201 wa Lists Port

[alfredlewis]

I have a 1996 201 wa w/ 1995 175 Merc, High Five Prop and Dolphin fin.  Do you know what would cause this boat to list to the port when trimmed down. It will stay like that from throttle up, cruise until you trim it up to the sweet spot it will then level out. no matter the load. The worst part is i was pulling a tube and while running with the trim in the sweet spot it takes a long left turn so i was trimming it down to get it to cut the water and make a hard left turn not a real hard but enough to sling the tube outside the wake i had to dump the throttle because the boat felt like it would roll over the water was almost to come over the gunnels and it didn't just ease to that it fell over into it and felt like it wouldn't stop until i let out of it or it capsized.  any input would be greatly appreciated.  PS i have asked around and people has asked if i have the anode skeg above the prop.  I do not have one installed and wasn't present when i purchased the vessel last year.  This is the only performance issue i have, and it seems the more load i have the worst the effects of the listing or rolling to the left. Turning right or listing to the right is not a problem.

[231CALIFORNIA]

try a different prop, that 5 blader may be a culprit? torque/trim related, doesent do it trimmed neutral? trimmed up?  borrow any old prop thats close and try it out for difference.
also remove the foil and re test, these are cheap easy tests to begin with.
more complicates items may be how high or low your motor is mounted? are there adjustment notches ?
remote chance of hull deformation(measure)  you testedweight distribution issues , start with the simple cheap tests.  was someone trying to fix something by putting on the 5 blase or the fin?

[alfredlewis]

i'm not sure if they were trying to fix anything.  He told me he used the boat for running the big lakes where i got it, and for pulling tubes and skiiers.  i looked at the mounting bracket on the motor and it has been lowered a notch, you can see the indentation of the bracket above where it is now.  i have a "boat guy" coming by this afternoon to look at the set up and give me some options.  I'm still open for any input.  A buddy of mine says his 21 seapro is doing the same thing but not as bad as mine.  we both were going to run up to Flint Creek and play with props and height adjustments.  The prop pushes the boat well and is within my rpm limits.  5200 @ 40 - 50 depending on load. 

[231CALIFORNIA]

let us know what you find, can you talk to previous owner?

[alfredlewis]

i emailed him today.  i'll follow up and let yall know what i can find out.  i'm going to try and raise the motor up 1 or 2 notches and see what happens.
thanks.

[alfredlewis]

This is what the previous owner had to say. 

I let the motor down one notch because with the original 3 blade prop on it, it would cavitate at low speeds. I lowered the motor which helped alot, but in fresh water it still cavitated when pulling a tube and turning real hard. That is why I bought that high dollar 5 blade and put on it, which fixed the cavitation when trying to innertube with it. I never really noticed it leaning to one side, but I know alot of boats will do that when trimmed all the way down due to motor torque. You may try to adjust the torque tab above the prop and see if that helps.

[alfredlewis]

I took off the dolphin fin yesturday and took her out for ride.  While i was taking the fin off. I noticed that it wasn't mounted perfectly straight, it was kicked to one side maybe a 1/16 to an 1/8. When i Took her out she was a totally different boat.  handled awsome.  i could carve the water, left and right with hard turns, she just didn't fall over like before.  To get on a plane maybe to 1 or 2 seconds longer but nothing to complain about.  My Gps battery didn't last long enough to get my numbers, for the 5 miles it recorded. i averaged 23 mph and topped out at 44 mph.  without moving people she did still want to list a bit to port but not as bad while cruising.  so i guess that is the prop torque doing that.  i had no problem with cavitation whill trimmed down in turns.  i could actually run trimmed down all the way.  i guess that wing on the back was pushing the bow down to much and thats why it had to run with so much up trim.  wonder i need to try bringing the motor up one hole and see if that improves further or just leave well enough alone. 

[231CALIFORNIA]

If the bow stays down at cruise , put the fancy  5 bladeback on, raise O/B back up to factory notch, and make it a habit to distribute load. and adjust trim .Most
Prolines are great all around boats but they arent specialized in hole shots or water toy pulling. although we all do a bit of that

[alfredlewis]

read above 5 blade Mercury High Five is already on it.

[alfredlewis]

Ran the boat this weekend.  Handles great.  I'm going to try and bring the motor up one notch and see how she acts.  No cavitation happening right now either.  My GPS numbers right now are 3800rpm = 26 - 29 mph depending on water condition with my normal load. 4 people, icechests and fishing eqpt.  5100rpm = 47mph same load.  Still think the bow needs to come up a bit though. i have atleast 8 foot of boat in the water at full throttle.

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