Nitro Z7 Sport

[javelin225H.O.]

Dad bought a 2012 Nitro Z7 sport last week. He's has about 4-5 hours on the motor, which is a 150 Pro XS. Boat came rigged with a 24 Tempest Plus. Seems like alot of prop for that boat, other Z7 sports had 22s on them. Holeshot is sluggish and trimmed 3/4 max rpms were 5100 at WOT throwing a rooster tail twice as high as the cowl. Motor is mounted in second hole.
When we took it out Monday to put some more hours on the motor I noticed the motor was crooked, thought it was just the lean of the boat. Once we got back and put it on the trailer it was apparent the motor is way off. Looking at the transom support plate it is about 1/4 inches lower on one side than the other. Took a piece of wood and stuck it between the motor bracket and top of the transom and it way off. He called Tracker Marine at BPS to schedule an appointment to take a look at it. The lady sounded suprised it was mounted wrong from the factory.
Question now is how are they going to level the motor? Would a jackplate be able to level out the motor? I told him it would be best to get one installed because it looks like they mounted the motor to high from the rooster tail it throws. And is the 24 pitch prop too much for that boat? Would they swap out the prop for a 22?

[BMCD]

Definitely sounds like too much prop.

[transamz9]

I would keep the 24 and trade out to a 200 Pro xs...........

[kjgmh]

Nitro shows a 21 Tempest as standard prop. To see if motor is straight on the transom the motor needs to be removed and there is a center line scribed on the back of the boat that is used to index the drill fixture. This scribe line is what is used as the centering point and not the transom cap.

[javelin225H.O.]

Max hp on the Z7 Sport is a 150, so 200 ain't going to work. Dad dropped the boat off today to have them look at it. He called Tracker Marine HQ and they are saying rigged prop should be a 24 pitch and lightly loaded, not a full tank of gas, gear and persons it should be running the recommended rpms. Now with that being said, it is a fish and ski boat, how is it going to perform pulling out of the hole with someone sking or tubing? Hows it going to perform with full livewells? The boat is suppose to be ready Saturday so I am going there with him so we can get this baby up and running. I have to say I was impressed with the ride and stability of the boat. Fishes pretty good too.

[Blevins]

You get it setup properly "prop, prop height etc" and i bet it will impress you. I've seen some fish and ski boats running 55-60mph around the lakes i fish with 150-175s on them. Your 150 pro xs will perform like most 175s :) Should be an all around great boat for fishing and boating with the family etc. The Z7 sport is a nice rig IMHO.

[javelin225H.O.]

Picked the boat back up today. Motor was off by 1/2inch, they filled the holes and redrilled them correctly. Talked to the service manager and come to find out the correct pitch was suppose to be a 21, not a 24. Evidently they were looking at the Z7 setup when they put the 24 on instead of the Z7 Sport setup. They swapped the prop out to a 21 which should max it out at 5700 rpms and provide a better hole shot. We'll see in a few days when we take it back out.

[TRCM]

Whoa, I 'd be concerned about how they filled the holes so quickly and with what, and the redrilling. I'd also make sure it is in the warranty history.

And a 21p sounds too low, as it is still the same engine, and hull wise, it should be the same boat.

[javelin225H.O.]

Don't know what they used to refill the holes but its in the warranty history. Z7 Sport doesn't have the RPS and has more of the center of gravity towards the bow as the console is further to the front than a Z7. The transom are different and the pad are different. Z7 is 5mph faster than the Sport with the Pro XS. The 21p will will find out tommorow how it does compared to the 24p. I think it'll plane out better and should get it alittle faster.

[TRCM]

Mine doesnt have the RPS hull either, and a 21 would allow it to over-rev quickly

[javelin225H.O.]

Holeshot was slow and that was with it wide open with the 24. No plugs in the prop as it is fully vented and would not shoot up in rpms. Felt like my tracker boat with a 25hp coming out of the hole. The pad on the sport looks different then it does on the Z7 as the sport is considered a fish and ski. If we were to pull a tuber or skier, the boat wouldn't even plane over as it seems the motor doesn't rev with the 24 on it now.
Got another question about the trim gauge. On my boat I have a Johnson and when it is fully trimmed running WOT the trim gauge shows its fully trimmed as I cannot over trim the motor at WOT. Now on the Mercury we were looking at it yesterday, fully trim on the gauge the motor is past the mounts and trimmed up to point we can put the motor tote on. About 3/4 on the gauge the motor looks like its fully trimmed as it is still on the piston and still within the brackets. How does the trim gauge work on the Mercs? Is 3/4 trim max trim on the motor running WOT or should it read full tilt like my Johnson trim gauge shows? Is the Mercury like my Johsnon once its fully trimmed at WOT you cannot over trim it to get it out of the bracket and off of the pistons?

[09Z7SC]

Got another question about the trim gauge. On my boat I have a Johnson and when it is fully trimmed running WOT the trim gauge shows its fully trimmed as I cannot over trim the motor at WOT. Now on the Mercury we were looking at it yesterday, fully trim on the gauge the motor is past the mounts and trimmed up to point we can put the motor tote on. About 3/4 on the gauge the motor looks like its fully trimmed as it is still on the piston and still within the brackets. How does the trim gauge work on the Mercs? Is 3/4 trim max trim on the motor running WOT or should it read full tilt like my Johnson trim gauge shows? Is the Mercury like my Johsnon once its fully trimmed at WOT you cannot over trim it to get it out of the bracket and off of the pistons?

The gauge shows the full range of motion when not running. When running WOT, mine will only go to 1/4 mark when fully trimmed. Also, the pressure of the motor pushing on the hydraulics stops the motor from going to the trailer position while running. It will only trim the end of the two shorter rods while running.

[javelin225H.O.]

Tried the 21p out today. No gear and about 1/4 tank of gas, 2 people the boat jumps on plan now, almost better than my Javelin. Maybe we'll drag race one day to see. WOT rpms fully trimmed 5700 rpms, 600 rpms more than the 24p prop. Might have had a few more rpms in her, but once filled with gas, gear, and the hotter weather it'll lose some rpms. Rooster tail is not as high as the cowl now, which is was pushing past the cowl with the 24p. Speedo, which I know is not accurate, but compared the two props, 24p max out at 55mph and the 21p maxxed out at 63mph, somebody forgot the gps. All and all pleased with the prop swap, performance was way better.

[Tool958]

I'm going through the same thing with my Z-7 Sport. It has the Mercury 150 HP Optimax on it. I wanted to put a Talon on it, so the only way to do it was to put a 10" jackplate on it. Nitro recommended a Tempest Plus 21P for the stock set-up. Only getting around 5400 rpms fully trimmed with nothing in the boat but me and a full tank of gas. It's sluggish coming out of the hole. Also have to be careful trimming up or it will start porpoising on me. Going to try the 19P out and see how it does. Also going to add a holeshot plate to see if that helps out of the hole.

[NoCAL]

You guys with fish and skis really need to try the Vengeance props. They are really made for bow lift and high torque applications. A 21 sounds like it would be about perfect. You will lose top speed but it will pull a skier out much better and will jump on plane with a load better. I used to have a 188Sport and Vengeance was the only prop they recommended at that time.

NoCAL

[javelin225H.O.]

I'm going through the same thing with my Z-7 Sport. It has the Mercury 150 HP Optimax on it. I wanted to put a Talon on it, so the only way to do it was to put a 10" jackplate on it. Nitro recommended a Tepest Plus 21P for the stock set-up. Only getting around 5400 rpms fully trimmed with nothing in the boat but me and a full tank of gas. It's sluggish coming out of the hole. Also have to be careful trimming up or it will start porpoising on me. Going to try the 19P out and see how it does. Also going to add a holeshot plate to see if that helps out of the hole.

What hole did they mount your motor in? His is mounted in the second from top hole, only have one more hole to drop the motor. I am trying to get him to put a jackplate on it but he is being hardheaded. I still think his motor needs to come down as the WP goes from 15psi to 10psi when turning.
When fully trimmed and running 4200rpms or so it begins to porposing, have to trim down to get it to stop or give it more throttle. After this past week its over the 10hour mark so its broke in.
I would recommend getting your prop balanced and blueprinted and see what that does. Out of the box, the tempest plus might not be a true 21p.

[Tool958]

What hole did they mount your motor in? His is mounted in the second from top hole, only have one more hole to drop the motor. I am trying to get him to put a jackplate on it but he is being hardheaded. I still think his motor needs to come down as the WP goes from 15psi to 10psi when turning.
When fully trimmed and running 4200rpms or so it begins to porposing, have to trim down to get it to stop or give it more throttle. After this past week its over the 10hour mark so its broke in.
I would recommend getting your prop balanced and blueprinted and see what that does. Out of the box, the tempest plus might not be a true 21p.

I'm away from where I can look at the boat for now. The dealership I bought the boat at is going to swap props for me. So, I'm going to go ahead and try the 19P. I have the same problem with porpoising at about the same rpms. Have to do the same thing to bring it out of it. Had the same problem with my last boat. A combination of swapping props, moving the batteries to the rod box opposite the driver seat and putting a CMC hydraulic jackplate on, cured the problem. Afterwards it ran on plane as smooth as silk and came up very fast. It was a Polar Kraft 165SC that I went from a 2003 50 HP Johnson to a 2010 75 HP E-TEC. The extra weight had to be redistributed. I'll let you know how the motor is mounted on the Nitro. Haven't actually tried to move the jackplate. Going to talk to the dealership about the porpoising to see what they suggest. I will more than likely eventually put a hydraulic jackplate on it.

[Tool958]

Just to post a follow up. Swapped out the Tempest Plus 14.5X21P to a 19P. Made a big difference in hole shot and rpms. It comes up on plane real nice like it should. Also, the rpms at WOT went from around 5400 up to 5800.

[javelin225H.O.]

How do you like the Jackplate on the boat?

[Tool958]

How do you like the Jackplate on the boat?

I would rather have a hydraulic plate. It would be nice for running saltwater flats and would make it easier to find the sweet spot on the motor height. The one they put on is one without the adjuster in the center. So, in order to change heights, you would have to put a hoist on the motor to loosen the jack plate and move it up or down.