Sportmaster mods?

[DaveR]

Going on a Seebold Warrior Mod-VP hull for now, maybe an STV procomp in a few months so any mods must work on both.

The LU is completely stock and I need some good advise on what I should do to make it work on the tunnel. I read the article here and so I won't be shortening the skeg, but what is everone doing? Allison cut the skeg? Even with a cleaver I expect to need a torque tab. What's the story here - welded on, screwed on, whose? I'd like to do it locally and not send it around the country.

Is it worth trying to keep it shiney (for looks, and I don't mean polished) ? Scotchbrite pad?

Thanks for any help.

[ken medendorp]

I ran a stock sportmaster on a 91 pro comp with no problems a freind of mine runs one on his 92 procomp,another on his mirage no problems.

[DaveR]

Thanks ken, no steering torque issues without a tab?

[ken medendorp]

no torque tab problems.RUN IT

[DaveR]

Kool

[Fl Boy in ILL]

Dave

The sportmaster has a built in torque tab casted into it, I have run one on my Allisons, last year i had Jeff Baker do their mod to my gearcase, the handling improved ran 104 in the 1/4 no problems. It only took Jeff a couple hours or less to do it, no welding. Good luck

Rick

[DaveR]

Rick - There must be two versions, this one doesn't have any tab at all. I should probably try it first and see what it's like as is., before I do anything.

thanks

[stvhelm]

Is that a straight cut skeg on your sportmaster or swept back? did someone cut it? if its stock and straight then you should consider selling or trading it for a swept back style case. the straight skegs were meant to be run with twin engine set ups. running a straight skeg on a stv or similar boat is asking for trouble. you dont want to experience a blow out going that fast. if you decide to weld a tab on your skeg then have someone with very good experience welding skegs do it. if its not done properly it can weaken the aluminum and cause it to break later on down the road. also make sure your case is not a lefty. most of the straight cut cases are lefties.

[ken medendorp]

Steve Tillman of Tillman propeller service does good work .251 645 9697

[DaveR]

Thanks Ken

Helmut, do you think the issue with the straight case is the angle of the skeg or the lack of a tab?

[stvhelm]

The straight skeg is more of the problem than the torque tab. I tried a straight case from a skater with no torque tab. it would blow out around 80. then I added a torque tab. it ran better but still blew out around 95. when i lowered the motor on the jackplate It ran without blowing out but I lost alot of mph on the topend. as soon as I put the case on with the swept back skeg I could raise the motor until it lost water pressure with out blow out. that equaled out to about 8-10 mph gain at that time. Ive watched guys run 120+ speeds with no damn torque tab on a swept back skeg. little by little ive been taking mine down. I'm gonna make it about as thick as the old style cle's were. they seemed to be the fast ones. anytime I tried a stock 200 case with a small skeg It seemed to be on the edge of blowout ,and usually did until I lowered the motor, again losing topend mph. save yourself the trouble and get either yours welded properly or just trade it off. i cant tell you how many twin engine boats I seen out there and half of them still had the torque tab on the right motor. try hunting one of them down. Im sure they wouldnt mind a swap. equal condition ofcourse

[DaveR]

Thanks to everyone

[stocer]

when u refer to swept back skegs u mean all cle and sportys that were for single motor applications?when u say u seen 120+ mph passes without hardly any tab,were they xr6 cases?i have 97 RR mirage w/drag ,used to have cle that skeg was shortened one inch (by accident)it required at least the same cup or more in the tab as it came from merc or garrenteed blowout around 87 mph.i use to run cle 1.5 inch above pad.i went to another cle that had bobs cone and there extended torque tab (stillat 1,5 above pad)this setup handled like a dream at radared 121.8.unfortunatly this case met up with some rocks and in the scrap pile it went.so i got sporty and first time out at 1.5 above it was barly drivable even at 97mph.so i started moving motor up 1/4 at a time,handling improved somewhat and i ended up 2-1/4 above,but still scary ride at 108.so i did some baker mods (ground down bacside of tab to match radius of cupped side) shortened skeg 1/2 and streamlined leading edge alittle.now i can drive boat at 117,but it is not rock solid like old coned cle and i would like to run 120+ again!! any suggestions?

[stvhelm]

to answer your question, yes i was refering to the full skeg single application cle/ sportmasters. But I didnt say anything about an xr6. I agree with you about the old style cle with a bobs being a a great combo. its just hard to find a good one these days. I would try to get one if you can find one in good shape. I like the sportmaster better not because its faster but because it runs good and lasts. and also no bondo to redo every year. I think if the sportmaster skeg was more like the cle it would be just as fast. I watched a guy run mid 120's with a stock sportmaster about 2 1/4 above the pad and the torque tab was completely ground off. I ground mine down some and it felt better. Im gonna grind down some more to see if its any faster. its amazing how the speedmasters dont need torque tabs.

[stocer]

i agree totaly about sportys reliability and lack of bondo maintenance,it would be hard for me to go back.when u say u are going to take tab out ,do u mean polish or grind some cup out?did u look real close at this sporty that ran 125,i have heard of some guys totaly reshaping skeg to resemble airplane wing (only one side though).what hull did he have?maybe taking some cup out of tab is my answer to better handling,but the thought just scares the **** out of me!!u go first,be safe and let me know results.

[stvhelm]

this is the boat. I dont know if you can see the gear case but the tab is ground off. dont be fooled by the cowl. theres a late 260 with a SVS under that hood.:rolleyes: sneek;) I ran with this guy. its fast