Does this speed sound right?

AdamB · Oct 10, 2004

I bought a used 84 or 85 Wellcraft 210 Elite Deep V. It has a unknown year rebuilt Chevy 350 with 4 barrel carb. Supposed to be 260 hp but I doubt it. Carb bogs a little upon heavy accel, so probably at least needs tune or rebuild. The boat weighs around 3000 lbs, with another approx. 600 lbs of people cargo, the boat cranks to 5200 rpms (I know a little high) but only hits 42 mph on GPS. It has a 14X19 prop. I thought about switching to higher pitch to bring up speed and down rpms, but the hole shot isn't very good. Takes a long while to plane (and yes is trimmed all the way down). I weigh 220 lbs, and I get dragged in water a long while when being pulled up onto water skis. Question is, with my set up, shouldn't I do faster than 42 mph? And, with 14X19 prop, the hole shot should be better than it is...right? I'm not looking at it right now, so don't know the make carb or CFM, or year motor. Basically, I'm looking for more speed, more torque etc. I'm not sure I can get both with just add on intakes and carbs, probably need new cam etc.

tommays · Oct 10, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

i dont kow how much the boat weighs but i would think its heavery than you think my 1995 2000SC maxium 19-1/2 ft with a 3.0 weights 2800#and older boats tend to gain some water weight here are some specs your numbers seam to be about right http://www.nadaguides.com/Values/ValueOptions.asp?UserID=9ff1d91e-b3fa-44b5-bbbf-1ece89655944&DID=38270&Type=MR&GCode=MR&wPg=1106&wSec=4&Com=1696&Year=1985&Model=1600199645&Letter= W the 5200 rpm needs to be checked with a shop tack boat tacks can be pretty far off but if you getting any were near that rpm for real than 42 is going to be more or less it with that much weight on the boat newer boats tend to be faster because hull design has changed a lot i cant comment on the holeshot because there is to much difference in what you think is slow and what i may think it takes a BIG power gain to make a boat faster you need to make enough power to spin a bigger prop at the same rpm tommays

Bondo · Oct 10, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Carb bogs a little upon heavy accel, so probably at least needs tune or rebuild.

That,+ a Thorough Tune-up would be a Good place to Start.......... Just How Fast do you Expect to see ???

AdamB · Oct 10, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Well, I would rather see more torque down low than top end speed, but don't want to loose top end speed. In a perfect world I would like to see both. I never did check the rpms on hand held tach, just used the dash tach. A better intake and carb would probably only help with top end right?

wvit100 · Oct 11, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

I have a 22' Stingray openbow with a 260 hp 350 ci motor. My boat weight is at about 3400 lbs total. I get a little better than 55 mph at 4800 rpm with a high 5 prop. With my stock aluminum 21" prop it will get about 58 mph. Redline on that motor should be at 4800 rpm.

tommays · Oct 11, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

as said before hulls are very different on many boats and stingray has allways been a very performance oriented boat builder you cant really compare two different boats of different years i would think the wellcraft would be faster but cant be there to look at first hand i can only guess by the WOT given in the post tommays

AdamB · Oct 11, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Yeah, I would expect high 40's at least. The speed is good since it is a GPS speed on a lake w/o moving water. I'm just wondering what cam is in there. Maybe not marine specific. Seems to be more of a top end cam.. just thinking out loud. The boat does have a heavy antifouling paint job on the bottom. Maybe that causes alot of drag...

AdamB · Oct 11, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Hey, looking at a 13X23 pitch prop on ebay... maybe the smaller dia but larger pitch will help hole shot and bring down rpms a little... what do you think??

tommays · Oct 11, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

i should have asked you about the bottom if you read my sig a dirty bottom or even a rough coat of paint is a speed killer is like a car tire with 10 # of air i would square away how the motor runs and get the bottom in good condition before anything because they are problems and prop size should only be tried on a boat with no problems to get a good result tommays

Bondo · Oct 11, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Ayah..... What Tom says.... And, I'm Betting that, that 13" diameter prop is for an Outboard...... Smaller gear case.... It'll fit,.... But Ventilate...... You get to pick the Pitch,+ Style of Blades(as well as # of blades)....... The Designers pick the Diameter...... That's Why the Pitch is part of the Part#, And the Diameter Isn't........ Good Luck...

AdamB · Oct 11, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Well, I guess I'll have to work on removing the antifouling paint (since I don't store it in the water anyway). So I'll see a noticeable speed difference with a smooth bottom. The bottom now looks and feels like a heavy tar... Thanks for the replies...

wvit100 · Oct 12, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

The rough paint on the bottom won't hurt your speed. Remove it if you don't like the looks of it but don't expect that to help. Are you sure how much the boat weighs, could it be waterlogged under the floor? Before you start spending a bunch of money on new props and such make sure the motor is running right and making the proper horsepower. Do a compression check and look at the condition of the spark plugs, is it running rich or lean.

AdamB · Oct 12, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Right before I bought it, the previous owner replaced the floor and while he was at it he put in a new gas tank. There may be some waterlogged weight onboard, but probably not too much. The rebuilt Chevy has around 70 hours on it and sounds really good. The carb is a little gummed up, and bogs sometimes when the 4 barrel kicks in. Probably accel pump or something. But, when I floor it, it has no problem reving depending on weight a gas up to 5400 (once). I'll have to borrow a hand held tach and try to take her out at least once more this year. Getting cold in PA ;(

Doug Durako · Oct 12, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Have the bottom inspected---you may be taking on water. Should not have to put a new floor in that age boat unless it sat out open all the time, or sank at some point in its life, or it is taking on water through cracks, etc. Bottom paint is a ***** to remove. Sounds like they painted it several times to mask or stop some other problems.

tommays · Oct 12, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

wvit i think anybody that races power or sail boats would agree that a bad bottom finish has a big inpact on speed why else would people go to the expence of haveing the bottom of race boats longboared to get a compleatly smooth finish it makes the boat faster tommays

AdamB · Oct 12, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

I spoke with a marina who said they use a high power pressure sprayer with spinning nozzle to remove bottom paint. He said their sprayer is so powerful that it would blow hole in wood boats, but is safe on fiberglass. May give that a whirl... He also said (In jersey) chemical removers have been pretty much outlawed. Lots to do this winter...

tommays · Oct 12, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

just be carefull you dont want to start any blisters in the gelcoat and then have to live over in the hull repiar forum i dont know the current laws about paint removers but interlux used to make a gelcoat safe remover because regular paint remover will attack gelcoat i think with paint removers its really a matter of useing a proper drop cloth and makeing sure that everything removed gets to a proper has-mat place tommays

AdamB · Oct 12, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

Thanks for the advice. At least I love to tinker on cars/ trucks and now boats. That is 1/2 the fun

wvit100 · Oct 13, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

tommays, boats are sort of like golf balls. You would think that a slick golf ball would travel farther than a rough on wouldn't you. You would be wrong, a smooth golf ball has increased air resistance and the most anyone could hit one would be about 100 yards. By putting the dimples on the ball a thin layer of air is trapped against the ball and the ball slides through the air in an air on air capsule. Same for a boat, a slightly roughened hull holds a thin layer of water and allows the boat to slip through the water on a water on water cushion. I'm not saying that weeds and barnicles will increase your speed, that would cause turbulance which will hurt speed. But a little roughness in the finish on a clean hull won't hurt anything.

tommays · Oct 13, 2004

Re: Does this speed sound right?

i guess the airlines are confused because they spend millions of dollars per year keeping planes clean because clean planes use much less fuel and apparently they have proven that a dirty plane has much more drag i think the littel holes make the ball spin which creats lift and allows the ball to travel futher tommays

Does this speed sound right?

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