what up peps, I am new to this so bare with me. I am in the process of having my 84 242 LS completely overhauled. New everything (wiring, stereo, custom amp mounts, custom cooler to replace sink and self drain, new interior, new exterior, gauges), basicially a new boat in a classic shell. A fried of mine Adam Shook with Shook Marine in Bucyrus, Ohio is doing the majority of the work. Dave with XT Inovations did an amazing job with the interior work. I am going from an old/very tired original 260 HP motor with a gen 1, 1.47 drive ratio alpah one. I was spinning a 15" rev 4 prop. I am keeping the alpha one for expense reasons, I have upgraded to a 350 Mag MPI, 325 HP Mercruiser engine. Can anyone help me with where I should begin to start with prop test, I am guessing a 19" to 21" pitch. Also, any ideas of top end with this set up? I was currrently hitting 39 mph top end. I am hoping to get up to at least 50 mph.

Thanks for your help
Matt
Huron, Ohio

I think you will be very close 50 with that power, the alpha will be fine with this set up.You will have a nice ride with a lot less headaches.

Any idea what a set of bolsters would cost at XT innovations. there work looks great.

Matt,

Check out this thread on 242 speeds.

Not a lot of single 350s, but a couple on there.

Good luck!

I am unsure, but ask for Dave, here is the link to his site, he's a buddy of mine and will take care of you.
http://xt-innovations.com/

When I had my small block 350 in the boat the prop that ran the best for top speed was a 21p mirage plus pushed the boat to 52 mph... It was slow out of the hole but preformed well.. The prop that performed best with a full load and people was the 19p mirage plus came out of the hole quick and cruised well but lost a little on the top end...

I had a '87 242 SS with a 350 mag, with a 19 Mirage Plus I was around 4200 RPMs if I remember right and with a full heavy load the boat would not plane off. By heavy load I mean 5 people, 2 of them were BIG! You have more power than the standard mag. I would think a 19 would be right. The 454 boat came with a 21, even though its the same HP rating it has more torque than your 350.

What was the difference between the 242LS and 242SS as far as specs that would effect performance and prop selection in this case? Is the LS and the SS an apples to apples comparison?

In a word....nothing!

I have both. They are both mono hulls with hooks. The only difference in these boats is the configuration of the top caps. The bottom hulls are the exact same.