1999 Stratos 295 Pro Elite DC setup suggestions..

I just bought a 99 Stratos 295 Pro Elite DC with a 200 Johnson. It had a 24P Raker on it at the time of the purchase. I ran it after getting home and was disgusted. 57.7 mph @ 5800- 5900 rpm's. There wasn't a j/p on it at the time and the motor was about 4 1/2" below the pad. I had a CMC 5 1/2" manual j/p so I put it on, set the motor at 3 1/2" below pad and went for another run. Same speed, same rpm's. Adjusted the j/p up and got same results. No bow lift and prop seemed to blow out getting on plane.
Today I put another 24P Raker on that I know has had cup and pitch added. I set the j/p at 3 1/4" below and hit the water. I got 60+ mph @ 5400 - 5500 rpm's, but had to let off because the chine walk got bad real quick. I dropped it to 3 1/2" below and had same results. Should I move the plate up to 3" to attempt to correct the chine walk? I'm not sure what my water pressure was because I was watching the rpm's, gps, and the bow. At this point, I couldn't even tell if the wp gauge was even working...


Modified by WVBassman at 10:21 PM 3/20/2012

Make sure the wp gauge is working first. If it is, then take the engine up in 1/4 to 1/2" increments until you loose wp or speed. Be careful to watch RPM's too, and not go over 6K. You should have a mid to upper 60 MPH boat no problem.

I ran this exact boat for about 2 years....mine had a ficht on it that blew (go figure) so I had it repowered with a rebuilt 91 merc 200 that had a low water pick up added to it....real buzzsaw...anyway....I put a manual plate on it and ended up running a 23 renegade on it. Certainly not the fastest prop but man that platform really walks when you start getting it dialed in....be careful mine was very violent on throttleback...ass end would kick out. Renegade really made the boat easier to drive with little speed loss. By myself I think I posted 69 gps....66 with tourny gear and partner....miss that ride but man it will make you a better driver.

I'm going to go ahead and put a new water impeller in it since it's a used boat. I don't know how long it's been since it was replaced. I know the wp gauge works though. Like I said, gonna go up to 3" below the pad next time out and see how it does. I'm not concerned with maxing out on mph, but I do want to be able to run it safe at higher speeds.

It ended up being the prop that came on it. It was shot. I tried a custom 24P Raker I had laying around and it worked great. Bow lifted, back raised up. Started chine walking real bad at 62 mph (5400 rpm's). I still had more throttle and trim left. Gonna load my gear in it, raise the j/p to 3" below and try it again. Seems like it's almost there now.