I traded in my Lund for a 2005 Stratos XL this spring and am loving it. I keep what I consider a tournament load in it pretty much all the time as well as a full tank of fuel. Hole shot when I’m alone is decent, once I throw in a buddy or my son it is horrible. It porpoises pretty bad with a load as well.
At 5800 rpm I run around 69 MPH on GPS but I usually run mid 50’s to 60 for my comfort level and a non desire to get a chine walk.
I measure 14 3/4” level pad to ground and 10 3/4” from prop center to ground. I have an 8” slidemaster so I’m guessing I have a fair amount of adjustment left.
The prop is a Yamaha Vmax series 27-T1, 15 1/8” on a 2005 Vmax 250 HPDI. There are 3 square vent holes all open. I bought a Chris Bailey hydrofoil As well but haven’t installed it yet.
Not sure if altitude matters but I fish mostly at 2700’ with a max of 4700’ but also head down into Oregon to a couple hundred feet.
At speed a left turn is an exercise in sheer strength and I have bled down the hydraulic steering and it isn’t leaking. Some searches have indicated that a) I could get better at using trim to help the turn and b) it is somewhat normal but when I say it is hard to turn I mean it. The skeg has about a 1/16 to 1/8” bend to the right.
Id love to improve holeshot and get on plane quicker and am willing to sacrifice some top end to do so and help out the turning issue.
Any thoughts and help GREATLY appreciated. I love the boat already and getting this figured out would be awesome. I don’t really have an opportunity to try out different props and being November in Idaho, it’s not a concern for a few months anyway. But I’d like to be ready for March fishing.
Thank You, Bill