Major Props to Stacey ! (no pun intended) Installed a -2 on my boat

[farmo83]

Major props to Stacey for the great work he did on my boat this offseason.

The owner of Schiada convinced me that to really get my boat to come to life I needed a -2 outdrive. I found a used sportmaster -2 and sent the boat to Stacey to get it installed along with some other TLC items the boat needed for it's 22nd year of service. Upon inspection Stacey saved me quite a bit of money by letting me know most of what I wanted changed out didn't need to be swapped out. With the much bigger water pickups on the sport master Stacey decided we should go with a mercruiser bypass valve to blow off any excess water pressure. Everything came out great on the project if I do say so myself. I tried to have the prop reworked to fit the new lower unit but when we went to test the boat it cavitated all over the place and we decided I needed either a 28P or a 30P. Patch and Stacey setup me to test out Patch's Fountain prop until we found out it was the wrong rotation. A long time family friend loaned me an old 28, a labbed 30, and a 32 to test out. The labbed 30 was the ticket. It blows out a smidge when the boat is rolling onto plane but after it's on plane it's ready to rumble. Full of fuel with me and Dad the boat ran 3 mph then it did on it's best day(cold, low fuel, I was skinny, only driver etc) and 6 mph better then it averaged under normal conditions. I still have to learn how to trim it out but I couldn't be happier with the upgrade and the work Stacey did!

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

Great guy for sure. He maintains our Fountain. Really knows his stuff. Glad you took it to him, he doesn't let them set around.

 

[Patchman]

Man that is great news, glad you found the magic combination! clap.gif clap.gif clap.gif

 

[73 Sanger Flat]

what did you guys do to the lower unit to improve it ?  I know very little about outdrives except how to tear them up .. I see a "S&J
custom outdrive sticker on it ..

 

[farmo83]

The lower unit in my boat was set very deep due to how its setup from the factory. The newer lower unit is 2 inches shorter. You can pick up speed by doing this as there is less drag and your raising the centerline thrust. The boat doesn’t plane out quite as well as it used to as the prop higher but I’m hoping I can learn to trim it out with tabs. The newer lower unit is much stronger as it has 1 ¼ shafts and upgraded gears vs the 1 inch shaft and standard gears.

As far as upgrades I had actually wanted to install hydraulic steering but that didn’t prove feasible as where it needs to mount is where my swim step brackets are. I might play around with that this winter. I also wanted my gimbal ring and bearing changed as I thought there was play in the ring but both ended up being find. The only other major upgrade was a complete fluke. Apparently someone who owned the boat before me upgraded the boat to XR gears over the standard gears. I had no idea.

 

[jimsplace]

I hope you keep us informed how the upgrades work.  It would seem the factory would have used a lower end that suited the boat and it's characteristics best overall needs.  Sometimes they don't though.
Is that 1" shaft usually a problem in the outdrive?  Is it because of the power, jumping out of the water or something else?  The only comparison I have is with our V-Drives that use 1" shafts and they seem to be good for 1200+ horsepower.
Glad you have it running for the summer.  I'm like the previous poster, except I probably know less about I/O's.
I just like to learn. think.gif 

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

I seen your boat in Stacy's shop. Beautiful.

 

[73 Sanger Flat]

Thanks for the info -- I know the shorter lower unit will help on the speed , less drag in the water .. Bigger shafts will handle more power and abuse .. You have a beautiful boat ..

The lower unit in my boat was set very deep due to how its setup from the factory. The newer lower unit is 2 inches shorter. You can pick up speed by doing this as there is less drag and your raising the centerline thrust. The boat doesn’t plane out quite as well as it used to as the prop higher but I’m hoping I can learn to trim it out with tabs. The newer lower unit is much stronger as it has 1 ¼ shafts and upgraded gears vs the 1 inch shaft and standard gears.

As far as upgrades I had actually wanted to install hydraulic steering but that didn’t prove feasible as where it needs to mount is where my swim step brackets are. I might play around with that this winter. I also wanted my gimbal ring and bearing changed as I thought there was play in the ring but both ended up being find. The only other major upgrade was a complete fluke. Apparently someone who owned the boat before me upgraded the boat to XR gears over the standard gears. I had no idea.

 

[FL350]

Thanks Justin! Glad to hear all the upgrades are doing well. Remember give us a call for all your upgrades, parts!