LAUNCHING THE BOAT TOMORROW!!!!

[idvette]

My steering is a Teleflex dual cable, but it's not your standard performance dual setup. I posted pics on one of my setup threads. I too have hit a rogue wave and found myself looking skyward without much of a thought at all. That's why I only go out on the big lake when it's smooth as glass. The smaller lakes are driveable with a little chop, but the big lake I'm on will have 4 or 5 foot rollers on a calm day, some you don't even see until it's too late.

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[alaskastreamin]

Did Ronnie actually look at your boat?? I'm suprised he gave you the ok for a speed run with that much setback and a stock lower unit.

5" setback is max for these boats unless you have a big friend. Do you have solid mounts?

Your gear case is creating lift and adding to the chinewalking. Raising the motor will settle it down. An economical nose cone is from Bobs machine shop. Don't forget to get the flushing muff that fits the cone. What prop are you running? A Chopper or ET will be your friend when you get everything else sorted out.

My boat is SUPER light in the bow with a 5" setback. With my wife up front, it's perfect!!!

Is all the air bled out of the steering? There should be no slop in the steering. Move the wheel 1/8" and the motor should move 1/8". Grab the motor and try to turn it side to side and see if there is any movement. Any slop in the motor will translate to ill handeling in the hull.

I leave my motor fully jacked up and just play with trim. With a water pressure guage, you can jack up till press drops. At full speed, I won't let press drop lower than 15#.
In a Viper, you don't need the motor that high. The speed isn't worth the risk of a blowout. I would recomment keeping the prop shaft even or slightly below the pad. Keep a close eye on the skeg where it attaches to the gear case. This is where it will crack. If you find a crack STOP and get another case. No repair will hold.

Hopefully this will help you be safe and have fun on the water.
Oh yea, be careful with that rough water. It will tear that hull up. Get a Donzi if you want to play in the rough.

[Fat Tony]

Hi Alaskastreamin, Ronnie did look at the boat- he wanted me to go out with them that weekend and beat the hell out of it as he put it. He said he would be willing to set the boat up with what I had , and he claims he would make it go about the mid to upper 80s. Now the offer was inviting but I would like to set it up from advise and experience. I dont know if it has solid mounts, I did bleed all of the air out of the system- but I will check again this weekend,I am running the prop that came with the boat -stainless 3 blade 23-m, my friend just came over and told me to get either a chopper prop or a 4 blade prop. I told him I would check the Hydrostream forum on that. I will have to move the motor up a couple of holes on the jack plate. I will probably be taking the boat out either early in the morning or early eve, Tonight the water was as calm as a lake. I really appreciate all of the advice you and the rest of the forum have given me. My goal is to get it to go 70 on the sound( my boss bet me one weeks salary against one weeks vacation pay, he thinks because of the Long Island Sound I would chicken out way before 70- he did not think I would do 40 in it. If I go 70 I get an extra weeks pay- if I fail I loose one paid vacation week- I can still have off but not paid) He lost another bet with me on a bar stool racer- I got it up to 45 mph- when the goal was 30. besides I am already up to 54mph whats another 16 mph. We will see. Thank you again for all your help. I will have an update soon.

[transomstand]

You do who Ronnie is, right?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCRg5CHfBUI[/youtube]

[silkeysak]

If you are talking to Ronnie about your setup, listen to him, not your friends. I have serious questions about this thread.

[Fat Tony]

You do who Ronnie is, right?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCRg5CHfBUI[/youtube]

Hi Transomstand, yes I know who he is- I have seen this video - he is flying!! He is the one I brought the boat to when I got it.

[Fat Tony]

If you are talking to Ronnie about your setup, listen to him, not your friends. I have serious questions about this thread.

Hi Silkeysak, what questions do you have about this thread? I havent talked to Ronnie since he looked at the boat when I got it. He wanted me to go with them on that Sunday and beat the balls out of it with him and his friends. He also said that my boat was a 100 times in better condition than his was (the boat on you tube Ronnies Viper)- that boat made a bunch of 100 mph+ runs before it came apart. He was the one that wanted to set my boat up and tune the motor so it could run mid 80s. He and his partner who I know pretty well told me to play with it for a while then get back to them. Dont get me wrong I know he is the man over here on Hydrostreams- but how do you learn about setting up a boat if you bring it to a shop that does this for a living? What fun is that? Im not going to jump into it and go balls to the wall either. I need seat time . Its like drag racing you start out slow and make suttle changes. I am not new to the water either or boats, I have lived on the sound all my life, when I asked for advise I felt I got alot of good from this forum. Plus the gentelmen who have responded have set their own boats up and have gone speeds well over 90mph. I dont want to come across as nasty or a know it all. I am not an idiot either (well my boss thinks so for buying this boat - but thats another story).

[transomstand]

You should go down and run with those guys. You'll pick up lots of good info, and save a lot of time. The advice given here, is somewhat of a guess. There's no substitute for eyes and hands on.

You may have misunderstood Ronnie's comment about condition. The hull in poor condition is the apricot one he has now, the brown one was very solid, he bought it as a new leftover. The core was dry when he cut it up after the wreck.

[alaskastreamin]

Tony,
Without the right motor height, prop, etc, the boat won't safely get to the higher speeds. The chine walking "could" hold you back and taint your experience in a Viper. A properly set-up one will be a pure joy to hop in and run 80-90 all day (figuratively speeking). It seems like your boat was set up for skiing. What you are experiencing is because your trying to push the boat beyond its set-up capabilities.
It will be a totally different beast when you get your set-back, height, and prop tuned in.
If I remember correctly, just over 70 mph on a stock gear case, a bubble will be created (high pressure) just in front of the case and blowout is a real possibility. A nose cone lengthens and streamlines the case eliminating the high pressure.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Fat Tony]

Hi, Transomstand, Alaskastreamin, I am going to raise the motor, I already ordered the low water pickup from bobs, I am going to change the prop- I just dont know which one to get- any suggestions ? I am going to call Ronnie and see if I can hang with them after this weekend. I will set the motor height as told. I just finished my beach trailer for the boat- this will give me flexibility on when I can take the boat out. I will keep you updated.