1990 vegas xt

[evilntwisted]

I have a 1990 vegas xt with a 1990 johnson gt 200 25p 4 blade, hydraulic jackplate, nose cone, low water pickup. My question is that around 74 the boat gets real light real fast and I have to back out to stay in control. Any suggestios?

[pyro]

It's not getting light, it's getting on the pad, that's what it's supposed to do. The "looser" the better. Most XT's break the outer sponsons free fropm the water in the upper 60's or low 70's depending on load, or not at all with a full load. This is usually accompanied by a noticeable rush of acceleration from the reduced drag. Once it's on the pad, you have to drive it!

"Staying in control" consists of keeping the chinewalk in check. If you're getting out of it, then you've given up before you started trying. The Vegas XT doesn't even rreally each its full design potential until the low 80's. Mine feels loose and sweet from low 70's on up to the mid 80's. When I carry a passenger, they may notice a slight poke at the steering wheel as I drive, but they never feel the hull pitching...

It takes practice, plain and simple. How high are you jacked up? (neutral, level trim and level pad, measure difference between pad and propshaft centerline)

Click "USER CP" at the top and fill in your profile and location. It encourages people to be a little more friendly here. (blank profile users tend to be shady and/or fly-by-night)

[evilntwisted]

the rush you must be talking about is the feeling that some one just hit the nitrous button and oh boy hold on. I try to keep the trim in the neutral position and start lifting the motor but then like I said it got real loose and I got out of it. I am just not useto something handling like this.. My 13' funcat handles just like this around 60 when I give it trim also.

[pyro]

Don;t give it more trim than it needs. Start bumping the trim up to lift the bow and help it get on the pad quickly. When you feel it start to get loose and flighty after the little rush, nudge the trim back down to bring the bow down a bit. It doesn't need all that trim to keep flying. If your rooster tail is more than 3-5 feet high, you're trimming too much.

Propshaft height can be critical. Too low and it chinewalks badly and doesn't want to "go." Too high and the lower unit crabs (tries to track crooked from the prop torque) and steering torque gets bad, along with a loss of bowlift to a certain extent, and worst would be loss of water pressure or blowout.

[evilntwisted]

I do have a low water pickup and a noscone. I understand what you mean when you say to take trim out when it gets on the pad. I just got a little nervous at 74 in the chop when it did that. The feeling i get when it is starting to break free from the water is like big dog tugging at the leash.

[pyro]

Sorry for the mix-up, i'm following several posts, and the other one didn't have a piuckup. So scratch that. Go measure your propshaft height, include a photo of your jackplate and lower unit if possible. There's room for improvement. Your setup should net 77-80 MPH, maybe more.

Try some different props too. Particularly a 28p big-ear chopper, 28 or 29p Mazco RE3, or other round-ear over-hub prop. some have had major success with a Merc Lightning ET, but they're very expensive, and you can't always trust a cut or a copy.

[evilntwisted]

you know its funny you said to try a 28 or 29 because the guy I bought this boat from gave me one but i din't even think about putting it on because he said the prop that was on it got the boat out of the water pretty quick. He bought this boat from some older guy in Indiana last year. I post some pics soon . Its white with the yellow and orange stripes.

[hsbob]

pyro right you need to get the prop center line close to even with the bottom of the boat. at that point i dont get much chime walk at all at 78mph. just watch the water pressure. tried a 28et and it didnt do as well as the 29 tempest, but still looking and trying.

[evilntwisted]

I am going to try the 29 that came with the boat, not sure what kind it is. I went out sunday morn with two passengers and a full tank of gas. We hit 69 at 6200 and it felt real stable and light.

[pyro]

I got just shy of 90 on Sunday, felt damn good, real smooth and straight-ahead. This Bridgeport screams.

[evilntwisted]

hey pyro thanks for the info the other day, I am starting to get a better feel for this thing but it was a little tense the first time I had to work through that unstable feeling. Thanks again.

[200VEGAS]

I To Am Setting Up A 85 200 On A 90 Vegas With A 12" Plate From Slidemaster. Also Have A Second Rear Plate To Reduce It To A 9
I Love The Feel Of This Boat Or What I Can Remember It Been A Couple Years In The Renew Stage