96 sea ray 120hp LOSS OF POWER

[120xr]

Hello, first time owner and Ive got a 96 120hp sport jet. The time before last that I took it out I was getting 42mph steaedily. I blewoff the ride plate later that day and recently repaired it and sealed it with silicone. When I launched the last time I couldnt get past 32 mph with just my wife and I. It also took much longer than usual to plane. At WOT I am running at 52rpm. The engine sounds like its running fine, and it starts right up consitently. Is that drop in speed normall, or is there a series of diagnostics that I should perform to ensure that I get the best performance out of my boat. Thanks for the help.

 

[Painlesstom]

Re: 96 sea ray 120hp LOSS OF POWER

Sounds like the ride plate isn't sealing still.. With the boat on the trailer and the bow lower than the stern put a hose in the exhaust port by the nozzle to fill the ride plate chamber with water enough to tell if water is leaking from around the ride plate and the hull or around the intake grate. It should stay dry, if water is leaking from those areas then that's also where exhaust gas will leak causing cavitation in your pump. I'd be willing to be you have some leaks to fix.