Skater 30 / Ilmor Indy Upgrade

[NASCAT]

Made the roundtrip to Skater Thurs & Fri. Boat looked great, Trevor & Paul did a nice job w/ the rigging throughout.

I attached the sea trial log that was completed by Skater. Back to back testing was difficult due to weather, water conditions and the fact that often they were forced to test at the local lake which is small so they run out of room. I think they got it close now the rest is up to me.

Upon my return to Charlotte I splashed her locally & ran 128 on the boxes w/ the same 37's & 132 w/ the same 39's 100-150 rpm shy of the limiter. The speed differential was 4mph between the 2 sets of props just like Trevor saw but he achieved 2 mph more w/ each setup as well as had a co-pilot. My guess is Trevor's vast seat time behind the wheels of many Skaters allows him to jump right in & go whereas I figured I might ought to sneak up on it first time out. To be honest I had no clue what to expect since I'd never piloted a #6 style prop boat before & most of my rides were in Vee hulls.

The 37's have wicked rollon acceleration, the 39's about what I had before. Both got on plane w/ ease. I didn't really mess w/ the trim & tab once on plane since I was still getting comfortable w/ the new feel. Still has a hop possibly more than before but I didn't try to adjust it out, more so drove thru it since I was making top speed passes. Boat pretty much takes a set at 100mph then it's on rails. Props broke free a time or two in the slop but when they bite again they instantly propel the boat forward unlike the round ear props that just sort of bogged down once they were loaded. Boat was very responsive to trim as I trimmed the drives out to level. I really like the L.E.D. indicator display, they're very easy to read.

The trannies & drives are sweet, they shift like butter & overall low speed manuverability is excellent. Now I see how the guys w/ the 40' + boats manuever w/ confidence in tight docking situations. Currently throwing a dual rooster tail since the props are spinning out. It appears that the new package has added approx 250lbs to my overall boat weight.

Hope to get out again this weekend w/ a co-pilot where we can make several passes documenting speed, rpm & trim etc. Trevor has it dialed in close I just need to get some more seat time experimenting to see what it likes best so I can commit to a set of props. My guess is I'll end up w/ about the same Top Speed as I had before w/ the bravo setup (135mph) but much better useable acceleration.

[NASCAT]

A few pics of the p/u at Skater, the return to Chlt & initial splashdown. Hope to get a few running shots this weekend.

[FastDonzi]

Thats Great Michael, That setup should really make some fun uneventful performance boating (Three words that usually Don't go together ) That should last season after season, Enjoy

[Batgirl]

Micheal,
Wow, thanks for sharing this. Great pics and details. The boat looks great. I think you will really enjoy the new set-up without any problems. Are you taking her out this weekend? I will keep my eyes and and ears open if you go by my house. Now's a good time, its seems the Lake is a lot less crowded after Labor Day and if you get out early you can have it to yourself. Good luck and I am looking forward to seeing the new set up. I always have like that boat.
BG XO

[NASCAT]

Thanks BG, I'm very pleased w/ the reliability I've gained w/ this package. With a little dialing in I think I'll have an awesome package.

I'm sure I'll be out & about at some point this weekend. More than likely Sunday.

[Batgirl]

I have a wedding to go to on Sat, but I will look for you on Sunday. I live up on the Vinny's end of the Lake. Do you plan on doing the KW Run?

[NASCAT]

I was up there all afternoon Sat docked at a buddies house. He lives dead ahead as you come that way before you make the turn right towards the bridge. Large green roof over his boat slip.

If I get her dialed in & can assemble a crew yes I'd like to make KW.

[Batgirl]

There is plenty of time to dial her in, and I don't think assembling a crew for Key West will be a problem...

[Bobcat]

Bring it to KW, I just want to hear those Ilmors run.

[NASCAT]

Having the opportunity to run the boat w/ Ben Robertson was an invaluable learning experience & I appreciate him making the 3hr trek to Charlotte to share his expertise as well as lend a helping hand.

We went thru 4 sets of props, added ballast but didn't end up installing the spacers. After seeing the boat in person & taking some measurements Ben agreed that we didn't want to go down & if at all possible maybe even up. At the moment that option isn't possible.

The Hering 16.5 x 37's 18deg 5blade SCL props ran best. They accelerate hard & topped out at 130mph 2 on board 1/2 full of fuel. The 39 SCL's will give me 4 or 5mph on top but they don't accelerate anywhere near as well as the 37's. I could split the difference w/ a set of 38 SCL's but my boat really likes the set of 37's I have & much like a set of race tires some sets perform different than others even though they are all the same.

I'd like to thank Ben & Jeff at Hering Propellers for their customer support throughout the test & tune process. They have been very supportive accommodating all of Skaters & my testing needs requests. I couldn't ask for any better service from Hering.

In summary I see my current set up as having gained reliability, docking maneuverability & awesome acceleration at the expense of 5 mph & maybe a little fuel efficiency over my previous setup. Reliability was my #1 goal & the assumption was I'd lose a few mph spinning a trans, larger drive & props. Depending on ones personal preference one could opt to give up on the acceleration side maintaining or possibly increasing their current top speed. Thats pretty impressive & says alot for the efficiency of the overall Indy package given the fact that there's substancially more rotating weight to spin w/ the exact same HP.