hydra-sports z260 setup?

[Hoosier Hawg]

Hey guys, I purchased this boat a few months back, and I have some questions. First, let me describe the performance of the boat as it sits now. With a 60° Johnson 90hp V4 and 20 Raker...
1. Holeshot is reasonable with 2 men and about 100lbs of tackle, but if I fill the livewell....it takes forever to break over. I think I can help this by moving more weight toward the front. I plan to build a deck extension/storage compartment over the winter to house more tackle toward the bow.

2. Handling....it's sort of good and bad. It's very responsive to steering input while under power. It pretty much simply goes where you tell it to, but I feel it's "glued to the water" because my prop is buried and trim has to remain tucked below 1/4 trim at all times. If I trim up at all below 4500rpm it porpoises. I can trim to 1/4 if I'm hammer down, but any higher and it porpoises.

3. Speed...lol! I mean, it's a 90. I haven't confirmed with gps, but the speedo reads 35 at best. I'd say it's pretty close. I know it'll never be fast, so to speak, but I'd like to at least keep up with Bass Trackers! Lol.
As I mentioned earlier, the prop is buried. I measured the propshaft at just shy of 7" below the pad. It has no jackplate. Its mounted in its lowest position, though. I have about 2" of height adjustment. I'm thinking I need to raise it....just not sure how high to go. It's not so simple without a plate. Don't really want to continue to play with mounting bolts/sealant. Don't want to end up with a weak transom. I'm also considering transom wedges for more negative trim. I believe I can gain some topend, quicker holeshot, and possibly combat the porpoise problem by raising the engine, and getting some tackle out of the rear compartments moved forward.

So, what do y'all think? Am I on the right track? Any advice on engine height? Thanks in advance for any helpful tips.

[Rip Bass]

Your bow is hopping because the prop doesn't have enough bite to keep the bow lifted. That may be due to a lack of cupping in the prop or,more likely,not enough leverage. In other words,no set back. A jack plate will help with that some but I wouldn't go more than a 6" set back. Shoot for about 4" prop to pad. Also,a four blade prop may help some with bow lift. You don't say what your rpm are with the Raker 20 but you do need to know. You should prop to the max recommended rpm of the engine. You might want to check the for sale boards on here, might find a deal on a plate.

[jimsch]

A CMC manual jackplate would probably help. Gets the prop in cleaner water and ability to adjust your prop to pad height. BPS sells them for around 300. Put one on a 176 Stratos I use to own. Acted like a different boat.

[06 SB]

I had a Z260 with a 90 Fast Strike many years ago. It was a great boat and did not have a porpoise problem no matter the load. No jackplate or whale tail either. I know it had a new Raker prop on it but do not remember the pitch. I would raise the motor to its middle set of holes or add a jack plate plus get the prop either worked or replaced. Mine was a low to mid 40 mph boat.

[Hoosier Hawg]

Sorry, I forgot to add the RPMs...it tops out around 5200, but that's with the motor tucked down pretty low, as I mentioned. I want it to be turning 5500-5600, but I feel I could gain the extra revs if I could trim it up some. If I can't get it lined out otherwise, I'll look into a jackplate. The biggest downside to a plate is that I BARELY get it into the garage as it is (motor trimmed down and turned all the way to one side, trailer cockeyed crossways). If I add 4-6", I'll have to fabricate a removable tongue for the trailer, but I just may have too. Thanks for advice.

[mdtritn21]

What bolt hole is the motor mounted in now? Top or second from the top is where it should be and you can't raise it any higher without a jack plate. You really need some prop work to stop the porpoise so you can trim it up and it should gain rpm's.

[Hoosier Hawg]

It doesn't have holes...it's slots, and it's all the way down.

[mdtritn21]

Should have slots at the bottom and holes at the top.

[Hoosier Hawg]

I had a brain fart...forgot the upper mounting bolts do run through holes, the lowers are slots. The bolts are in the highest holes. So, it's as low as it can go.

On the bright side, I took her out today and had much better results. I just said to hell with it and left it WOT after it planed out. I started bumping the trim up gradually (fully expecting it to start porpoising), and it freed up ran damn well for what it is. I hit 5500-5600rpm, and it finally popped up on the pad. Now I've learned that she'll run just fine at 7/8 to full throttle. Anything under 5000rpm, ya just have to keep it tucked for a pleasant cruise, though.
I do still intend to try raising the motor in the future. I doubt it helps the midrange porpoise, but it's bound to add a lil speed and cut down on drag. I may try a 4 blade sometime, too. If I raise the motor, I'll have to have my prop worked anyways...I don't want to rev any higher than I already am at WOT. I may try added cup, or maybe even a slight pitch increase. I'll talk to Mark, and trust his recommendation. Thanks for the help, guys. I'll keep y'all posted as far my results go. Maybe I'll get a GPS one day, to better understand my results.

[mdtritn21]

Without a plate you can probably raise it one bolt hole but it may start to porpoise unless you get the prop repaired. Those slots make it real easy to raise or lower the motor.

[Short Strike]

[Short Strike]

IDK if you've figured out your set up, but.. above is a pic of my old 260. Might be able to estimate engine height and prop brand. This one jumped on plane better than any boat I've been in and top speed was 52/53 gps. It has the Evinrude 90. Has been over 10 years since I've owned it, can no longer remember pitch or engine rpm's, but it was a screamer for a 16' bass boat. Lots of fun to drive!

Prop looks to have 1/4" factory vent holes..

[terry5357]

nice boat! I had a 95 Ranger R72 with a Yamaha Pro V 115. Best small boat I ever had, would run 53-55 all day long, lots of storage and 2 big livewells (as I remember). I worked at PowerTech at the time. I ran a 21P RED with extra cup. The boat jumped on plane, never had a another boat get on plane like that one. Except for rough water ride I would rather the 17' ranger than the 20' ProGator I have now.

[Nickl]

I had the hydra sport with a 150 fast strike had a raker prop had extra cuped and wedge it back wards for more trim spedo 71 mph

[Hoosier Hawg]

Short Strike, thanks for sharing the pics. It appears that your motor was mounted at least one maybe two holes higher than mine. That's one of the nicest 260s I've seen! I plan to raise mine soon, and give it a shot.

[jcub21]

Thanks for posting the X260 info. I am picking up my '95 X260 next week. It has jack plate, worn aluminum prop, but still pushed mid forties with good lift. Upgrades will include new electronics, Tm, and new rims and lighting for trailer. Might go to hydralic JP down the road to maximize hole shot AND top end. I'm still a little anxious about the size (16') but I'll get used to it. Anyway, I'm sure I will be asking for help from you guys. John from Tupelo, Ms.

[mdtritn21]

I didn't mention it before but moving weight to the front and adding a deck and more weight on the bow will make it porpoise more. You need to have the prop worked back to factory spec to hold the bow up. It will kill your speed too.