Re: Anyone ski with a 3.OL?
Reading into this, alot of guys start out with the 3.0L as their first boat. I'd say, based on what I've read here, prolly 50% opt out of those boats within a year or two of owning it. They dont call that motor the "Iron Duke" for nothing. That little guy will run and run and run and run with little or no problems for YEARS! With that being said, there are a number of itmes to look at when buying a boat with this motor. The number on thing to remember is weight. Alot of boats have no been well maintained and people get in the boats sopping wet and allow the floor to get sopping wet and with older boats, the floors were not epoxied or gel coated and that water would eventually transmit through the floor and soak the floatation foam underneath. When that foam gets soaked, it can add a TON of weight to the boat. If this is the case, it could possibly take you a minute to drag the tail of the boat on plane with that little motor. Add a few "healthy" teenagers to the mix and you have a recipe for a rough time getting out of the water when skiing.
The other thing, my reason for selling my 3.0L and moving to the 4.3L was noise! That little motor made ALOT of noise is my 82 Sea Ray. You must consider the construction of the dog house around the motor, look for good sound proofing and DO NOT buy the boat without taking it out on the water and putting it under load a few times and listen carefully and determine for yourself whether you can put up with the noise this little monster throws out in THAT PARTICULAR BOAT. Do not assume that because one boat is loud, the next one will be as well.
One of the BEST things about this little motor is the gas mileage. I could ski and board behind my 3.0 all weekend and not put any gas into it. My 4.3L, I average two tanks a weekend. With gas prices now, this should be a HUGE consideration!
One thing that helped me with my 3.0L was the addition to automatic trim tabs on the transom. It helped my plane out alot quicker and stay on plane at low speeds. U may want to consider this when looking for a boat as well. Good luck man!
