SPIN IN OR OUT??? 28 SKATERw/300XS's

[Davidlake]

What is the consensus and perceived pros and cons of spinning props inward or outward on a 28 Skater with 300xs's?

[Onetime]

Well that's an open, up for much debate question. Let the discussions begin, again.

Don't have personal experiance with the 300XS's but I'll give you my views with 2.5's.

Spin out...all around better handling and performance, little less top end numbers.

Spin in.... loser, sloppier handling, little better top end.

The same held true with the older 300 Promax. Might be different wiith the heavier 300XS.

I'm sure Dale (Razor) will be chiming in. Maybe he can provide first hand knowledge from Rick Bowling who has a 28 with 300XS's.

[Motv18]

Out with proper toe. Out is considered safer, as the rotational torque is in the direction that will force down the opposite side, in the event of a turnover event. Whereas in will add to and possibly roll you over.

I think the top speed issue is more toe related as I rarely see mention of toe being set in tests. In a triple or quad the speed issue is rarely discussed.

[OPTIXS]

good info

[vnemous]

How many skater owners out there have the Guardian disabled so if you have an engine attempt to drop rpm when on the throttle the boat wont hook cause of the wot of the other engine? Just wondering if thats something you do?

[Davidlake]

OK, If out is desired, what is "proper toe"? How is "toe" measurement taken? From front of nose cone to end of shaft?

[Motv18]

Me the steering nut. Been a while since I did any though. Fancy places have a portable system to get the steer angle 0-0 at wot. No hard fast number I ever knew of back in the day each steering system had stretch different from others.

[Onetime]

I toe out about 1/32 with spinning out. Trying to accomplish 0 toe when running at speed. The spinning out will take up any clearances to load everything to 0. Depending on the clearances in your engines that 1/32 can be experimented with to find what works best for your particular set up.
Measure from point of nose cone centers to center of propshaft centers.

[Rayzor]

Spin out, set the toe at 0 (gearcases parallel). Today's good steering systems have very little or no play, and if there is any play at all, the props spinning out will toe-in the gearcases slightly under power (which up to 1/8" toe-in is preferred). To set the gearcases parallel, the measurement from center to center of the noses of the gearcases should be exactly the same as the measurement from center to center of the back of the propshafts. I always set the gearcases parallel to the bottom of the boat before setting the toe. The 28s will run 2-3mph faster when spinning in with 3 blades, but they're a much better all-around rig when spinning out with 4 blades.

[Rayzor]

I toe out about 1/32 with spinning out. Trying to accomplish 0 toe when running at speed. The spinning out will take up any clearances to load everything to 0. Depending on the clearances in your engines that 1/32 can be experimented with to find what works best for your particular set up.
Measure from point of nose cone centers to center of propshaft centers.

Wow, you're getting down to the nat's ass with setting your toe Rich! My personal experience is that toe-in/toe-out is not near as critical as everyone thinks it is. I've had my drives toe-in/toe-out as much as 1/4" on both my 28 outboards and 30 inboard on various occasions for various reasons and could never tell the difference from the driver's seat, or the speedometer. Not to mention that getting measurements accurate to within .03125" is about impossible because of the variances in the shapes of the gearcases. But when you guys were going for kilo records with the 28, I agree that I would also be super critical of the toe measurements!

[Rayzor]

How many skater owners out there have the Guardian disabled so if you have an engine attempt to drop rpm when on the throttle the boat wont hook cause of the wot of the other engine? Just wondering if thats something you do?

Believe it or not, the 28s don't do anything weird when one motor or the other goes into guardian mode. I've actually run out of fuel on one motor at WOT and thrown rods out the side of the block on one motor at WOT and had no problems (both at speeds around 110). It requires some countersteer to keep the boat going straight, but that's about it. When one or the other goes into guardian mode, the effects are so slight that it's not even that noticeable, other than the speed dropping.

[Onetime]

The propshaft measurement is easy. Put a mark on the front nosecone area so you have a common point of reference. It's easier on sportmasters with the flat leading edge running vertically to the cone. If a machinist can't see 1/32, he shouldn't be a machinist!

I'm surprised you didn't see any difference with 1/4" toe in or out. Especially handling with toe out! We did see speed changes.

Without going for the ultimate, 0 toe in is a good way to go, as you stated.

How's the progress coming on your 28?

[Rayzor]

The propshaft measurement is easy. Put a mark on the front nosecone area so you have a common point of reference. It's easier on sportmasters with the flat leading edge running vertically to the cone. If a machinist can't see 1/32, he shouldn't be a machinist!

I'm surprised you didn't see any difference with 1/4" toe in or out. Especially handling with toe out! We did see speed changes.

Without going for the ultimate, 0 toe in is a good way to go, as you stated.

How's the progress coming on your 28?

To be honest, the 1/4" toe-out happened once on my 30, and yes, it was slightly noticeable in that the boat "hunted" a little at speed - but I never ran it up past 130 or so when it was like that, so I can't say if it affected top end or not (probably did). In the years of having my 28s, I tried different toe settings and never found them to do much (though admittedly, I never had a 28 w/ 1/4" toe-out). I guess I'm just trying to let guys know to not be too worried if their toe is not set perfectly, because I've found it to not be that critical for handling or speed on the 28s.

My 28 re-rig is finally ramping up and getting things completed now. Motors are done/ready to hang and the boat is getting paint sprayed as we speak. I should have some pictures later to post on my thread with paintwork in progress. I plan to have it on the water at the beginning of next month. I've already got a set of 34" Merc cleavers and a set of 34"+ Dewald's coming for it.


How is your 28 project coming? I hear you've been talking to one of my buddies about his 280. Did you already pick one up, and this will complete your pair?


And sorry for the threadjack OP, at least hope the info we posted helps you out!

[Motv18]

My infos from the cable days sometimes even new they could stretch a inch with a big ear ESA tugging on them. Some depends on the mounts and the play they have. I would say a 1/4 is ok. The problem is when only one is a 1/4 out from 0 underway or lose on one side.