Vegas Xt Setup

[THE HOGG]

I Am Rigging My Vegas And Need Some Input Please. It Looks As Though I Have Just Purchased A Gorilla Jackplate. I Also Have A Manual Jackplate. Question Is How Much Setback? Should I Bolt Them Together For 10 To 12" Or Just Go With The Gorilla Alone? If I Bolt Them Together The Manual Goes Against The Transom Correct? Not Sure If It Matters But The Motor Will Be One Of Mr. Simons 3 Litre Bad Boys On A Wayne Taylor 15" Offshore Mid With A 2.5 Gearcase. Also, What Is The Best Height For The Motor? Even With The Pad, Below, Above?? Any Help Would Be Greatly Appreciated.. Thank You, George.

P.s. Prop Input Is Welcome As Well!!

[Reese]

You'll get good answers....but two adjustable jackplates is really a bad idea. Not only will it be weaker than a single (correct length) jackplate but it will be heavier as well. If you needed 12" of total setback and already have a six inch hyd, I would purchase a stationary 6" and bolt the hyd to it.

[blkmtrfan]

Not Sure If It Matters But The Motor Will Be One Of Mr. Simons 3 Litre Bad Boys On A Wayne Taylor 15" Offshore Mid With A 2.5 Gearcase.

I probably will matter depending on the finished weight of you motor. With a 2.5, it seems that 10" is considered the best on the XT, but if the 3.0l weights more than 400lbs, you may want less setback.

Prop: Mazco RE3

[heath brinkley]

I'm no expert on the Vegas, I gave up on mine after a few hours of engine height/prop changes. Anyway I would go with the gorilla by itself. The Vegas has alot of setback built into the boat, I wouldn't think you'd need that much. I'm running 5" and wouldn't mind trying 6-8, but 10-12 sounds like alot. Maybe some Vegas experts will chime in for you.

Another thing, I would put the gorilla on the transom for two reasons. It heavier and its the one you will want to keep if the two combined are too much. If you put the manual on first and dont like the two combined, it's out with the back seat, gas tank, and batteries. Then srcew around with re-siliconing the holes in the transom find a freind to help you with bolting on the new plate. If you put the gorilla on first you can add or remove the second by yourself (in an hour) without getting in the boat or removing anything from the boat.

[pyro]

Most people who claim to know this hull best will say at least 8" of setback is the way to go. I would have to agree, with less than 6", performance suffers badly with the addition of even one passenger. Those who use more than 8" setback claim to have good lift, even with passenger load.

Mazco RE's tend to be custom tuned to the original buyer's needs. they are hit-and-miss, depending on tuning. My 29p RE3 has almost zero bow lift, it runs dead flat. It's worthless once I add a passenger. It's my fastest prop with no passengers. The RE4 with proper tuning may also run well.

Merc Big-ear Choppers seem to be the most popular choice for the Vegas XT, although the performance is quite mediocre in stock form. If you like the way a particular stock chopper performs, get another one 2" down in pitch and have the weedcutters chopped off and the blade tips and trailing edges cupped. It will yield the same top end as the 2" taller stock wheel, but with more bow lift, harder acceleration, and without the holeshot ventilation. Huge difference. Stock choppers run well 1" to 2" below the pad. The Modified choppers may like to run higher. Avoid the A4/A5 30p choppers, they run rather poorly on most XT hulls.

The OMC SRX round-ear is supposedly an excellent performer on the Vegas XT. I have never tried one. Ian runs one and likes it. He has 10"(+?) setback.

The Trophy Plus 4-blades are a superb all-around prop on the XT. HUGE bow lift, good response to trim. Runs well 1" to 2.5" under the pad.

The Tempest Plus 3-blade helps to lift the stern, in addition to being a good bow lifter. B.Mac ran his OMC-powered Vegas XT 90 mph with a 29p Tempest. These large-diameter props require huge motor torque to spool up and get on plane. Bad choice for less than 240 hp.

A couple of boaters have also got good top end numbers running a high-rake cleaver. this only works on a lighter-than-average Vegas, with 10"+ setback. Will not carry passenger load well.

Going for 8"+ setback requires a strong, healthy transom. A hydraulic jackplate is a good idea on the XT, as passenger weight differences tend to drastically change optimal running height. this will also allow more versatility for skiing and such.

-Chad

[wideglide55]

The only prop that would run worth a $hit on my XT was a Spinelli and I tried em all except for the Mazco.

[wideglide55]

Pyro,
When are you gonna step up and get you an Eliminator Daytona,lots of em for a good price nowadays.

[heath brinkley]

Pyro, your 29 RE3 is what you ran 80.6 with? How much set back do you run ?

[heath brinkley]

wideglide, how fast, what pitch, and how much setback did run on yours with the spanelli ?

[blkmtrfan]

I think the Spinelli props are tuned per application as well, I tried one when I had mine and it had an amazing hole shot and slipped horribly on the top end, lower top end speed than a laser II :eek:

The mazco I tried was "tuned" to be on a hydrostream and was way better than any chopper I ever tried.

5" of setback is not enough with a 2.5 and more than one person, however, it may be just right with the 3.0 :confused:

[THE HOGG]

If Im Not Mistaken I Think My 3 Litre Only Weighs 40 Pounds More Than A 2.5. Will The Gorilla Plate Live If I Hang The 6" Plate On The Back Of It Like Heath Reccomends? The Transom Should Be Strong Enough. Ive Just Redone The Entire Boat And It Has Large Knees. As Well As No Splash Well.

[heath brinkley]

I wouldn't use two jackplates together personally. I only say I'd put the gorilla on first if you use two. I know several people that have used two together, and have seen others set up that way as well. But it just looks like trouble to me so I've never done it or recommended it.

[Reese]

I believe that ALL jackplate manufacturers recommend that any additional setback be placed on the transom side instead of the engine side of the jackplate. I know that Gorilla is especially strong, but most are already hard pressed without the additional stress of added setback.

[docbones]

Vegas is a great hull! 8" of set back with a Merc Bridgeport I used 28p Mazco RE 4 with great success. That prop had great handling characteristics and ran 89-91 MPH. With a worked 2.4 200HP Merc 86-87 MPH with 26p RE 4 Mazco.

[pyro]

Mine has a Land & Sea jackplate, I think it's only 4" or 5 of setback. I also have 1" spacers. My 29p RE3 was the 80.6 mph prop, yes.

Glide, maybe I'll put the Vegas up for sale next spring, and spend the summer chopping for anothe boat. I do have a slight interest in getting something along the lines of the Daytona.

-Chad

[hsbob]

i would not use two adjustable plates. adjustable plate add a small amount of slop in the motor's mounting. use spacers.


pyro right on with his suggestions. currently im using a 25 tempest and really close to 75 using a 200xs.

[Ripper]

I had just bought a Vegas XT from R.P. and he set it up for me! Here is a picture of my set up! I am running a 27 SRX (It is mint and I believed worked...) I have not driven it to it's fullest yet... I wouldn't tell you what it does anyway... (Too many lake racers out there, they can find out in New Ulm!) I am also running a "warmed up" 225... (I love the term "warmed up" too!) Great handeling hull (I had a Valero YT) and takes waves awesome at speed... Have fun, hope this helps!

Ripper

[THE HOGG]

thanks for all of the input.. sounds like the general thought is i will be f'n up if i put 2 together. ill keep you posted. hoping to make the 90's!! we'll see.