Hey Guys !! Well I got the starter issue taken care of....thank god !! So I took the boat out to Silverwood today ( I also head the carb rebuilt ) and I took my GPS and I had the go pedal to the floor and could only get her to 32 MPH ??? the motor ( BBC 454 ) sounded fine but thats all I could get from her....does this sound right?? the boat is a 21 footer...any thoughts ?? and dont say get a ford !! ;D Just a thought from a rookie wrench turner....can I adjust the go pedal at the carb??
I had the engine timed and the carb rebuilt we ran it and to check if everything was working correctly....the dead cat could be an issue !! ;D also I just had a droop and diverter put on !! reverse gate?? whats this?? I didnt take on any water hardly at all on this run water was like glass I assume because it was 50 degrees :sly:
Soonerfan, don't take this the wrong way, but not sure a droop will help on a 21' boat, maybe...GT thanks not how I roll ! ;D I wouldnt take anything the wrong way!! Im asking the questions and you my friend are giving me great info !! I wanted the diverter put on and the guy put on the droop and diverter for the same price .. I will DEFINETLY check the reverse gate and see if Im getting full throttle!! The rooster was a good 25 feet high and about 100 feet long Id say ;D
The reverse gate is the cover over the diverter, if it hangs below the outlet it will hamper the boats speed....Big Time...
How high was the rooster? too much diverter will do goofy stuff too. I would think the boat should be in the high 40's at 3500+/- feet altitude...
GT
Testing at silver wood is not the best test and tune because of the altitude less air,between silver wood and Elsinore gained 7mph@ Elsinore if the boat is not trimmed right you will lose mph, just my o2.Thats good to know but that would stiil only put it at around say 40 mph...there has to be something I'm overlooking...but thanks for all the great info!!
It almost sounds like the boat is heavy, Water?
GT
GT thanks not how I roll ! ;D I wouldnt take anything the wrong way!! Im asking the questions and you my friend are giving me great info !! I wanted the diverter put on and the guy put on the droop and diverter for the same price .. I will DEFINETLY check the reverse gate and see if Im getting full throttle!! The rooster was a good 25 feet high and about 100 feet long Id say ;D
What GT is talking about here is if the boat is heavy due to excessive water saturation of the foam or wood under the floor.How can you tell if the under floor is wet ?? and how do you stop it if thats the issue?? :sly:
There is a thread with a bunch of pics showing the crap that can be wet under the floor (if I can find it I'll post the link)
How can you tell if the under floor is wet ?? and how do you stop it if thats the issue?? :sly:
It has been my experience (but never my fault) that even 6 feet of rope will result in an engine speed of 4 grand and a forward speed of appox. 1 mph. Gotta luv the usually easy fix.
I had a fist full of weeds in the pump and my Hallett 21 (which is a tank) and it didnt want to do a thing .
Mashed the gas and it felt like it was in neutral .
Idled around fine.
Maybe rocks in the bowl too.
-beerjet-
Hey Mike
I remember your boat now that I can see it. I met you up at Berryessa a few years ago with the Laid Back Boaters. I was driving the orange Nordic minicruiser, sitting under the bridge with Cas. I thought your boat ran really well with that panther.
I just read through this thread. My question would be what did the motor sound like at the 4200 rpms? Did it run strong right up to the 4200, or kind of "starve out" ? I had a similar experience in a sleekcraft that I put a good BBC (from another boat) into. Started right up, ran great on the trailer, but when I got to the lake, it wouldn't go above 4000 rpms. I fiddled with the timing, fuel filter, carb, an figured it needed a tune up. Took it home and it ran perfect on the trailer, but I changed the points (yes it was that long ago) and plugs. Went back to the lake and its back at 4000 rpms. I was about ready to pull the plug, when I decided to disconnect the fuel line from the tank and poke it down the fuel fill--whoa, all of a sudden I was getting 5200 rpms out of that little race boat. Turns out the screens in both tanks were clogged, and restricting the fuel flow. Fuel flow was fine at idle, and with no load on the pump, but not enough to feed the motor past the 4000 rpms in the water. All I had to do is take the sending tubes out of the tanks and replace the screens. Maybe you've already figured it out, but I thought I'd relate my experience.
Mark--"Sanger Pete"
Hey Soonerfanyea it ran great, was hitting 50 mph now it just doesnt have the speed..still runs good though
Saw your boat in a previous thread--looks good. You mentioned there that you took the boat to Perris. How did it run there? Similar rpms? Did it seem alot faster?
LMAO !! Ok I feel beeter now !! Im that THAT Newb ;D yea this is a puzzle well I'll pull the droop off and see if i helps..I can always put it back on :banghead: but losing 20mph from that is it possible ?? :sly:
Hmm, a real puzzle. Essentially you've lost approx 20 mph by adding a droop and PD. It seems to me that (1) the motor is OK--4500rpms @ 3500' elevation in a 21' boat sounds about right. (2) the pump is loading OK if you re getting a 100' roost 20' high. If the pump was cavitating, I think your rpms would be higher, and your speed even lower. I've had junk in my pump and had a very loose pump before, and the problem isn't from 30mph to 50 mph, it's from 0 to 15. (3) I'm not sure your boat could hold enough water to slow its speed by approx 20 mph unless it was more than ankle depth--and then it would be pretty noticable.I was looking at the droop before I pull it off and it doesnt hang below the boat?? so would that slow it down at all?? Could running 87 compaerd to 91 octane have that much affect on MPH ?? and there was no anchor OR TRAILER dragging :sly:
It sounds to me like something must be dragging in the water--maybe the droop, the box anchor, or like I read one time, "A guy went to the lake for the first time to run his new boat. He launched the boat , idled out and proceeded to run it around the lake. However, he was very disapponted with the top speed which was much lower than he had expected. Back at the ramp he found out that most people disconnect the boat from the trailer when they go boating." That old trailer was just causing too much drag.
I think I would take off the droop, although I've never seen one cause this much of a loss of speed.
also I just had a droop and diverter put on !! reverse gate?? whats this??Quote
Wild idea. What kind of reverser lever do you have? Is it by itself or part of a combo gas/reverser lever?
You said you had a diverter installed, right? That means the reverser bucket/linkage is new to the boat (even if it's used equip). The Place diverter bucket geometry and travel is "different" from what the boat had before. If you have a combo throttle/reverser control lever then maybe the reverser bucket is opening all the way but stopping the throttle cam/linkage in the control lever from going further an letting your motor rev higher.
Ask me why I suspect this and what I've been doing for 45 minutes! :sly:
also I just had a droop and diverter put on !! reverse gate?? whats this??QuoteMy forward/reverse/throttle is not a combo...I have a foot pedal and a l ever for forward/reverse. what kind it is im not sure...I pushed the pedal to the floor and it had WOT...this is so weird..I had it all timed and the carb rebuilt..i took it out and from GPS it would hit about 32mph and when I use the diverter which is way cool by the way ;D I got down to about 28 mph :banghead:
Wild idea. What kind of reverser lever do you have? Is it by itself or part of a combo gas/reverser lever?
You said you had a diverter installed, right? That means the reverser bucket/linkage is new to the boat (even if it's used equip). The Place diverter bucket geometry and travel is "different" from what the boat had before. If you have a combo throttle/reverser control lever then maybe the reverser bucket is opening all the way but stopping the throttle cam/linkage in the control lever from going further an letting your motor rev higher.
Ask me why I suspect this and what I've been doing for 45 minutes! :sly:
Hey GT, I havent yet tried out your idea yet weather here has not been very nice to me....you were right the tabs were all the way down though ..Good Eye !! Im just going to pull them off....but as I was looking at them I was wondering ...why are there trim tabs on here at all ??
sweet..will do !! Hey I was reading that the trim tabs should be mounted 1/2 inch above the bottom of the boat ?? not flush with the bottom as that will cause alot of drag ?? any thoughts or clarification on this?? and by the way mine are flush with the bottom !! :sly:
Ok all.... i raised up the trim tabs...and got another 2 mph :banghead: but the boat was porposing..didnt do this when the tabs were down LOL But at 3600 rpms I was hitting 34MPH and 3600 was WOT ?? Im wondering if my pump needs an overhaul or if this ia a motor issue ?? The motor sounded strong didnt cut out at 3600 just wouldnt go any higher :sly:
I had it all the way down..then played with it awhile....it seemed worse when the rooster started to fly ! I just dont get the 3600 thats crazy... the pump seems to be fine I think its a carb issue maybe to small ?? what do you think ??
I believe its a Holley 600.....I may switch it out with a 850...maybe it needs more air ??
I think I am still leaning to a timing issue, either the cam timing or the total advance is not right. What is the initial timing + what have you got left in the distributor. To setup your mechanical advance you first need to disconnect your vacuum advance line. Next you should hook up a tach and timing light and see what your timing is set at. Watch the timing marks with the light. The reading at idle is your initial advance. Rev the motor up until the distributor stops advancing and note what speed it maxes out. This is your total advance. I think most BBC like about 10* initial and about another 20*-24* in the can. Most engines will have all timing in by 2,500 to 3,000 rpm.
If that does not work, I would drop the pan, pop off the timing cover and check how the cam timing is set up with a degree wheel, alot of work but...
p-jet
FYI Vacuum advances do not work on a boat engine, the motor wont make enough vacuum to pull it in, the load is too great.
You dont need to pull the timing cover to "check" the valve timing, all you need is a cam spec card, a degree wheel and a dial indicator. ;)
GT
Even vac. dists have a mechanical advance as well, because when you open the throttle vacuum goes to zero. Also, any performance mechanical dist will have modules or bushings to set up a specific advance.HOLY CRAP !! all I heard was wha wha wha ... LOL that was all greek to me.... I put that damn boat in the shop today...Im gonna pay out my ass but hopefully it will be good to go !!! This is from someone who is mechanically challenged ;D
true, but pull the timing cover to see if any cam sprocket eccentrics were installed...