Since I eliminated the 2001 20 FS due to its condition I found a very nice 2006 290 FS with 225 ETEC. Does anyone have any experiences with this one. I like the layabout of the 20 FS for people carrying but this is one 290 nice looking boat as well and is maybe even better for bass fishing then the 20 FS. Not sure. The one thing it doesn't have is a jack-plate so not sure what size should be put on or if it is even recommended.
I believe there is a board member that has a 290FS so hopefully he will be along soon to give his feedback. I have seen the 290FS (after I purchased my Javelin and really liked it!) and it is very similar to the Javelin 20FS. The Evinrude 225 should move the boat along pretty nicely. I have a ficht and runs well for me. I have heard the E-tech is even better so you should not be dissappointed. Although because I do not own the boat, nor have I been in the boat, I cannot comment on ride or fish ability. If possible, take it for a test drive before making the final decision. Good luck and let us know what you decide! (Pictures are always good!)
Hey there. I bought a 290sf last year at the end of the summer and have been rigging it and adding stuff on since then. I put on a 6 inch action jac from Bob's machine shop. I wouldn't say i picked up much speed (if any,) but i like having one to run through shallow water. You looking at the one at Morristown Marine? If not, you should check that one out as well. It was between that one and the one I ended up getting. My wife liked the color's better on this one even though I liked that 225 etec better! Oh well, happy wife, happy life!
As for fishability, the front deck is larger than my old 20 foot astro/procraft fish and ski and it is larger than my buddies Triton 21sf. The back deck is huge! My fishing partners have enough room to do anything back there, including laying down and taking a nap! The rod holder will hold 7 foot rods, but it isn't the most handy thing in the world because it angles slightly upward towards the front of the boat. Livewell is plenty big after you remove the divider in the middle.
Performance wise, this boat took me a bit to learn how to drive it better. The boat has such a deep V in the front that it will grab waves and feels odd if the bow is down. It will fall off the pad to either side with the bow down at low speed. Once the motor is trimmed out the boat really begins to shine. It is a smooth ride once trimmed out! It will handle some pretty decent sized waves also with that deep V up front. I have a 200 Vmax on mine and even with that motor the thing is a rocket out of the hole. The boat loves to be trimmed out. I get the boat to 3/4 trim immediately and then adjust from there. Top speed is attained with the motor at max trim. With the 200, my top speed so far has been 60.6mph(gps) with a 23 pitch tempest, 2 people, and full fishing gear. I think that is pretty good for an almost 22 foot fish and ski with only a 200hp motor on it and everyone that rides it it comments on how smooth the ride is.
Let me know if you have any other questions that I haven't covered. Overall I love this boat. There are a few things that i would change on it if i were designing my own, but i feel that it makes up for those things in other areas. Take, Care,
Steve
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Last edited by astrofsx; 05-17-2012 at 09:42 AM.
That is a beautiful boat Astro. It does need a 225 HO for that size. (IMO) Yours is a foot longer than mine but still had the 225 rating so I think you are doing well at 60 MPH. On these hulls Stratos recommended a 8" set back on the Jackplate.
You are right on in your description of how these hulls run trimmed down. They flat do not like running with the nose down at all. I describe it as plowing and mine will do it bad, sometimes wandering back and forth from left to right. But get the nose up and she is like a different animal. I looked at the larger model when I bought mine. I was not wild about going bigger in boat and not having more in the engine. And the 200 was plenty big enough for me and the wife. It turned out to be the right decision for me.
It would be interesting to know what that 290 would do with my same identical engine & setup. Guess we will never know.
svfetter, Thanks for the compliment on the boat. I only got this one because you never got around to wanting to get rid of yours!!lol I think i remember seeing yours in bass and walleye boats magazine years back and really liking that setup. I never knew that Stratos recommended an 8" plate for this boat, good to know. I might have to look into some spacers.
The first time i drove this boat and didn't trim up right away i though something was wrong with it the way it would grab waves back and forth! That was an odd sensation when you aren't ready for it.
I will get to find out how this boat will do with a 225 though if everything works like it is supposed to. Hydrotec Marine on the Yamaha Performance boards just sent me a new ECU and throttle cam which were the only differences between the 200 and 225 in this motor. I am swapping them out tonight and off to the river tomorrow for testing. I always said if I could keep the boat consistantly over 60 I would be happy. I can just get over 60 now, but I wouldn't say it is consistant so I'm hoping the new ugrades will have me well into the mid 60's! I still havn't played with props either and have just been running the ones I have. I don't think the 200fs or the renegade 20fs will ever be in danger of me catching them, but it will be plenty fast for me. Take care,
Steve
I will be interested to know how your performance mod works out. I suspect if you really get the extra 25HP + out of the engine you may need to go up in pitch on the prop. Yea I know, getting her set the way you want her can be expensive. Just curious, but where is your centerline of the prop shaft in relation to the pad. To get the most out of her I would think you would need to be close to even with the pad.
Although you may see some improvement with the 25HP, that is still a big boat. And Keep in mind the 225 HOs actually produce just shy of 250 HP. Good Luck and make sure you post up how she runs with the changes.
I am interested to see how it runs. I saw that Mercury had a bulletin that has the 214sx (same boat) with a 250 proxs that only ran out at 67.2. I'm just hoping to be around 63 to 64. I used to run a carbed 225HO johnson so I know they are very stout motors. I think that one was somewhere around 240hp. I have no idea what the vmax runs for actual hp. The only specs on the 225vmax show that it puts out 225hp at 5000 rpm. No idea what it puts out at 5500 or 5800 rpm. I should ask Wayne over at Hydrotec since he puts them on his dyno.
I am running about 2 inches below the pad at wot. If i try to raise it up on the jackplate, I lose my bow lift and the speed drops off. Maybe having that extra 2 inches of setback would make a difference?
What are you running at these days? Still over 70?
Steve
Last edited by astrofsx; 05-17-2012 at 02:19 PM.
I would think that 67 out of that big of boat would be pretty close to max. I typically don't try to get more than 70 out of her but with the 24 pitch raker (tuned) she will run 70 to 71 pretty consistently. A head or tail wind can make a big difference as well with that big windshield. The fastest I ever had her was 72 and that was typically with just me in the boat, fishing gear, and about 40 gallons of fuel. I only weigh about 170. She will chine walk a little at those speeds but I have learned to drive her better over the years.
I have had pictures taken running down the lake trimmed out to the max and these boats do not have the bow lift of a bass boat due to the cap weight and the down force of the wind shield at speed. I have read of a few F&S boats on here that are faster but not too many.
And My engine is high by most standards at prop shaft even with the pad. I think the jackplate makes the difference there. I maintain good water pressure but really cant go any higher due to WP and RPM. At the 70 MPH range I am at max RPM which is at or just below 6000. These days I try not to go much over 5800 since they now recommend that as max for my engine.
I suspect your boat may be a little more bow heavy than mine which would be why you are getting the results you are when you try to raise the engine. Keep in mind that in many cases you do not have to use as much trim as you have available to get your max performance. I will slow down as well if I use the last 10% of trim I have.
Good Luck.
There aren't too many F&S that will keep up with those boats. The only ones I can even think of are the Allison's (if you count them as a f&s,) and that Champion 21sx (but you could put a 300 on it). I always heard the Coral 202 was a pretty fast rig also. 70mph in a f&s is just crazy level fast, I don't think my wife would even ride with me!
I'm thinking I may need a little more setback or those trim wedges by t&h marine because i could hold the trim button all of the way up all day and if I trim down even a bit, I lose mph.
Astro I think you are right. I have read recently that some of the Coral members here in the 70s in speed. But don't get the idea that I try to drive that fast all the time. Lakes in my area are just too crowded. And the chop will beat you to death. We always try to go out at daybreak and take a nice little cruise and I might open her up once or twice. Where we really enjoy the boat is when we go to Wisconsin. Not too big of a lake but on many days I almost have it to myself. a lot of really flat water!!!! Smooth !!!!!! I probably run more around 60 going from one place to another more than any other speed. Don't ski much any more as I have gotten older and with my rig now ten years old I just don't run her as hard as I used to. Especially when I hear of the costs to make a major repair on some of these engines.
From everything you have told me I believe your larger rig may be a little more trickie to dial in. I was lucky as mine was easy. Jack plate was installed at the factory and after I got my props done, it was just a matter of dialing in the engine height. It was fun doing it though. It felt great to see and feel how the boat would respond to an adjustment. My only surprise has been for as high as my engine is that I still get a great hole shot. Enen so, my wife has always pulled me up on one Ski trimmed down of course. I know I don't weigh that much but still.
I am going to be putting mine back together and getting her ready for the season this Sunday. I will try to get two or three pictures of her cleaned up and post em up.
Last edited by svfetter; 05-18-2012 at 08:20 AM.
Thanks for all of your help guys. I just put a deposit down on the 2006 290 FS and pick it memorial day weekend. What size jack plate would you recommend?
Congrats on the new boat!! Bet you can't wait to go pick it up! Going to be a loooong week for you. If svfetter says stratos recommended an 8 inch plate I would say go with that. I can tell you that I can see the need for a little more setback with my 6 inch plate. I would recommend the action jac from Bob's machine shop though. That thing has some serious power and will lift or lower the motor at wide open throttle all of the time. Some of my other hydro plates wouldn't do that. Congrats again and be sure to let me know how it runs out. I got out with the new mods yesterday and with 2 people, full fishing gear, full cooler over the transom, and a full take of gas I was able to hit 63.2 mph. I always said consistantly over 60 I would be happy,,,,but 65 is within reach
astrofsx - do you usually mess with your jack plate while running. I have heard that most people don't even adjust it once they get it dialed in so a hydraulic jack plate may be over kill.
Only 28 hours on the etec with warranty until June of next year.
And yes, I am thrilled and cant wait. Picked it up for 20K. Gonna add a hot foot and jackplate but I may wait til next spring to do that.
No, I don't usually adjust it while running. I use it primarily for shallow water. I go to Canada and have to get through some spots that a boat this big probably shouldn't go. Guys without plates are usually struggling to get through without hitting their props. I like the plate because the bottom of the boat will hit bottom before the prop will.
Sounds like you got a great deal on it!! Keep me informed what props you try and upgrades you do and i will do the same. Gotta run, going to help my cousin look at a new boat today!
Steve
Great hulls! Wish I had the room to store one. Congrats
Pop
Guys I went thru the decision of whether to go Hydraulic or Manual when I ordered my boat. I am so glad I went Manual. Far less Headaches. The only reason I can see is like astro said - if you frequently run very shallow water. $1000 dollars is a lot to add to the overall cost just to add more frustration and repairs down the road. 95% of people set them once and only use trim from that point on.
Stratos actually had my engine installed one boat hole lower than they should have and I raised the motor by myself on the plate with nothing more than a 2x4 and a floor jack. Saved me a few dollars having a dealer do it.
Congrats! Just in time to enjoy the summer! Hope you enjoy it! Please post pictures when you get it!Originally Posted by 92Ranger481v
That is a really nice looking boat!
Astro (or anyone), what prop to pad measurement are you running? I just bought a 290fs, my first bass style fiberglass boat, and am workign on setup. I'm currently at 6" p2p, and am thinking that's far too deep; most people seem to be 3-4". I also haven't been running a jack plate. My prop (24p Raker) isn't hooking up well, so i'm making adjustments.
Thanks in advance for the info. Sorry to resurrect such an old thread!
Sorry, just saw this. I am normally about 3.5 inches below pad with a 6 inch jackplate. I am currently running a 24 tempest plus that seems to be the best all around prop. I run a 23 tempest plus for water sports sometimes and a 25 tempest plus if I know it is just me and one other fisherman. Hope this helps. Have to put some pics of your boat up, love to see it!
2005 Stratos 290SF / 225 Yamaha VMAX
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