1998 stratos 290 sf w/200 vindicator setup

[ltrapper68]

I've been reading a lot of post on here lately and I believe my boat is not performing as it should. The boat is new to me and its the first big hp engine I've had. It's a 21' stratos f/s with a 200 hp vindicator, (no jack plate) and a renegade bass prop 13 1/2"x 25. At WOT it run 52 mph at 5200rpm with me and my wife, fishing gear, and about a half tank of gas. The take off wasn't bad but I expected more from it, being 200hp. The boat was in storage for a couple years when I bought it and all I've done is change oil and put fresh gas in her. I kinda thought when I first got her that it would run at least 60 to 65 mph or is that just over thinking it. Ive been researching all the forums but really havent come up with any conclusions. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks.

[davemvegas]

i have 2 stratos fish & ski boats. a 18.5 ft 288 with a 225 vindicator. also a 21 ft 290 with the 1991 gt 200 johnson that came on it when new. best prop on it was a 24p suzuki thru hub. it would run 64 to 67 mph at 6300 rpms. prop that came on it is a 4 blade 13 1/2 x 25 shooter, shooter prop has alot of bow lift and a great rooster tail but only 61 mph. 26p suzuki prop got bent so now running a 24p original raker 3 blade. it will run 65 mph with 1 person but wont rpm with a few people on board. my 288 runs 75 mph with the 24p raker. i think the 288 hull weighs 1225 and th 290 weighs 1425. i do not fish so i pulled the trolling motors and only run 1 battery.

[Lockjaw]

I'd verify you are getting full throttle first, then either do a sync and link or have your dealer do one, and check the timing. Then I would run some seafoam through it, or the omc decarbing spray.

[ltrapper68]

I have been thinking about different props but I wasn't sure if that's where I needed to start. My boat weighs in at a little over 1500lbs, probably close to 2000lbs once loaded down with equipment. How would I know if it was WOT or not? I've got it push forward as far as it will go. How do I go about doing a sync and link, I have a shop manual that should be here in the next couple days. I've never done the decarbing either, just hearing everybody talking about it on the forums, I thought that was something dealer mechanic had to do. I don't think it's bogging down any. Does new reeds make a big difference?

[Lockjaw]

Take the airbox off the front of the carbs and give the boat full throttle and see where the plates in the carb's open up to. You should be able to see if its getting full throttle or not. If you have a manual, do the sync and link. Then check timing.

I had a 200 Venom on a waterlogged bassboat and it would run mid 60's when it was cool out. Didn't seem to matter which prop I ran, it would run pretty good with just me and a 25p Gade. Same with a raker, although I thought the gade was much more stable in rough water.

[ltrapper68]

Take the airbox off the front of the carbs and give the boat full throttle and see where the plates in the carb's open up to. You should be able to see if its getting full throttle or not. If you have a manual, do the sync and link. Then check timing.


I had a 200 Venom on a waterlogged bassboat and it would run mid 60's when it was cool out. Didn't seem to matter which prop I ran, it would run pretty good with just me and a 25p Gade. Same with a raker, although I thought the gade was much more stable in rough water.

Ive read that taking off or modifying the air box while running it is some how bad for the engine, will it not matter doing it just for a few minutes. Can I operate it to WOT with just the ear muffs, for cooling water?
I've heard the meaning water logged boat before. How can you know it's water logged and wouldn't it evaporate eventually. And my shop manual suppose to be here Wednesday.

[ltrapper68]

Does performance reeds make a difference? And re-jetting. Of Coarse first thing first I'm just wondering if that woul damage anything. Had a friend tell he once did that to a boat he once owned and it gave him a lot more torque on take off.

[davemvegas]

Ive read that taking off or modifying the air box while running it is some how bad for the engine, will it not matter doing it just for a few minutes. Can I operate it to WOT with just the ear muffs, for cooling water?
I've heard the meaning water logged boat before. How can you know it's water logged and wouldn't it evaporate eventually. And my shop manual suppose to be here Wednesday.

lockjaw is telling you to take the air box off while motor is not running. with motor not running push throttle all the way and look in the carb openings and confirm that the butterflies are sideways in the bore. if less or more then you would need to adjust the cable and throttle stop. reeds will make your motor idle smoother and have a little better throttle response but really do not make a hp or top end gain. plastic or fiber reeds do damage your motor if a reed fails and gets sucked thru like a steel reed causes. if you decide to get reeds I would go with chris carson reeds. they are great quality. and chris also has great customer service.

[ltrapper68]

lockjaw is telling you to take the air box off while motor is not running. with motor not running push throttle all the way and look in the carb openings and confirm that the butterflies are sideways in the bore. if less or more then you would need to adjust the cable and throttle stop. reeds will make your motor idle smoother and have a little better throttle response but really do not make a hp or top end gain. plastic or fiber reeds do damage your motor if a reed fails and gets sucked thru like a steel reed causes. if you decide to get reeds I would go with chris carson reeds. they are great quality. and chris also has great customer service.

Thanks for clarifying the process of checking WOT, my bad, I was over thinking it.
So when buying reeds the metal ones will be more mechanically sound?

[davemvegas]

typo on my part. that should have said plastic or fiber reeds do not damage motor if a reed breaks. a broke steel reed can damage piston and cyl.

[rangerphil]

I've owned both Stratos and Ranger F/S boats, so maybe I can help. Couple of points to make....the 290 S/F is a heavy boat with a deeper V hull design. They simply will not get on top of the water like a bassboat will. You have too much prop for your setup, based on my experience and looking at your rpm's. I now own a Ranger 190 Reata with a 200 Yamaha EFI and it came from the factory with a 23 pitch 3-bladed prop. My top speed was about 59-60 with that setup. I now run a Tempest Plus 21 since we do a lot of skiing. You need to get your rpm closer to 5600-5700. I've tried a gazillion props on my F/S boats over the years and think that the 3-blade props work best as they help lift the bow on these rigs, as a lot of the weight it farther forward versus a bassboat. See if you can borrow a 23 pitch prop like a Tempest Plus with the correct thrust washer. I never had much luck with the OMC Raker 3-blade props when I have my Stratos 289 F/S. Your current rpm's look reasonable with a 25 pitch prop.....I think your engine is fine, it's simply too much prop.

[ltrapper68]

I think I'll check out the carbon reeds, after all else is done. Thank you. I had Robert at Taylor Marine say the same thing about the prop being to big and with you saying the same thing, i bet that could be alot of the problem. I'm gonna try a couple different props when I find someone that will loan them out around here. Thanks for your input too Phil. Happy fishing.

[ltrapper68]

**Blowing Steam***mentioned above, that I was waiting on a shop manual to proceed with any in depth maintenance. I just got the damn thing in the mail yesterday, ordered it the 14th. I done thought I was ripped off. Now I can start checking stuff out. Happy fishing.

[rgsauger]

Since the boat sat up for a while, i would definitely change the water pump impeller and lower unit lube.