2006 292 - New Top Speed
 

Amazing what a 25 mph tail wind, 1' chop and good air can do. Heading into the wind she would only do 69 mph. 28" pitch labbed Bravo 1's, 50 gallons of fuel and running solo. 290 hours on my stock 6.2's.

Prop slip calculates to 11%. Not bad!

Plus the cold air,they do love a tail wind.

Yes, it is surprising how much of a factor wind resistance plays with this style boat. The 292 is relatively tall and has the big windshield. The relative speed with the wind is 47 mph, against it is 94 mph. Probably one of the reasons it is difficult to get good speed increases with a given horsepower increase. Not to mention how heavy it is for what is really a 27' boat. But rough water handling is pretty darn good for a boat this size.

High 60's is great...low 70's is phenomenal...while riding like a cloud and solid as a rock.:evilb:

Great speed, especially with stock power!

Hopefully Sunday will be the same for me. Thought it's not supposed to be as windy as today, which is why I stayed on land today. Only it will be 2 people and a full tank of fuel. Plan to put 60-70 gallons in tomorrow before I head out. I'm down to about 25-30. Depending on weather might be the last time out for the season. Want to fill the tanks and add stabilzer. Even though I don't like to think about it, need to start prep for winter.

You leave fuel in yours?

Thanks. These 6.2's are running better than ever. Bought the boat new and I'm very anal with engine and drive maintenance. Change the oil every 25-35 hours along with the gear lube. Changed the plugs once a year ago. SmartCraft showed 2.2 mpg running 45-50 mph yesterday (with the wind of course!).:drink:

Yep, pulling mine out tomorrow, so it was nice to get out and burn some fuel. A bit early for me but my daughter has a lot of soccer during the weekends this time of year and I need to get the winterizing out of the way.

I know there are a lot of different opinions on the fuel issue, but I like to run it down low and add Stabil. Fill it up with fresh fuel the next season. To fog the engines I mix a small tank of fuel, two cycle oil, fuel system cleaner and some Stabil. Run the engines on the hose for about 10 minutes each with that mix.

Question about winterizing...
 

...on a side note to the thread, once you guys in cold parts of the country put one up for the winter...is that it until spring? If there just happens to be a warm stretch of days ...say in February...is it that big of a deal to pull your boat out for a few days then put it back up or is that just too much to fool with?

If you have a heated building to keep the boat in in I guess it wouldn't matter but keeping one out side would require going through the whole process.

Not to be an ass or anything but I've never had to do it because our water temp never goes below 70 .We can go out on just about any day that we aren't having too much wind.

Love a 292 BTW...seems to be a good fit for many types of conditions. They tear the Atlantic up in 3'~5' seas:evilb:

For me, that's it until spring. Even with a heated garage there would be a LOT of down time between any lucky warm days we may have. Wouldn't want to have the engines sitting that long not fogged. Plus the water around here gets hard deep into winter. Just part of boating around here having to sit out 4-5 months. Makes you appreciate it that much more, not to mention saving some gas money for the next season!:drink:

As for 3'-5's in my 292... Not sure how it would handle the ocean swells, but say Lake Erie 3'-5's would not be fun. Mine is the newer 292, so really a twin stepped 27' with a swim platform. Although, it is a great all around boat for the water I run in!

I do fill the tanks. Depends on who you talk to I guess. Some fill them up. Others leave um empty. I've always left them full and have never had a problem with water in the fuel. Boat has always turned right over. Never know what kind of winter it's gonna be. Temps vary a lot here in the NE. I know how much mositure I pull out the boat every year. I've heard and read stories and threads on both sides of this arguement, comes down to what you feel comfortable with. On really warm days I try to open the boat up to let it air/dry out.

As an added bonus come spring, I don't have to stop at the gas station on the way to the ramp, tanks already full.

I pull the batteries also and throw them on a maintainer during the winter. So when I'm done, I'm done till May. If I had a heated garage I probably wouldn't winterize, but don't have that luxary so...

I don't have one either,I think we should go up to Wall street and protest untill the government buys us each one.:lolhit:

Expensive date! that is the best quote out of all of them, while were at it I think the government should buy us all 353's lol. I was down in time square last night . what a bunch of idiots.

4mulafastech,
Are you the Formula that I always see sitting just off the islands by the Duck Club and Sharky's on the Mississippi River near Dardienne Slough?

4mula, I will try to match your numbers on my final run of the season tomorrow. the wind is starting to subside though, so I'll probably have to gut the cabin and cockpit, to accomplish that feat. Nice run!

Yes, that is the lower end of Island 521. Lot more sand with the recent dredging. Pics are from October 1.

I assume you are running the river, so what type of boat? Thanks.

I was wondering about cold weather prep....my brother has been doing it in North Alabama for years but just moved to Destin...so I guess he will be OK except on the coldest nights. He told me that most guys along the Northern Gulf Coast just put a drop cord light in the bilge if the temps go into the 20's for a few nights.

Also...confirm or debunk this story. I have heard that around Lake of the Ozarks...areas very near the shore...have a "micro climate" that at certain times in the dead of winter can be 20~30 degrees warmer than the adjacent surrounding area. The reason for this is the constant spring fed temperature of the lake. Any truth to this or is it just a myth?

I also pulled a new record for myself. 75 on gps with 2 people and 1/2 tank of gas. 2002 with 377,s 28 stock 4 blades.

Wow, that is a good run. Any mods to the engines? What rpm?
Thanks.

Don't know the answer to that question, but maybe some locals to LOTO can. The water I run in comes from way up north and will completely freeze over if cold enough. I think LOTO will freeze over too, which kind of debunks the micro climate theory.

great numbers

Motors are stock. I was pulling 5300 RPM.

Blue Motors?

Yep, bought last year with ony 71 hrs. Now 130 hrs.

Yep, bought last year with ony 71 hrs. Now 130 hrs. Love the boat with hydraulic steering. Added Bennet trim indicators this year.

Blue motors are nice,they did not make that many you very rarely see them for sale.

I looked for three years, and saw only three in that total time. Seen one more in an ad since I bought mine last spring. So pretty rare indeed.

What does the Smartcraft show from a fuel economy perspective under normal conditions (not so windy/ no current) when crusing at speeds 45-50 MPH ?

1.8 mpg average.

For some reason it only displays in .2 increments. So depending on conditions it shows 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0 mpg running those speeds.

BOZ251,

What Bennet indicator did you add? Can you post a pic?

we 71.2 mph today with full crew and fuel. i have multiple eyewitnesses. i would expect to see 73-74mph with less weight. pretty good numbers for a small block boat.

Sorry for the delay, I thought I recognized it from the pix. I have a '96 Checkmate 253 Convincor. I am always running around pool 26 and up by the islands every time my wife navigates. LOL.

We are usually just up from you on the island (enterprise??? I think) behind the rock dike.

I drool over your boat every time we go past it. My wife has gotten to the point where she says " I know baby, that is a beautiful boat". :ernaehrung004:

Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for you next season. What color is your Checkmate?

Mostly white with red and grey stripes. I'll holler at ya next time I see ya. May get out one more time this year, but work sucks.

Sorry I do not have a picture.They are BENNETT TPI-2000 they cost about $165.
Very easy to install, make sure to call Bennett for your correct ram length, they were alot of help.