hey guys. 1986 sea ray sundancer 250 5.7 merc. put the boat in the water yesterday for the first time. took the kids out today. the first trip we had 7 of us on board. about 1100lbs. plus a full water tank and about 1/2 tank of fuel. the first trip i maxed out at about 12 MPH at WOT. had everyone move up front and still couldn't plane out. took a few people back to the dock and went back out with 3 of us. at full throttle i was able to hit 31 MPH and about 4600 RPM and planed out fine (Sea Ray says this boat maxes out at about 32MPH). went back to the dock and emptied about 12-15 gallons from the water tank. went back out with 3 of us. same result. my speedometer is way off. it read about 15 MPH while one persons phone based GPS read 31. so the last trip we didn't have any speedometer but felt like it was about 31 or so. i didn't try anything less than full throttle. these were only about 1 mile trips up and back each time.
i will say that my prop isn't very good. not sure what pitch, etc but it is dinged up and a small chip off the one blade. i know that has some impact but 12 mph when hauling 7 people? seems pretty normal with 3 or 4 people. the capacity is 10 people 1500 lbs.so not near capacity yet. also, i started with the trim tabs all the way up to try to get full speed
i have another prop like new that i will swap out but need help. might try changing it while it is still in the water.
i also noticed the voltmeter reading about 12 volts while cruising but the last trip was only 11 and my depth gauge was erratic. came back to the dock and realized i left the blower on the whole time. connected my trickle charger to the one battery and it read 12. which leads to another question....i have 2 batteries. 1 new deep cell and one older car battery. i have a 3 way switch and have been leaving it on ALL. what is best practice for battery switch selection?
i will say that my prop isn't very good. not sure what pitch, etc but it is dinged up and a small chip off the one blade. i know that has some impact but 12 mph when hauling 7 people? seems pretty normal with 3 or 4 people. the capacity is 10 people 1500 lbs.so not near capacity yet. also, i started with the trim tabs all the way up to try to get full speed
i have another prop like new that i will swap out but need help. might try changing it while it is still in the water.
i also noticed the voltmeter reading about 12 volts while cruising but the last trip was only 11 and my depth gauge was erratic. came back to the dock and realized i left the blower on the whole time. connected my trickle charger to the one battery and it read 12. which leads to another question....i have 2 batteries. 1 new deep cell and one older car battery. i have a 3 way switch and have been leaving it on ALL. what is best practice for battery switch selection?