2001 191 performance

[Black Duck]

Bought an new to me 2001 191 last October. Prop shaft to pad was 4.75" when I picked it up, I just finally had a chance to run my boat after i raised the motor so the pad to shaft is 3.5". Water pressure is 17 at WOT and motor turns 5800 to 5900, so that stuff seems just fine. Chine walk I had before disappeared. According to GPS, all i can get is 60 mph with two guys, a tank full of gas, and gear. There seems to be a swet spot on the trim range, where if I go past it all it does is blow the rooster tail a mile high while speed, water pressure, and RPM all remain unaffected. Should I be satisfied w/ this, or is there more to go? Prop is a 25 pitch tempest plus, all vents are plugged.

Thanks

[Lea]

What motor are you running???

[Jcrews]

I've got that same boat. With a 200 efi I run 67 or so gps w/2 guys and full tourney load. If you are running a 150 then you are probably close to getting what you are gonna get.

[Black Duck]

sorry for forgetting that important piece of info... 2001 Merc 200 EFI

[Jcrews]

You should be able to get more out of that rig.

[jkainoa]

I have a 2000 191 with a 200HP Yamaha and I run anywhere between 64 to 67 with 2 guys. With 3 of us, it's closer to 60. These ARE GPS speeds.

[Travis D]

You say it was chine walking before you made adjustments? What were you speeds when it was walking? Did the boat slow down after you made your adjustment? Are you 3.5 above the pad or below? It needs to be below the pad 3.5 not above. Sounds to me like you have went 3.5 above. Chine walking on all my champions I have owned start around 62 mph. Sounds like you are too high if all you do is blow the lake in the air . Rooster should be at the top of the cowl or a little less at WOT. Take some pics of the motor looking at the hub and be sure we can see the pad. Is the boat sledding or is up in the air when its running at WOT? There should be no water spray coming around the drivers and passenger sides of the boat. Not a lot anyway you may hit a wave and see some. You get the picture.

[Black Duck]

shaft was 4.75" below pad when i got the boat, it was scary to drive at WOT as it chine walked all over. I raised the motor so it is now 3.5" below pad and the chine walk has disappeared, RPM's are perfect at 5800 to 5900, water psi is good. No splashing from the sides, boat drives nice, it's just slow at 60 mph compared to other guys setups. Another kind BBC'er suggested lowering the motor 1/4" at a time to get the rooster tail where it should be when the motor is trimmed as far as it'll let me at WOT and check the prop out a little better. I gained a couple MPH after the adjustment, big thing was the chine walk went away.

[Travis D]

I know you don't want to here this. I know I didn't when I first got my 181 back in 1998. It was scary at WOT. So bad I felt like it would flip if I did'nt back out of it. I just had to learn to drive it. If you can keep it from walking the boat will settle in and take off. You may have to drop the motor to get more speed but you will have to drive it. The key is correcting it before it starts. It will always sway to the right first (because of the clockwise rotation of the motor and the boat wanting to fall off the pad). When you feel this or see it happen gently(gently do not jerk the wheel) pull it back to the left. If you do it right it will stop and settle in and go. You won't have to correct it again unless you turn, hit a wave, ect. After I learned how to drive my 181 I couln't wait fot it to start to walk. Before to long it will be like driving your truck down the road you will correct it and never even know it was about to walk on you. That boat is going to have to be on the brink of chine walking to get the best performance. This is a touchy subject to some guy's. Nobody wants to be told they can't drive thier own boat. I had to swallow some pride and start asking questions. A matter of fact the guy that told me what I just told you had the exact setup you do. 191 with a 200 efi. I asked alot of people and got alot of differant anwers. His was what worked for me. Hope this helps.

[Black Duck]

Travis D - amen brother. I know I need to get some seat time in and learn this boat's driving mannerisms in addition to tweaking the set up. I was actually playing with the same thing you talked about last night - small steering tweaks to keep it on pad. It'll just take some time before it's second nature like the little things my last boat liked. Thanks for the advice.

[Travis D]

[jkainoa]

Man I couldn't have said that any better! You hit the nail on the head. Maybe I'm a slow learner but it took me a couple of years before I new how to drive my boat correctly....I played around with the jack plate, raising and lowering it to try to get it to not walk but when I finally learned to keep it on the pad, it was awesome! The dealer I bought it from took me out on the water and explained to me that it was similiar to a balancing act....basically keeping it from falling off of either side....said I needed seat time. My Champ will give me the sensation of it feeling like it's "floating", like it could flip over but only when I'm in it by myself. With 2 it will still walk but not nearly as much. With 3 (which I fish with 2 of my buddies quite often) it's not possible for it to walk.
Good luck!

[Black Duck]

Best advice I've heard so far - LEARN TO DRIVE. I spent a little time with this after I quit fishing last night, and had the boat doing 67 on the GPS. Little tricky to do the balancing act since it is new for me, but you guys are right - practice!

[Travis D]

Thats AWESOME! Once you have mastered it. You can really dial it in. Good job