I just bought a 2025 Bayliner VR5 with the 200hp 4.5L Mercruiser, BARELY pulls me up slalom

[stakultexsun]

As the title indicates, just barely broke in (21.9 hours) and it is having trouble getting me out of the water. 3 people on board, 2 x 160lbs, 1 190lbs. That's 510lbs worth of people, probably 200lbs additional gear/skis/cooler, etc.

The boat has a wakeboard tower, rated for 8 people, 1340lbs (+/- a little, might be 1380lbs).

Running a 3 blade 14.5" 19pitch prop. I weigh 230lbs, and am a pretty good skiier. My father is my only known competition, he weighs 160lbs, it is slow to get him up.

So, I plan to upgrade prop, so 3 questions:

1. I'm thinking 4 blade, spitfire 17pitch prop. Thoughts?
It currently maxes out at about 4650rpms around 41mph. It's supposed to go up to 4800rpms. how much max speed should I expect to lose?

2. I'm considering installing a hyrdrofoil. The SE sport 300. Any inputs on those? Is that the best one?

3. Smart tabs? will they help? If so, what brands?

Thanks All

 

[alldodge]

You need more hole shot and going to a 4 blade 17 is not going to help, mostly the same as current 3 blade 19

Your WOT is fine with current load out

Foil or smart tabs just puts more load on the boat.

I would suggest a 3 blade 17 or 4 blade 15

 

[stakultexsun]

You need more hole shot and going to a 4 blade 17 is not going to help, mostly the same as current 3 blade 19

Your WOT is fine with current load out

Foil or smart tabs just puts more load on the boat.

I would suggest a 3 blade 17 or 4 blade 15

Thanks for the suggestion. What would be your best guess as max mph if you have one? Currently, 4650ish rpms @ 41mph, or 40mph .

Also, I mentioned the foil and smart tabs due to the fact that his boat loves to aim at the sky. If you got 4 people in the boat, you need all 4 up front to prevent/reduce the angle. Trim all the way down.

Any slight adjustment to the trim (in the upward direction) points the bow at the sky. I've loaded it in the most balanced manner I can, short of hanging weights/cargo over the front of the bow.

 

[alldodge]

Thanks for the suggestion. What would be your best guess as max mph if you have one? Currently, 4650ish rpms @ 41mph, or 40mph .

Don't know because speed is determined by a lot of things and main one is prop slip. The heavier the load the more slip can happen.

Your boat may do more then 41 if weight is lower and slip is less then with more weight. You can calculate it your self use a prop slip calculator in link below. You need to know the ratio of the drive and prop pitch with accurate speed.

The calculator can answer most any questions, such as what happens to speed if slip is reduced, to determining what the slip is with entering the other block. Just leave the block you want to know empty and fill in others, then select calculate

BBLADES

 

[stakultexsun]

Don't know because speed is determined by a lot of things and main one is prop slip. The heavier the load the more slip can happen.

Your boat may do more then 41 if weight is lower and slip is less then with more weight. You can calculate it your self use a prop slip calculator in link below. You need to know the ratio of the drive and prop pitch with accurate speed.

The calculator can answer most any questions, such as what happens to speed if slip is reduced, to determining what the slip is with entering the other block. Just leave the block you want to know empty and fill in others, then select calculate

BBLADES

Thanks for that link!!

So I plugged in 19 pitch, 1.62 ration, 4650rpms, 41mph. it says 20.61% slip. Seems high.

I got the numbers for pitch and ratio off the boat, using vessel view for rpms and mph.

Related or unrelated side note, I've got a 3036-6 shift anticipate switch error, it was logged 9/28/24, been to the lake multiple times since then.

 

[alldodge]

It is because it is slipping that much.
Change the slip to 10% and leave speed blank, you will see the speed increase

 

[cyclops222]

GPS handheld water speed ?

 

[stakultexsun]

I got the speed from the Vessel view software, I believe it is GPS based. Though I guess I should verify.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would make sure it's past the break in period. I would also check with your dealer

However with that load, you may have to loose a blade or drop down in pitch

 

[briangcc]

That's a fairly heavy boat for only 200HP. Published specs were ~3300lbs dry and with that load, you may be at the very end of what that boat as configured can do. The extra 50 ponies might have been worth the upcharge in this instance.

I mention that as my current boat has only 180HP and with my family of 5 aboard I've hit 49mph GPS using a 4 blade prop. I'm also 700lbs lighter boat wise.

 

[Stinnett21]

If you are wanting to do lots of water sports with that set up, drop to a 3 blade 17". You might spin up too high on rpm at WOT but just back it down.

 

[stakultexsun]

Thanks all...man, I'm wondering if I just need to take a loss and get a different boat lol! I wasn't expecting this. I'm hoping to buy a prop 3 blade 17" prop next season...I've run out of time this year.

Will a stainless steel prop perform better out of the hole (3 blade 17") than aluminum? From what I understand, the stainless doesn't flex (as much) and may result in top speed improvement, but does that translate to throughout powerband?

 

[stakultexsun]

That's a fairly heavy boat for only 200HP. Published specs were ~3300lbs dry and with that load, you may be at the very end of what that boat as configured can do. The extra 50 ponies might have been worth the upcharge in this instance.

I mention that as my current boat has only 180HP and with my family of 5 aboard I've hit 49mph GPS using a 4 blade prop. I'm also 700lbs lighter boat wise.

what pitch is your prop?

 

[briangcc]

what pitch is your prop?

You're missing a couple key points here...

1. My boat from the get go is 700lbs lighter. That makes a world of difference.

2. Your boat is darn heavy. To the point where it rivals the FourWinns in my signature. That boat had a V8 MPI 270HP and could do 50-55 on the water regardless of load - it simply didn't care if there were 2 or 10 people on board as it had the V8 grunt to handle it.

You're short on HP so I doubt a prop change is going to help you much, if any.

As the boat is brand new, check with the selling marina and have them change out the prop. You have a warranty, use it.

 

[Michael112]

It sounds like the 200hp engine on your VR5 might be struggling a bit for slalom skiing, which can be pretty demanding. You could try switching to a lower-pitch prop for better torque, and double-check your trim settings to make sure they’re dialed in. If you’re doing a lot of skiing, upgrading the engine might be something to think about down the road.

 

[cyclops222]

Prop slip is directly WASTED hp. My 19' Chaparral Bow Rider with 5.0 carb weighs 3800 #. With a Power Tech PTC4 SS prop. It is instantly on plane. Motor trim angle does nothing. I can toss everyone standing out the back. If I floor it. Prop slip is 4 %.

The prop is more important than anything else in the boat.
I change props if I want 6 big senior people on a fast cruise.

 

[Scott06]

Thanks all...man, I'm wondering if I just need to take a loss and get a different boat lol! I wasn't expecting this. I'm hoping to buy a prop 3 blade 17" prop next season...I've run out of time this year.

Will a stainless steel prop perform better out of the hole (3 blade 17") than aluminum? From what I understand, the stainless doesn't flex (as much) and may result in top speed improvement, but does that translate to throughout powerband?

Don’t think you need a different boat but it will be a bit underpowered. I would stay with aluminum props for the moment. I had good luck on a previous boat with Michigan vortex 4 blades. They are relatively cheap and a good way to cut your teeth on prop swapping.
I went from a 19” 3 blade down to swapping between 18” 4 blade for general use and tubing, 16 four blade for skiing. Big difference in hole shot.
best bet is to find a prop shop who will work with you to try some props.
I don’t think the 17” spitfire would be A bad place to start but ultimately you may want lower pitch. I would hone in on determining what works in aluminum then go to stainless later if need be.
did a similar thing on my neighbors 21 ft Larson last year. Had a VP 4.3 mpi 19” three blade AL . Not enough hole shot and wot was like 4400. Went to a AL 17” four blade and it jumped out of the water wot rpm was like 4700 or so. This was a inexpensive VP AL four blade


are you getting a lot of bow rise during holeshot?

Not sure if you can reflash the ecu for the 250 hp version. I think this is the only diff between the 200 hp and 250.