1991 modv 18'10 "laveycraft

[smiley88]

Hey fellas my brother has an 18'10 laveycraft with a merc 220 on it....we've tried quite a few different props and can't seem to get the boat over 67 miles per hour does any laveycraft owners know what a good prop would suggest for this rig he is also running a sport master and looks to be about an inch below pad.we know that it's not a super modified motor but seem to think it should get a little bit better performance than this especially being such a light hull.any information would be appreciated thank you for your time

[Carter Powell]

I really think that one of your problems is the sportmaster lower unit. The motor probably doesn't have enough power to make full use of this lower unit. You might try raising the motor up at least an inch to see if this will get more of the lower unit out of the water as this will greatly improve your top speed. Make sure you have a water pressure gauge so you don't run it out of water.

Best wishes, Carter Powell

[smiley88]

Man sir you are awesome me and brother will try it asap and I will let you know.thank you so much for your time.if motor up high ,what is correct water pressure should read ? At least 10psi ?also do you think we should get better performance than that on this light hull ?

[rgsauger]

Smiley, 10 psi absolute minimum and z14 psi is preferred. What prop do you have now and how much jack plate setback?

[rgsauger]

Smiley, 10 psi absolute minimum and z14 psi is preferred. What prop do you have now and how much jack plate setback?

[smiley88]

Thank you so much for responding. .we have tried a chopper 24 pitch a trophy 4 blade 21 pitch and a trophy 4 blade 26 pitch...he has a regular setback that comes on the lavey I beleive it's 8 inches..I apreciate the feedback he's got a really pretty boat but wants to sale if he cannot get better performance. He knows it's not a 260 or 280 raced out motor but would think better than 67mph right ? That was with the 26 trophy 4 blade..any info is apreciate sir thank you once again..someone told him you'll never get high speed with a lavey hull and don't know how true it is..

[Onetime]

I've found these hulls work real well with the trophy props and vent holes open. Choppers work real well also but won't have the lower end performance of the trophy. The chopper will be a little stronger top end. It's all a compromise. A 24 pitch is probably about right.
You say a Merc 220. If it's the 2.4 220 hp Laser engine, even though Mercury rated these at 220 hp, they really were only about 200 hp. One of the few times a Mercury outboard was horsepower rated on the high side.
I agree that the Sportmaster Gearcase at 1" below the bottom is hurting you. Could probably run that Gearcase 1" above the bottom and still have plenty of water pressure. Really your speeds and potential speeds aren't going to be best served by a Sportmaster. A CLE would be a better set up for that hull.
I wouldn't expect much more then about 75 mph with that setup. I did know a guy with one of those hulls and a Merc 200 and claimed it was 100 mph all day long. Flew past him at 75-80, must have been those old speedometers!
Did you recently buy this boat? I seem to recall seeing one for sale somewhere in the valley.

[smiley88]

I think it was the larger trophy prop my bro saw the 67mph..just not too impresive..what are the vent holes you mention to leave open? Yes bro just picked it up 4 months ago and had a merc 200 rebuilt with 220 laser heads and computer.could the 220 laser computer be hurting the regular 200 motor XRI that it's been put on.Boat and motor look really nice ,motor is strong and runs excellent but looking for a little more top end.we have 1 more notch left we can raise the motor to so welle be trying that soon..what do you think about the hull ? Will it ever get better performance even with 260 or 280 or is it just not a high speed type hull..sorry to sound so silly we are getting into outboards from blown flats and love them so far just trying to get dialed in is all.i love to learn and apreciate the time you take to explain to me..

[pyro]

The Laser 220 and the 200 XRi were the same exact motor. The cowling was the only difference. The "Laser" didn't have any special heads, they were the same as ordinary "bass" 200hp heads. The ECU fuel curves should be the same, but there's no guarantee that someone hasn't been inside messing with it.

If the water coming off the hull is breaking above the tip of the Sportmaster bullet, it will dig in and slow you down. These lower units need to be run at or above the level of the bottom to perform correctly. However, with only 200 HP to work with, you're not going to have enough prop in the water at those heights to give you the bite required for good holeshot and bowlift acceleration with 200 HP. A race motor can spin high for holeshot, and power through the midrange with brute force, but the 200 needs trim-induced bow-lift to get it up to higher speeds.

A 200 case with a Hydromotive cone would run well on that hull. They have a flatter, knife-shaped bullet (not as rounded), so they won't slow you down when it's digging in a little below the surface.

There might also be a problem with the motor. You should be able to BURY a 21p Trophy deep and still push it well past 6600 RPM.

You should ideally be getting around 78-80 MPH at 6400 RPM with a prop in the 28 pitch range, once its setup right.

[Onetime]

They are reasonably good hulls. Not as good as a Stoker or an STV/ Mirage type hull. A 260 or 280 would definitely wake it up more. They just don't have as much lift as others do but perform well. They tended to need more trim to get the hull to lift and pop free. This is why the Sportmaster hurts you at 1" below the bottom. When you trim it out the nose of the lower unit is underwater and pulling the rear of the boat deeper in the water.

The vent holes in a Trophy prop are the holes in front of the leading edge of the prop blades. They introduce exhaust to the blades causing them to slip a little when you start out helping the engine build more rpm and more horsepower. Sometimes they are plugged with little plastic caps. Either solid or smaller diameter holes. Run with no plugs in there. They just pop out.

You didn't give any rpm numbers relating to each prop you tried which could give a better picture

[smiley88]

I Will send some numbers ASAP I appreciate your time I'm in the middle of work right now just wanted to get back to you ASAP like you are doing for me once again thank you for your time..everything in all the info helps me so much thank you sir I will reply back as soon as I can if I remember right we were only turning about 5500 rpms To 6000..

[smiley88]

Would like to thank everyone e for your input. We are going to try and raise up the motor to the last notch and see what kind of performance we can get. He may just sale this pretty little setup and start over with something that has more bowlift so he can get a little higher numbers. Man this boat sure can turn and feels like it will throw your butt out from the g force. This little laveycraft sure is pretty and it sucks we cannot be happy with 70-80 mph but coming from flatbottom were used to 100 range. Boat may be up for sale soon if anyone knows anyone looking for a clean little reliable lavey..Thanks guys. ..

[TUNNEL T]

Need to figure out where your lower is in relation to bottom edge of center pod , yes 1 inch above is the best for your lavey what rpm are you spinnin these props you try ,
as for 100 mph performance just put a 280 on the back you'll see it !!!!TUNNEL T

[smiley88]

I know for sure my Bros motor is to low in the water. We have the engine raised up on the last notch and it is still far below the pad so we are currently looking for a Hydraulic jackplate to get his motor up out of water a little higher. As far as rpm goes man with these props it seems like we're only spinning around 5k consistently and every once in a while 5200.. anyone know of anybody out there with a decently proceed Hydraulic jackplate please send my way. .and once again thank you everyone for your time. ...

[TUNNEL T]

Smiley , you are definitely too deep that motor if healthy should spin north of 6 k , I had a ski boat back in the day with a 200 xri and was able to spin a 26 above 6k ...
bobs makes a good and reasonable hydraulic jack plate ....TUNNEL T