Guys,
Not much out on Azure, which is cool as you will not see another on he water. 18' with 220 mercury 14.5 x 19 good for 58moh. Boat handles great, even in chop. overall a blast, dealer service in Marble Falls at Tropical mrine awesome.
I own a 2007 Azure 188 with the 4.3 MPI engine and had to put a 4 blade 19 pitch stainless prop on because this boat is an absolute dog out of the hole. They package this unit with a three blade 18 pitch which is totally wrong. It porpoises at anything under 35 m.p.h. When Azure talks about the HULL truth they should be honest and say that the boat is to heavy in the stern. I think alot of the low speed problems could be solved by moving the fuel cell forward 8 inches or so. You shouldn't have to run at 40 m.p.h. to keep the bow down. It performs excellent at higher speeds but that gets interesting in heavy traffic. I recommend installing Nauticus Smart Tabs on the stern (I did yesterday) and you will be shocked at the transformation. Incredible hole shot, absolutely no porpoising, and you can stay on plane as low as 19 m.p.h. It also stopped the stern wag at no wake speeds. With the trim tabs and stainless prop this boat is a dream. I think Azure owes me $700 back.
Has anyone else out there had the same experience with their 188 Azure as I had? I assume that the hull problems and balance issues are the same with all 188's. I've noticed that most of the posts in this forum about Azure are about a year old. On the Azure web-site they still are using old pictures and haven't added any new or improved items on the 188. They seem to be focused on the bigger boats in their line.
I have a solid blue 07 188 Elite. You wanna hear about problems I have had with this boat????
Powersteering rack & pinion replaced
Boat lists badly to the left. Dealer installed bennet trim tabs(warranty nc) & I am still dialing em in
Unbelievable gel coat cracks all over the boat.
The trim tabs got me on plane quicker & got rid of porpoising. Also eliminated the wall of water coming in the back on decelleration
I have a 19 pitch 4 blade stainless prop & can see 51 mph on a great day on gps(4.3 efi)
Dealer will fix gelcoat cracks in the fall. another 1 like mine but all yellow is doing the same thing.
The 20'+ Azures have been dead nutz reliable. my buddy has a 22 deck & it has been bulletproof.
I've heard of the gelcoat cracks but so far I don't have that issue. I can get 54 m.p.h. at 4600 r.p.m. with my 4 blade 19 pitch stainless prop. I installed the Nauticus smart tabs because i didn't want to deal with the pumps and switches of the other types. I also don't have the listing problem either. When the dealer installed your tabs did they ream the start of the mounting hole so the gelcoat doesn't touch the screw? If they didn't, you will probably get a blistering of the gelcoat around the mounting plates. The best example I can think of is trying to screw two sheets of plywood together, when the screw goes through the first sheet it forces the other sheet away until the screw tip gets a bite o the second sheet. I know what you mean about contacting Azure....their support at the factory level totally sucks. I don't see how they were given the J.D. Powers and ***. awards for excellence.......somebody got paid on that deal.
Well another boating season is upon us. I haven't seen any feedback from Swishguy after he got his trim tabs set up and if he got his gel coat cracks fixed. I see that Azure put a wrap-around windshield on the new 188's. The boat looks even sharper but I'm willing to bet they STILL have a lousy hole shot and listing problems. Anybody out there with a new 188? I'm curious if they made any improvements to the hull or if they just left the master mold the way it was.
Hello, I just bought a 2007 Azure 188 Elite and am new to power boats. I have gone through everything and the boat is in great shape. However, I have a question about the bilge pump. The switch lights up when I switch it to manual but I don't hear anything. Does it have a safety switch on the bilge that prevents it from running if there isn't enough water in the bilge? I just want to make sure that everything works on this thing before I throw it in the water. Thanks
Hey, the float switch works when the pump is in automatic but when you switch it over to manual the pump should come on and run even if there isn't any water. You should be able to hear it run when you switch it to manual. Did you read the other items about trim tabs and prop configurations? You will want to make those changes too.
Not sure if anyone is still looking at this thread, but I just found this website and thought I would post on here. I have a yellow 07' 188 Elite and have had the same issue regarding getting out of the hole. I'll be looking at getting the Nauticus Smart Tabs and then possibly changing props. I've also had to situate riders to try and "distribute" the weight properly otherwise it wants to lean. Other than that, I have been pleased with the boat and it looks great on the water. I work in Elkhart where these are made, but haven't needed to contact the factory. I haven't seen any other elites on the water, but have had a lot of compliments. I have the 4.3 Volvo Penta and been real pleased. The one aggrevation I have is fueling. I get back pressure no matter what the fuel level is and find myself having to spend forever trying to fill it up. Anyone else ran into this or have a solution?
Azure bought back all 3 boats the dealer sold. 2 of us had our boats returned to the factory to get re-hulled but by then it was too late. I have purchased a lowe 190 tahiti deck boat. stay away from the azure 188. I have owned 7 boats & my azure had more problems then all the rest combined. The 20' & larger have been great as 2 of my buds bought 22' azure deck boats.
Not gonna miss this boat! Out with the old..in with the new!
Hey M19, I fill my boat at the dock mostly and use a 5 gallon jerry can with a small spout so I have space around the filler neck. If I use a gas pump at the station I don't put the spout in very much and I don't have any problems that way. It took me almost 2 hours to get the trim tab mounting brackets measured so the main tabs just miss the inside edge of the mini chines but the actual installation went quickly. Remember....don't let the mounting screws touch the gel coat or your stern will blister because the screws will separate the gel coat from the fiberglass. Also.... only apply the marine adhesive to the top and outside edges of the mounting bracket so any water can drain out the bottom. Good luck.
M19,
Did you install the Smart Tabs? I just ran into this forum myself, and I wanted to know if there is any problem installing them with the extended swim platform.
bearfan85
Yes I did the installation myself. It took longer to measure where they were supposed to go than the actual drilling. I don't have an extended swimming platform on my 188 so I don't know where the bracing attaches to the stern for the platform. You can reach me at mklev@charter.net if you want pictures of where I installed my tabs. Good luck.
Azure 188 Elite
Linear Mode
