and a 26 tempest it is completely different. In fact I'm cautious about giving to much trim, until I get used to it. With 3 people in the boat I hit 83 mph with zero trim. Then with some trim it easily hit 86 mph at 6000 RPM. I have not push much further, since I'm still getting used to the new set-up. 90 mph at 6250 RPM limit should be achieved with more trim and raising the jack some. How would more set-back help if I'm RPM limited? Not sure if I really need to get a 28 pitch prop, because 90 is fast enough for now. What is the down side to more set-back?

[Djohns]

Hi XLR8,

I had a question about your hydrostream/engine ht/tempest combo.

I have a 2005 Voyager XT Hull with Merc 280. Can you tell me the magic engine height to run a tempest plus at so I can put the wrenches down. Propshaft is currently at 1.0 inch below the pad. This is where I run my lightning et. fyi) ET Fast PROP I've run. 93mph at 7800rpm. Problem...When I take off the motor boggs down for a few seconds and revs out as soon as it starts to plane. Once under way I can run very low slip numbers; around 3-5% at 90mph. I have removed the PVS plugs to take care of the bogg, but engine still blows out when planning. Do I need to drop the motor down an inch or so to prevent cavitation.
Do you have this problem?

Please advise.
By the way, a full glass windshield steals top end but a tight bow cover will give you 2-3 mph back on top speed.

Regards,
Dave

[Greggw/2g's]

Porpoising is a problem for me. Anything between 20 and 37 mph and the ride is bad. I am woundering if a Hydrolic Jack plate would help. If I were to run it all the way down ,as well as trim all the way down, would it correct the problem?

The boat is a 2004 Voyager with a 2010 300xs. 8'' Manual jack plate with the prop shaft almost 1'' above the pad. Prop is a 32p Pro E.T. (4 blade) pro finish. Sportmaster lower unit 1:75.

I added an alum. brace across the inside of the stern and tied it into the knees. Carbon fiber and extra glass were also added between the stern and top deck to help with the extra weight.

So far I am still at a top speed of 99mph (gps).

I am also being told I can't use my old trim gauge and that I need to change to a digital one? The rest of the gauges are analog.

[Djohns]

Thanks!
WOW 99 mph.
300xs sounds pretty strong. Hows the power curve on that motor. Probably a good idea to reinforce the stern on your part. Had a voyager owner break his transom with a heavy Yamaha on an 07'. Hope I won't have to go there, 280 (400lbs). Do you have any planning issues (over rev) when you nail it out of the hole at that engine height?

Dave

[Kimmerly.performance]

Dave did you take the PVS right out??? there is three stages of plugs to put in so you can fine tune it. i'd try the biggest hole plug. i don't have experience with that prop but the raker on mine revs up when the jack is up, or if the trim is not all the way down. A hydraulic jack is the ultimate solution so you can put it down, for take off then up when running fast. But it might be a little expensive mor most. BUt when mine revs up the take offs are way faster and that is where the power is especially a 280. I lust let it rev till it grabs. just my .02

Dan

[Greggw/2g's]

It is pretty good out of the hole, depending where the passengers are located. 2-4 kids in the bow and 3-4 adults in the rear not a problem and (60mph max). But 4 adults and coolers in the rear of the boat and its tough to get it going, (blows out quite a bit).

One thing I have learned is to start from a little above idle and mash the throttle to 5000-5500 rpm (like mercury says to do with this prop. (Pro E.T.). Once the prop starts to blow out back off a little and the momentum from pre blow out keeps you going till the bow comes down and the prop grabs again. The motor then pulls hard all the way to 6000 rpm.

[XLR8FAST X-STREAM]

Update on my2004 Voyager-XT with 2010 300XS 1.62 gear.

So far my best top end speed has bee 87 mph, with 26" tempest. I can not get the engine to pull more than 6100 RPM, even if I raise the jack plate to the point the prop starts to spin out. Seems like HP limited to go faster, which does not seem right.

On a second note, At speed I hit a dead head log sumerged under the water, which put a 2.5 foot long gouge in the haul. I did not notice at first. so as I continued to drive fast the fibreglass started to delamitate. Eventually the haul had a 1 foot long crack and the boat began to sink. After noticing the water on the floor, I headed for shore. With the help from some people at shore we were able to bale for 45 minutes until my Wife drove around the lake with the trailer, and we saved the boat from sinking.

Last week I got the boat back from a fibreglass repair shop, and I'm back on the lake.

My goal now it to get over 90 mph. I can not believe greggw is hitting 99 mph!

Greggw, I fixed the porpoising problem with a whale tail mounted on the cavitation plate, however this probably has affected my top end.