2013 Z-7 Nitro

[Fishinfreak75]

I have a 2013 Z-7 Nitro with a mercury 150hp 2 stroke 23p tempest on a 6" jackplate with 2 10' talons attached. Question is does anyone have a similar setup, if so what speeds are you reaching. I'm currently reaching 51-53mph with tournament load a full tank and my son.ive seen some posts that guys are reaching 60+ mph. Was wondering if changing to a 6" hydraulic jackplate would make any difference for me?

[PatriotAW4]

No one is getting that speed out of an underpowered Z7. What you are getting is about right with your load and motor that small on it.

[Fishinfreak75]

150hp is max rating on nameplate so how is it underpowered? The guys I've heard saying they are reaching 60+ don't have the talons, so I would expect to see them reach higher speeds. My main question is would a hydraulic jackplate help with my situation?

[cwilt]

The 150hp setups are very sensitive to weight. I used to be a 60 mph boat untill I installed 1 talon and lost 3 mph. Sounds about right for your tourney loaded setup. Loose some weight and your speeds will go up. Also your jackplate, weather fully loaded or not will require different settings for optimal performance.

[WarEagle24]

150hp is max rating on nameplate so how is it underpowered? The guys I've heard saying they are reaching 60+ don't have the talons, so I would expect to see them reach higher speeds. My main question is would a hydraulic jackplate help with my situation?

Don't pay any attention to PatriotAW4. He's one of those types that thinks he knows everything but don't know shit.

[davidsa]

I owned a phoenix 618 with your same motor and could hit 60mph by myself any day with 63.x as my top recorded speed. The 150pro xs 2s as I recall was really like 163hp of output. Now my boat had no talons and Phoenix runs a 10inch jackplate or setback plate on its 18ft class boats which like yours is closer to 19ft.

Couple of things I'd try to get a benchmark. Go alone, no water in livewells and 1/2 tank of gas and see how much speed you pick up. This will indicate how sensitive your boat/prop is to load. I'd also look at your prop to pad measurements. I'd post your reading in the nitro forum for feedback. Potentially you are not set up well.

I have the electric jackplate on current and last boat. I use it for skinny florida water. I've not found it is a performance making god if the boat manual plate was reasonably set. It is a mile or 2 of top speed not 10mph.

[mflora98ss]

I have a 2010 Z7 with a 150 Optimax and fully loaded it will do 58mph. It has a 23 pitch 4 blade Trophy Plus with two 8' Power Poles and no jack plate.

[SteezMacQueen]

Which years had the hooked hull issues?

[jjue1979]

While there is the possibility that swapping from a 6" manual to a 6" hydraulic could net a couple more mph with optimization between holeshot and top end speed, if you haven't made adjustments to your jackplate for speed already, then you might not get more speed. You really should experiment with load balance, weight (add and reduce), and jackplate settings before determining if a hydraulic jackplate is for you. For all that we know, you might need a bigger jackplate and/or a different prop.

[davidsa]

While there is the possibility that swapping from a 6" manual to a 6" hydraulic could net a couple more mph with optimization between holeshot and top end speed, if you haven't made adjustments to your jackplate for speed already, then you might not get more speed. You really should experiment with load balance, weight (add and reduce), and jackplate settings before determining if a hydraulic jackplate is for you. For all that we know, you might need a bigger jackplate and/or a different prop.

exactly my thought! Alone with light load he should be able to hit 57 without even driving it. If he can't do that, I'd start looking at the pad to prop and the prop itself as a starting point. Moving weights around might help a little as well.

Is it possible the talons are dragging? I've not used them so don't know if the mount and a heavy load could have them dragging or not.

[PatriotAW4]

150hp is max rating on nameplate so how is it underpowered? The guys I've heard saying they are reaching 60+ don't have the talons, so I would expect to see them reach higher speeds. My main question is would a hydraulic jackplate help with my situation?

The Z7 hull is made for a 200 and that is what they originally rated them at. Then for some unknown reason they started under rating them and they performed poorly after that.

[PatriotAW4]

I owned a phoenix 618 with your same motor and could hit 60mph by myself any day with 63.x as my top recorded speed. The 150pro xs 2s as I recall was really like 163hp of output. Now my boat had no talons and Phoenix runs a 10inch jackplate or setback plate on its 18ft class boats which like yours is closer to 19ft.

Couple of things I'd try to get a benchmark. Go alone, no water in livewells and 1/2 tank of gas and see how much speed you pick up. This will indicate how sensitive your boat/prop is to load. I'd also look at your prop to pad measurements. I'd post your reading in the nitro forum for feedback. Potentially you are not set up well.

I have the electric jackplate on current and last boat. I use it for skinny florida water. I've not found it is a performance making god if the boat manual plate was reasonably set. It is a mile or 2 of top speed not 10mph.

Phoenix hull is way different than the Nitro.

[dean c]

I have a 2013 Z-7 Nitro with a mercury 150hp 2 stroke 23p tempest on a 6" jackplate with 2 10' talons attached. Question is does anyone have a similar setup, if so what speeds are you reaching. I'm currently reaching 51-53mph with tournament load a full tank and my son.ive seen some posts that guys are reaching 60+ mph. Was wondering if changing to a 6" hydraulic jackplate would make any difference for me?

You didn’t mention what your RPMs are and what is max RPM?

[remaly181]

That hull is grossly underrated for it's size and very finnicky when it comes to setup. Not knowing your current prop-to-pad measurement or your RPMs, it's tough to say where your issue lies. It could just simply be too much weight. There is also the chance of a hooked hull, which these boats are notorious for factory flaws. I'm running a 14' Z-7 with a 175, 6" Atlas and 24P tempest at around 3 1/2" PTP. I'm also dragging Power Poles and rarely fill the wells and still can only get 60-61 MPH riding solo and low fuel. (That's on the best of days.) Mostly high 50s, which doesn't bother me because I'm not racing anyone. Plus, I'm hauling way too much tackle and other stuff weighing me down. I'd say you'd be lucky to squeeze anything more that 2-3 MPH out of it, but it may come with sacrifices and a price. IMO, this is not the boat to throw thousands at to chase speed.

[Highcentered]

The Z7 hull is made for a 200 and that is what they originally rated them at. Then for some unknown reason they started under rating them and they performed poorly after that.

They wanted people to have a better reason to buy the bigger boats. It's all about money!

[davidsa]

Phoenix hull is way different than the Nitro.

it is but I've read 100's of posts of guys in rangers, tritons, nitro's, birds, etc and most everyone can get 55mph with 150hp motors. maybe the nitro has a square mouth like a popping plug but otherwise I suspect something in the setup.