1982 Ventura 2. Jack plate question.

[grngnt]

Hi. I have a 1982 Ventura 2 with a 1986 2.0 L 150 merc. It has fibre reeds and a 200 exhaust tuner. Also has new solid motor mounts in the top and bottom. It has a 26p chopper prop. Turns 6300 rpm and 69 mph on gps. I am told a 6 inch jack plate will help with handling and perhaps pick up some speed. Does anyone have have any experience with this hull and a jack plate setup? Would love to hear any thoughts.

[transomstand]

Don't have too much experience with the hull

When somebody tells you the boat wants 6" of setback......run away as fast as you can. Keep the motor close, 2-3" is plenty. Unlike them "pointy boats" Hydrostream made, the Ventura makes a TON of bow lift on it's own so no need for lots of setback. And Venturas don't need any help with setback for handling, they drive dead nuts perfect. Even a retard like me can drive one. A Bob's convertible is a good choice with 2 1/2" setback, I think T+R makes a 3" also.

[scott reierson]

I had a 76 Ventura 2 long ago. Tried lots of power and rigging combos. It had a full interior and an Older CMC Hydro plate with the external pump motor. I Mounted the Hydaulic pump for the plate in the boat just in from of the fuel tank to get a little more weight forward, then beefed up the transom well substantially with a custom aluminum plate and did some additional work under the well. With a 140 OMC V4 Crossflow with some mods the Boat ran 68-70 with a 22 4 blade or a 22 chopper. Ran 80-82 with a stock 225 Merc Carb with typical mild mods. Was a handful with lots of bow lift Next step was a stock 225 Promax with Carbs. Moved the battery up front, added Sea Star hyd steering. Whole new animal. With this kind of power the battery up front was a huge improvement in driveability. Boat was a rocket. Kept up with a lot of 2000 series Allisons etc. Best top end was 102. Felt way over the edge. Got to 90MPH quick with reasonable handling for the experienced driver. From 90 on up it took 110% concentration. Like Transomstand says above, These boats have lots of bow lift and ran fast with the lighter weight tower of power available during this time. V6 Power takes it to a higher level for sure. You could do some simple mild mods to your powerhead and correct the rigging, prop selection etc to get more MPH for minimal $$$

[Z06man]

No setback had ventura II PUT A PLATE ON IT 1 TIME WITH 4" OFF SETBACK , boat did not like had 200 280 and 300 none liked setback way to much lift. Best driving boat most will ever ride in.

[grngnt]

Don't have too much experience with the hull

When somebody tells you the boat wants 6" of setback......run away as fast as you can. Keep the motor close, 2-3" is plenty. Unlike them "pointy boats" Hydrostream made, the Ventura makes a TON of bow lift on it's own so no need for lots of setback. And Venturas don't need any help with setback for handling, they drive dead nuts perfect. Even a retard like me can drive one. A Bob's convertible is a good choice with 2 1/2" setback, I think T+R makes a 3" also.

Thanks for the advice. The one thing that makes this Ventura different is it has a bow tank. Engine trims past vertical and throws water up in the air but will not lift boat up on pad. Boat works well and is pretty fast but I'm sure with some tweaking it could work better. I have a jack plate that I am going to try in the spring. No big deal to take it off and return to previous state. Cheers.

[grngnt]

I had a 76 Ventura 2 long ago. Tried lots of power and rigging combos. It had a full interior and an Older CMC Hydro plate with the external pump motor. I Mounted the Hydaulic pump for the plate in the boat just in from of the fuel tank to get a little more weight forward, then beefed up the transom well substantially with a custom aluminum plate and did some additional work under the well. With a 140 OMC V4 Crossflow with some mods the Boat ran 68-70 with a 22 4 blade or a 22 chopper. Ran 80-82 with a stock 225 Merc Carb with typical mild mods. Was a handful with lots of bow lift Next step was a stock 225 Promax with Carbs. Moved the battery up front, added Sea Star hyd steering. Whole new animal. With this kind of power the battery up front was a huge improvement in driveability. Boat was a rocket. Kept up with a lot of 2000 series Allisons etc. Best top end was 102. Felt way over the edge. Got to 90MPH quick with reasonable handling for the experienced driver. From 90 on up it took 110% concentration. Like Transomstand says above, These boats have lots of bow lift and ran fast with the lighter weight tower of power available during this time. V6 Power takes it to a higher level for sure. You could do some simple mild mods to your powerhead and correct the rigging, prop selection etc to get more MPH for minimal $$$

Thanks for for the reply. Wow 102!!!! That's sounds insane. I am tickled pink with how this boat runs but just like anything I can see more possibilities. I would love to see it hit mid 70's. that would make me really happy.

[grngnt]

No setback had ventura II PUT A PLATE ON IT 1 TIME WITH 4" OFF SETBACK , boat did not like had 200 280 and 300 none liked setback way to much lift. Best driving boat most will ever ride in.

Thanks for for your reply. When you say boat didn't like the setback, what was the results? Too much bow lift? Bad handling? Less speed?

[Z06man]

Never ran 1 with bow tank but boat had to much bow lift with tank in rear and jack plate , it would not take a set over 100MPH WITH jack plate bow would just keep lifting or you had to use to much negative trim. It ran best with 280 and motor on the transom and most of the time with 2 up front .

[transomstand]

. Engine trims past vertical and throws water up in the air but will not lift boat up on pad.

Must be a 100 gallon tank in front.

Front mounted tanks are not good, the constant weight change makes the hull unpredictable.

What the boat probably needs most is a new core.

[rjdubiel]

From the sounds of it the motor is bolted direct to the transom of the boat. Is this correct? Prop shaft way below the pad? Listen to these guys, they know your hull. More info on your setup now is needed. Is there a jack plate? Where is the prop shaft now? LWP installed? Do you know if the core is good, has it ever been replaced? Lots of info on this site, use the search function and you will be reading for a day or two!

[altec7777]

Thanks for all the solid info! I'm just getting my first ventura all rigged up with a 2.4 200! Boat came with a 2 inch setback so i think im going to leave it like that for now. Unfortunately, the bow mounted gas tank isn't ideal for consistent runs but i think i'm going to leave it there and add a second tank in the back and plumb in some sort of valve system. I figure i can use the front tank for long river runs and the rear tank for short runs. Any recommendations on props? I assume i should get something to avoid the bow lift.

[transomstand]

Stay away from round ear props with a lot of tip cup. Best would be ET style, Hoss Triton, or offshore cut Chopper. SRX can be good, but if done by DAH tell John to take it easy with the tip cup, it's real easy to make it too flighty.

[altec7777]

Thanks transomstand! I'm hoping to get in the 80's sometime this summer so i'll have to get going pretty soon here on getting the setup dialed in!

[transomstand]

Ventura's are not fussy at all with setup. With a 2.4 200, mid 80's will be easy. Make sure you have good tight steering and solid motor mounts. Keep the boat pretty level, when the nose comes up, you're gonna have a bad day. They pack a ton of air under the bow.

[altec7777]

Awesome! I've got the solid mounts, offshore style steering pin with seastar steering, single ram trim, bobs cone on the 1.87 lower, boat was recently recored and transom redone. Would it be ideal to cut the 20" down to 15" at some point?