Monterey 194FS

Chatty13

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Nov 30, 2018
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I have a 2007 Monterey 194FS & Kind off getting a decent wake out of it but I know it could be better, Tried full tank with 500 ballast in the front & couldn't get it under 35MPH so I went with half tank & 100 in the front. Much better & was thinking of 150 next time but have been advised on trim tabs, they won't locate where I want them due to the step out in the transom & I've read about putting them to far out will kill the wake & that 8 inches off either side of the leg mount is preferred. Has anyone done one of these before or can someone help me with this setup. I know it will never compare to a v-drive but i'd like to get the most out of it. Also I've been told that when i'm getting towed & edge I really make it list, hoping to settle that down also.
 

tpenfield

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Not really sure what you are asking, but welcome to iBoats . . . :welcome:
 

QBhoy

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Not an expert on this, but the boat I learned to board off of was a maxum 18 bowrider with an outdrive. The owner had a fat sac ballast bag in the ski locker and another just on floor at the rear seats. He used to get on plane and no more and trim up a little to the point of almost falling off the plane, then throttle up a touch. She would sit well enough with a acceptable wake at around 21 mph. Like you say, never be a proper job, but not bad. That’s what he did anyway. Was only a 3.0 merc, but had a high 5 prop. This made the biggest difference to the boat. Allowed lower planing speed, quicker out the hole and he reckoned made the stern make a bigger hole in the water.
 

Chatty13

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Ok thanks, I've got the 5.0ltr MPI & running a 4 blade Ventura prop which is the only one Mercury list for boarding, have heard of a few guys using 5 blades. Might be my better option as I don't think rim tabs will work on this style of transom.
 

QBhoy

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The Hi 5 is purpose made for all towing sports like water skiing and wake boarding. It’s their go to prop for this. Did mercury tell you the Ventura was for this ? Weird.
 

Chatty13

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Yeh it's in their prop catalogue & the Highfive is also listed as a V6 prop. I just purchased one anyway & went up to a 19 pitch instead of the 17 i'm running as top speed & RPM isn't important. Bought a foil to just in case as I can't fit trim tabs to the stern of this model. Fingers crossed.
 

rallyart

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With your setup I think the Vensura prop should be excellent. It is what I used on my 18' I/O and I found that it worked more efficiently with better starts than the Highfive. You want to try it with the plugs in, then take them out, then try drilling a small hole in each of the plugs and increasing the size of the hole until you have a good start. Start at 1/8" They make plugs with varied sized holes already in them if you would rather do that. The holes vent the prop so you get more slip at slow speeds and as you travel faster the venting effectively stops so you don't have slip when cruising. The slip at start gets your RPM up to a better range so the torque is higher and your holeshot is faster and smoother.

You should be able to run with a full tank and with 500# of ballast up front. Of course, cruising with the extra weight of the ballast will limit your speed some but you will be going about 19mph on GPS when wake boarding to maximize the size with that weight in that boat. If you have trim tabs, only use them for holeshot and once the boat is up raise the trim all the way up. The drive should be all the way in on starts and then trim up, maybe 25%, to increase the wake size and shape it. This makes the stern get pushed down and the front ballast will keep you from plowing too much. It's generally better than putting ballast in the rear on an I/O.

I used a foil to give me better control at speeds below planing. The steering was heavier at cruise but it made life better for water sports. Helm adjustable trim tabs are wonderful things with many benefits, but the foil is much cheaper. I now have and inboard wake boat.
 

Chatty13

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Pulling a boarder out & such has never been an issue, does it with ease. It's just getting it out of the water enough to push a wake. I'll give the high five a go & take the foil with me as I've bought a SE400 sport which doesn't need drilling, good to here of someone using a foil & that it was beneficial. Thanks for your reply
 

Scott06

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Apr 20, 2014
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I would second the comments on the vensura, I've run that and a rev 4 on my se ary 200/5.0. I had better holeshot with the vensura and medium vented plugs. Between the two the vensura as mentioned spins up faster than the rev 4, but I get more slip at high speed. Rev 4 allows more trim out when not towing.

How big big of a wake do you get ? How much improvement did the sac make?
 

Chatty13

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Nov 30, 2018
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At the moment i'm getting about 1-1 1/2 foot but doing 30mph to get the bum up tp create one. Last test with half tank & 220lbs sack was a lot better as we where doing 35mph full tank & about 800lbs of ballast in the bow to level it. I'm not going to get back up the damn for a little while & have 2 sets of small plugs coming so I can start testing on the vensura & the high five with that & start drilling one set out to change between props till I get it right & will probably start increasing ballast with 60 in the locker as well as playing around with the bow. Just one of those things to find the right setup for my hull. Greatly appreciate everyone's comments as it's definitely putting me in the right direction.
 
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