270 sundancer is almost ready for summer

rbh

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 21, 2009
Messages
7,939
Hello sundancer people, and everyone else of course. :)
So the old girls out and getting ready for the weekend, and I wanted to check and see who is running what on their cruisers.
Here is what I have, 1985 270 sundancer, 10 foot on beam, twin 260 mercs
MR legs, estimated weight 7500+- pounds,(- "14x20 props"-).
The fastest I have been able to go is 40+- kmh (on the speedo not GPS) at 4300-4400 RPM (one motors alittle stronger than the other I think)
Great hole shot but the top end bites.
What are your thought's
Thanks
Rob
 

hwsiii

Commander
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
2,639
Re: 270 sundancer is almost ready for summer

Rob, we had a discussion before, and now I wonder if you must mean it is doing 40 Knots per hour, which is 46 MPH, and NOT KMH kilometers per hour. There is NO WAY you shouldn't be getting a lot more speed than 26 MPH out of 520 HP in that boat. You also NEED a GPS reading and not a speedometer, they are not reliable.

This is what I need.

You might try reading this for a better understanding of motor height, changing props for better performance, and for the major differences between aluminum props and stainless steel.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=369057


If you would prefer to not go to this much trouble there are many other people who will come along and gladly help you.

1. Year, make and model of boat
2. Length, width and base weight of boat, look for boat decal on back of boat
2a.What is the maximum recommended HP for your boat
3. Number of people and gallons of gas normally on boat and what do you use the boat for
4. Year, make. manufacturer and model of motor and recommended Wide Open Throttle (WOT) range
5. HP and gear ratio of motor IMPORTANT
If you don?t know the ratio, you need to pull the plugs out and put a piece of tape across the prop and the lower unit and then cut it between the prop and the housing then do the same thing on the flywheel and turn the motor until the tape lines up with each other on the prop, it is easier if two people do this, so one can watch the prop while the other counts the revolutions of the motor
6. Anti-ventilation Plate height above keel of boat if it is an outboard in inches, use a straight edge under the keel and sticking out to the anti ventilation plate for a reference
Motor Transom Height
AntiventilationPlateStraightEdge-2.jpg


When the boat is running in the top 20% of your speed you should be able to see the anti ventilation plate very clearly at the top of the water and have water just splashing over the top of it.

Correct Anti Ventilation Height

correctheight.jpg

7. WOT RPM and speed from your current prop and how much gas and how many people were in the boat for the test data and is the speed by GPS. Make sure you trim the prop up until it starts ventilating and then just trim in until it quits ventilating.
RPM _________ Speed ______ GPS ______ No. of people ______ Gal. Gas ________
8. Make, model, diameter, pitch, number of blades and whether SS or aluminum prop and does it have a hydrafoil, dolefin or trim tabs
9. Has your motor been tuned up lately and have you checked that the carburetor butterfly is opening all the way by just pushing the throttle at the helm and not at the carburetor, checked compression, and looked at the plugs and checked spark as well as timing and advance, all of the foregoing could be the reason your prop is not attaining full RPM
10. What problems are you trying to cure or what are you looking for the boat to do that it is not doing the way you think it should or to your expectations and does the prop show any damage that you can see

REMEMBER, The numbers I give you will be NO better than the information you give me. I use a computer program I designed to find the correct pitch and then knowledge to pick a Better prop design for your boat.

The only thing I ask of you is to come back and give me a report of WOT RPM and speed for my database.



H
 

rbh

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 21, 2009
Messages
7,939
Re: 270 sundancer is almost ready for summer

Hwsiii-
Thanks for the input, yes it is 40 kilometers per hour approx at 4200-4300.
I have not done a GPS reading on the water as of yet.
As was typed it is an 1985 270 sea ray sundancer 10 foot on beam twin 260 mercs approx weight 7500+-.
I have read the other sundancer owners that are running this size or a little bigger boat have been using a 15x19 prop.
How much of a difference is there going to be between my 14x20 4 blade and a 15x19 prop???
thanks
Rob
 

hwsiii

Commander
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
2,639
Re: 270 sundancer is almost ready for summer

Ron, you have a MAJOR problem somewhere, either that motor that is turning 100 RPM less than the other needs to have a complete engine analysis run on it, OR you need to check underneath the bottom of the boat for barnacles or something creating MAJOR drag, you should be getting about 20 MPH more speed than you are getting.

If you could get about 14 pictures of the bottom of the boat and the running gear we can definitely make a better informed decision as to where to look.

If the props are in good shape then you will not see much change by changing to the props you mention.

This is not a prop problem at this time, it is a MOTOR or a bottom DRAG problem. Props change speeds very little in most cases, and you need a speed increase of about 80%.



H
 

rbh

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 21, 2009
Messages
7,939
Re: 270 sundancer is almost ready for summer

I will takes some pictures when the rain stops and it clears up a little, the only thing on the hull is a coat of half wore off bottom paint.
 
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