1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Gentleman -

Just spent the day in my new (to me) 30 Spectre (2000 model) with twin 300 Promax's. What a blast!!!!!!!!!!! I love it already.

One question.......Spinning 14.5 X 32 Merc Lab Cleavers, full tanks of fuel and four adults in the boat, running into a 10-15 MPH headwind, the boat ran 90 MPH on GPS. That was the best run of the day. Freshwater lake and probably one foot whitecaps. The other wide open runs, running with the wind, crosswinds, etc... all gave speeds of 85-88 MPH. I didn't touch the trim at all. There was a red line (tape by previous owner) on the trim gauge, which is where I left it.

Forgot to mention, with the tunnel tab down, it got out of the hole easily. Someone had mentioned that the tunnel tab did nothing for holeshot, but it sure made a different with mine today. No bow rise and minimal cavitation.

Anyway, does this sound about right? I think I'm hitting the limiters, because I could pull back a 1/2 inch on "the sticks" and the boat actually picked up 1-2 MPH. I guess I was expecting speeds in the 95-100 MPH range?

I'm going to be buying a new set of props and use these as a spare. Recommendations? I'm thinking either 15 X 34 or 14.5 X 34 Merc Cleavers.

Thanks.

Mike Sufka
St. Cloud, MN

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

I run 32x15 cleavers on a 24ft Liberator cat with 99 300 Promaxs. It runs 106-108. You should'nt be on the limiters. I always use 15's. They slip less. If you go to 34's, it will be a turd. What's your rpm? You may want to go to 15x30's. Good Luck

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

are they 300x's or promax's. on my 30 spectre with 300X's spinning 15x32's NO TAB 6400 rpms ran 107.4...im now running 14 1/2 x 30's at 6700rpms at 102

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

you should raise the tab up once on plane

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

with my 14 1/2's im on the limiters

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Forgot to mention, RPM was ~ 6100-6200 on the tachs. The boat ran up to about 85 MPH pretty easily, but after that, it seemed to hit the wall. Go bigger or go smaller? Like I said, it seemed to get out of the hole easily with all that weight, thats why I thought I could go bigger?

Mike

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Your slip %is around 20......thats really high. Not sure if those props are in bad shape, but you should be around 12% or so. Under 10% is really good. I would try another set of 32's to see if its your props.....I also think 15x32's 3 blades would be better props.

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

with my 15x32 labbed 3 blades 5000rpms puts me at 80 on the button, with my 14 1/2 x 30's @ 5000 rpms im at like 75-76 mph

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Just a thought, but could my motors be too high? Before someone asks, I don't know where they're at. How high should they be?

Mike

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

in my opinion if they were to high it would be difficult to plane and would blow out as well...my PROP SHAFT CENTERS are 1 5/8's of an inch above the hull...

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

I would guess they are too low...if I was sure the props were right. The more gear case in the water....the more slip you will have. What kind of psi are you seeing??

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

did you say you didnt trim it up???

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

the best thing you could do would be to contact Jay at Spectre give him your hull number and he'll be more then happy to go over everything ith you. or find someone around you that knows the boats. i have no tab on mine, come on plane with engines fully tucked with no problem, and only trim up approx 2 notches...4 notches is neutral so my boat isnt being trimmed much at all...dont go and start buying props yet, make sure engine heights are correct, toe is correct etc before ya go spending money. if it comes to props i have a brand new VIRGIN unlabbed 15x32 and a labbed 15x32 that i'd be happy to sell ya if my boat sells.

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Does anyone have Jay at Spectre's phone number? Is Jay the original owner/designer of Spectre boats? Does he still own it?

Mike

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Spectre 727-573-2213 in St. PEtersbug, FL.

Julie

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Engine height and props are the problem. 14.5 is too small. 15x32 Mercury Labs is about right. Make sure you get Lab props. Gearcases may too low since the rpms are low and slip is high. Slip ratio 21%+ is way too high. You are on the right track to getting it right.

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

i like the way the 14 1/2 x 30's feel on mine less strain on plane and mid range is better but i also have 300x's...unsure if he has plain 300's or x's. the 15x32's were a better top end prop but could only spin them to 63-6350 rpm's with the 14.5's in the chop i'll tap on the limiters occasionally...

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

I've got the 300 Promax, NOT the 300X.

I've got a call in to Jay at Spectre. Hopefully, he can get me on the right track.

Any other ideas?

Mike

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

never trim a cat above ... level with the bottom.....or ELSE your going to get hurt.....

Otto

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Another thought I just had, the boat was always ran in Salt Water. I'm wondering if I should tuck the motors down more? Would that get them to hook up better?

Anyone know the rev limiter on 300 Promax's?

Mike

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

6200...
my old boat (98 30' with Promax's) in cool weather would hit the limiters turning 15X32's. You will find that boat to be extremely weight sensitive...throw two of the passengers over board and half of that fuel and you'll be running 95+
Two weekends ago in Lake Havasu my 30' was out being demo'ed for the buyer, ran 93.5 on the GPS at 6K with full tanks and 3 adults...went back out, leaving the heaviest one on the beach and hit the limiter on both sides...best #'s the boat ever ran was 103 with two adults and light on fuel.

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Vegas30Cat -

Thanks for the info. This may be more tricky to drive than I thought. I just assumed I could jump in under any conditions and run 95+ MPH. I also didn't realize that weight would be an issue.

Maybe 90 MPH sounds about right with four adults and full tanks of fuel? Again, the props were 14.5 X 32 Lab Cleavers spinning 6100 per side.

Mike

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

been right where you are a couple of years ago...had to learn the hard way. Promax's are much different than the 300X's...more torque, less RPM. On mine, 15X32's was the only choice, 14.5's did not work right. The 30 is so much different than a lot of other boats, it likes to be trimmed up and let fly. Boat reacts very quickly and is a blast to drive once you learn what its capable of. I currently have a 36' with 6's and 900SC's, driving this is completely different. I currently run a lot higher top speed but the 30' was a lot of fun to drive.

Re: 1st Drive........New 30 Spectre
 

Hey Mark -

Thanks for the phone consultation today. You gave me a lot of good information.

Thanks again.

Mike