power for a V-King

[TOMTAG17]

Hey guys
I just purchased my 1st V-king, minus motor. I am seriously looking at a 1999 ProMax Sport with a Merc 26 Chopper 2 cut to ET by leading edge. sportmaste lower and 20" mid I would like any opinions or info on any handling and weight issues with that 400+lbs motor. also I am set up with a 8 pin harness is that compatible with a 1999 year motor. The boat was rigged with older 2.5 merc and at one point a 2.5 mariner. i am going to check out the motor next weekend and would like any help possible. sorry for the newbie ?sss but I think it would be helpfull.
thanks Tom G.

[David]

V bottom? 4-6" setback, prop height near the pad, it will run great.

There is still a lot of set up info at http://www.hydrostream.org/Setup.PDF
It's not current but its worth a look.

[TOMTAG17]

Yup it's a v-bottom with very nice and flat pad no hook abd no gaps when i put a straight edge on it it also has a cmc 5.5 power lift jack on it. Thanks for the link tom g.:d

[1meanstream]

V bottom? 4-6" setback, prop height near the pad, it will run great.

There is still a lot of set up info at http://www.hydrostream.org/Setup.PDF
It's not current but its worth a look.

NO --on the transom or a Bob's 2 1/2 plate. 15" mid is ideal. Keep it close if you got lots of hp to carry the boat. Once you can carry the boat moving it further back does not always mean more speed but it does always mean poor handling. The propshaft height will depend on hp. You will be close at 1/2 " below the pad with the center of the propshaft. Hope this helps.

[rdkvector]

NO --on the transom or a Bob's 2 1/2 plate. 15" mid is ideal. Keep it close if you got lots of hp to carry the boat. Once you can carry the boat moving it further back does not always mean more speed but it does always mean poor handling. The propshaft height will depend on hp. You will be close at 1/2 " below the pad with the center of the propshaft. Hope this helps.:iagree: You don't need the jp I've tried 4in,8in and 2 1/2in and today I'm going to bolt my 200 right on the transom. You might lose a little on the top end, but the overall feel of the boat is worth it.:thumbsup:

[1meanstream]

:iagree: You don't need the jp I've tried 4in,8in and 2 1/2in and today I'm going to bolt my 200 right on the transom. You might lose a little on the top end, but the overall feel of the boat is worth it.:thumbsup:

Exactly i have had so many people defend jackplates its crazy. Its for the cool factor not the speed factor. Stll have never seen anyone run 200hp on a V-king faster than 90mph. I did with a shorty bolted to the transom. They have there place but not on many hydrostreams. The only one to use if you feel you must is the 2 1/2 bobs. Close and low and the more hp you have the more important it is.

[TOMTAG17]

The jack plate is on the hull, the engine seller has a lift and lifting ring, I do not. I would like get the motor mounted ( which he will do with me ). get it home and get it wet. after I get needed equipment then I can do whatever this winter. I also need seat time before I change a bunch of stuff as I said this is my first hi-perf setup. please keep the advice coming as it is welcome

[David]

I dunno, I've never had a Vking, but I'd want a jackplate on just about anything. Unless you only want to go top speed, you need different heights for different uses.

Years ago Jim Ironside told me 6" for a Vking, he rigged a lot of them.

I just checked the registry and the ratio is about 3:1 no setback:setback. I guess I'm wrong. Not the first time.

[rdkvector]

Bolt the motor to the transom in the highest hole and be done with it.....period!

[wideglide55]

Everyone seems to forget that the more setback you run the higher the motor has to go to get it out of the water.Weight and balance problems ensue from there,they are already hard enough to drive without making it worse.I'm with rdk,find as 15" motor and bolt it right on the transom.

[1meanstream]

I dunno, I've never had a Vking, but I'd want a jackplate on just about anything. Unless you only want to go top speed, you need different heights for different uses.

Years ago Jim Ironside told me 6" for a Vking, he rigged a lot of them.

I just checked the registry and the ratio is about 3:1 no setback:setback. I guess I'm wrong. Not the first time.

Some of this is just common sense. The hp today is huge compared to what these boats were designed to run with. Once the boat flies at neutral trim and the propshaft is approx even with the pad--WHY do you need more setback?

[rdkvector]

A 20in motor bolted to the transom works well. You are only 80 miles north of me. I have an engine crain, lift ring, gps, a boat ramp 3 miles away and lots of set up experience on a Hydrostream. Anytime you want to bring it down, I'll be glad to share my time, tools and experience with you. We can take a day and make it do what you want it to do. Testing, then adjusting... the only thing that works. Hydro's all have a personality of their own, thats why it's not so cut and dry as to how to set it up. Pm me and we'll set it up.

[Jo Boone]

A 20in motor bolted to the transom works well. You are only 80 miles north of me. I have an engine crain, lift ring, gps, a boat ramp 3 miles away and lots of set up experience on a Hydrostream. Anytime you want to bring it down, I'll be glad to share my time, tools and experience with you. We can take a day and make it do what you want it to do. Testing, then adjusting... the only thing that works. Hydro's all have a personality of their own, thats why it's not so cut and dry as to how to set it up. Pm me and we'll set it up.
:iagree: thats the only way to do it!!

[Wizard]

Just hit 100mph with my Viking yesterday. Turning a 29 DAH SRX to the limiter of 7750 on my 260. With that kind of power the jackplate makes no difference! :D

[rdkvector]

My 200 is now bolted on the transom, I ran it yesterday and it feels soooo much better in every way. I too love the look of a jp but they don't belong on a Hydro.

[1meanstream]

Looks like a trend has started. lol Have fun you guys I won't get boating until next year. I'll be getting a rig next spring. SUCKS

[gmjim]

So how does it change from the jack to no jack? Just trying to get my head around the differences??

[rdkvector]

They already have setback built in with the notched transom so they don't need any more. In most cases V6's are on them so you have almost 100lbs more motor than what they were built for (in-line 300lbs) moving the motor back upsets the balance and causes ill handling.

[gmjim]

Sorry, not being smart, but i was hoping to find out what you mean by ill handling? my first hull happens to be small & light with a v6, (not as sophisticated as a hydro though) & has a few quirks, i am trying to determine what is bad handling & what is just normal for a fast boat!!!!!

[rdkvector]

Sorry, not being smart, but i was hoping to find out what you mean by ill handling? my first hull happens to be small & light with a v6, (not as sophisticated as a hydro though) & has a few quirks, i am trying to determine what is bad handling & what is just normal for a fast boat!!!!! On a Hydrostream it means mid speed bounce and poor turning qualities, all of which are due to the upset of balance of a 375lbs motor on a short hull that was designed for a 300lbs motor. What is yours doing that you don't like and tell us about the set up.:confused:

[tj309]

On my V-King I bolted the motor to the transom because as has been posted earlier the set-back is built into the hull. Depending on what you want speed-wise set the propshaft close to the bottom of the pad.

V-Kings are notorious for chine walk and require an almoast perfect set-up and a sure hand on the helm with seat time to tame.

But they are one of the coolest looking boats out there.

[gmjim]

i agree, the hydros look awesome! mine gets real loose & scary when i back out of the throttle & i guess it is coming off the pad?

[TOMTAG17]

Rdk,,, how high is the prop shaft now that the motor in on the transom and how is the mid range handling ??

[Capt.Insane-o]

The V-king was'nt designed around the V-6? Huh.........

[rdkvector]

The V-king was'nt designed around the V-6? Huh......... Oops! The vking was built for a V6, my Vector is'nt. But the Vking has a notched transom so setback is'nt nessesary. The Vking handles the weight of a V6 just fine.

[rdkvector]

Rdk,,, how high is the prop shaft now that the motor in on the transom and how is the mid range handling ?? I have my gearcase low due to not having put on a nosecone. the midrange is good but the chinewalk is worse. The ideal setup is top hole which puts the prop shaft about 1 inch below the pad, my boat likes that. I've tried 3 different jackplates on it, I love the look and adjustability but it's not worth it. I'm going to hide my jackplates so I'm no longer tempted!:thumbsup: 3 days with no jp and I'm starting to like the look better.;)

[TOMTAG17]

HEY GUYS
All these opinions are great. I will for now leave as is till I get some serious seat time. All I need now is what prop to use. The motor comes with a Merc prop (looks like a cleaver) that was reworked to ET specs with a progressive pitch. 26" of pitch, not sure of diameter. Stats on boat are 84 V-King v-bottom with pad and 5.5 " hyd JP 225 pro max 20" mid I would like a prop with strong mid range and a good top end. also I am planning on a 15" mid sometime in the near future . Thats a whole nother story though. thanks for the info and keep it coming TOM .G

[tj309]

Yea Tom this site is great. I want to get to a SM 15" mid too but all in time. Any questions I have had have been answered by about 3 experts with somewhat differing opinions. Every boat is different and you just have to try different combos to get what you want.

I can't stress the seat time issue enough with a V-King. Very sharp boat but a handfull at speed. When I ran mine a couple of gallons of gas in the tank made a difference in handling.

[OntarioStreamin]

First thing to remember is all boats are different!!!!

Seat time

Setup

Because even if your boats not setup you can still learn to drive it! And then you work with what you have at the time for setup!

My Vking ran 87gps with a tired xr4, it had a os sporty and the perfect cleaver for the hull (14 1/4x 30) 5'5 man jack plate, motor 3/4 above the pad!
The boats a center steer that weights 500#s
I found the boat likes the added leverage of the setback at speed!! It responds just like it should, turns great slow and at speed! I run a very twisty river up here and we run it hard!
I ve run the same setup with a 245os! They like more power!
I ran the boat like this because its what i had at the time!

Next year I'm starting with the current seup but with a SS mid!
And "maybe" a 260/280 hoping to see high onehundreds!!!!

Oh also runs good against Allisons draggin

[150aintenuff]

ill say this... if you have alot of weight rearward (20+ gallon fuel and a 6" plate, set of wedges, 20" motor ect) on a gutted boat 6" is to much for most Production V6 at rigged weights... my 4" was byfar better in terms of ease of driving... and as for a 20" motor on highest hole on transom... your about 5" low... an SS maybe would do ok on the transom but if you only have a 20" you need atleast a 2" to get the engine high enough....

with a production 200 that was mildly built i went 90.6 with a 28 chopper, and a handfull of other wheels and at those speeds 6 was way to far back... almost uncontrollable flighty with my setup and i was 2" above the pad.... when she ever goes back together it will be with a sealed splashwell, 3" taller transom and the 20" bolted so it sets even with pad bolted direct and probably a 150 or 175 to keep it some what sane...

i needed positive trim to fly 2 guys with 4" but 6" was 2 much... 5 would have been just perfect IMO.... a full interior boat will handle the setback better than a stripped and gutted one... even just the weight of the seats and carpet help ballance everything..

dry i was just a hair over 600 lbs with basic rigging and 1210 full of fuel ready to run..

that included the jackplate... grp 27 battery and 4 speaker stereo... so ballance wise my valero (same hull) was a bit off ballance to begin with..

[Wizard]

When I bought my boat it had a 6" Detwiler static plate and it porposed horribly while cruising up to 60mph. Accellerating was not a problem and at WOT it was great. It chinewalked as much as my Bullet bassboat did. Nothing to hard to handle. The porpose drove me nuts. I could not put the motor on the transom and get the propshaft above the pad so I needed a plate. I bought a 4" rapidjack. Moving two inches closer did nothing. I changed the rapidjack out for a 4" Bob's hydraulic. Now I have the luxury of moving the propshaft where I want it. Long story short I put the Nauticus tabs on which solved the porposing problem. My boat handles better than ever.

The boat now has no handling issues whatsoever. My 11 year old son drives it up to 75mph just to the point where you really need driver input. Next summer I'm sure he'll be really driving it. My best speed is 100mph with he and I in the boat. With my 100lb son in the passenger seat the boat is so smooth it's easy to drive at 100mph. It takes very little driver input. By myself it's unbalanced and takes more effort but not much. The boat turns on a dime and the holeshot is incredible with a 26 Drag IV. I ran 88 in 800ft by my GPS speedo.

In a nutshell I believe the jackplate is less important depending on your hull and engine combo. If you can mount a 15" mid on the transom that would be cool. If you really want to fly you will not get a 20" mid high enough on the transom. Like stated above you can get a plate reversed for 2" but I think a 4" or even 6" is doable. I love the adjustability of the hydraulic especially for sking and tubing. :cheers:

[rdkvector]

Wizard, do you have any close up pic's of the trim tabs? I'd like to see how you did it. btw, damn nice boat, I love the all white look!!!

[Wizard]

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r389/danco411/Camping001Medium.jpg

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r389/danco411/Camping002Medium.jpg

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r389/danco411/Camping004Medium.jpg

[rdkvector]

Thanks Wizard!