04' 36 Spectre ?'s
 

I was wondering if anybody had any info on the 36 that Peir 57 has for sale, it has 525's with ITS, and it apears that it has no notch in transom, I think it was a test boat for MERC, what kind of speeds does the 525 produce with this set up?
I was also wanting someone to break down what people mean by these have a tendency to hop a little.
Thanks

It was the Mercury Lake X test "mule" for the 700SCI/NXT package.

The Stylin raceboat is notchless too. Handled horrible with the #6 drives, we sent it back and had it filled. Now its great. You should see around 110 daily and maybe 115 witht he conditions just right.

so define "handled horrible" so did it elliminate any of the midrange hop?

It hopped all over the place. Granted thi swas a race boat with a huge ballast tank big power and #6 drives. Now it hops a little bit from 85 to 100 every else its smooth.
Pic

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o.../Style20PP.jpg

so is there a difference in hoping vs porpoising?

Not really.

so how does this thing handle v.s a skater in the rough, i know its no skater but does it hold its own in the slop

Stlin is layed up pretty heavy and has a tunnel tab and ballast tank. That being said we did race a 36 Skater first in C Class then in p1. Somedays the Skater would win somedays we would. Granted neither Skater was a new boat, but I think in real roigyh water the old Spectre would do just fine.

There is a big difference in this boat with the #6 vs the bravo. The notch was filled in on the #6 boat to give the boat some more running surface to help carry the extra weight. To be honest, the boats that I have seen with the notch filled in running bravos don't seem to run as good as the boats with out the notch. I think 110-112 is about all you will see on a good day with the 525s. If the drive centers are tight, maybe you will see more but If I remember correctly 110 was about the norm for 500 and 525 boats. do you know what ratio drives are on the boat?

good question, i do not know the ratios

500 efi is rated at 470 at prop. 525 is 525 at prop and i hear they are often actually putting out more. I was curious how they run with 525's also but had assumed they would run close to as fast as the 575's which are rated at 550/prop. Any one here own or have run a standard poker edition with the notch and 525's? I am seriously considering this setup.

it really comes down the the ratio and prop selection. the majority of boats left the factory with 1.36 ratio and 34 bravo 1 props. The norm for those boats was in th 110-112 range. Regardless of the hp of the motors, if they turn the same RPM and run the same prop and ratio, the speeds will be pretty much the same. i am not saying that it wasn't possible to run faster, I am just giving the numbers that most of the boats ran. Zipp Express was the exception running 116, but it didn't do that on a regular basis. that number took 36" props and almost no fuel.

If it helps...

my set up is a 2003 36' PR, 650's, 1.36 ratio, 34P Bravo props, 200 hours on the motors. notched transom, ran a best of 118 gps. Motors are getting refreshed this winter and we'll try for 120 next summer.

Jeff

are you running the MDG 650's? what rpm are you seeing?

obrien is right,36 pleasure with 500s and bravos would just touch 110 on a calm day. With the 750s in it now it will run low 120s.

Props for 1.50 Ratio 500 EFI??
 

I have a 2001 Spectre 36 Poker Run with basically stock 500EFI. The previous owner claims to have adjusted the REV limiter, to allow greater speeds, however I am not 100% sure. My boat has 1.5 ratios, and with Bravo One 34's I am running over 6000 RPM's, and I have never heard the rev limiter. I am at about 97 mph with the Bravo 1's 34p, @ 6000 RPM, but not yet wide open (I don't want to twist it that hard). With Hydromotives 33c P5 x's, I am at about 5700 RPM and 103 mph at WOT. Could I run a Bravo 36p and keep the same top speed (maybe better), but yet bring my RPM's down? The 500EFI's say 5200 RPM max. Is it safe to pull more? Any prop better at controling the mid-range porpoise? Can I pull a Bravo One 36p and still get on plane ok? I really love the Hydromotive props as they have much less vibration, and plane without any cavitation, but for all around use I would prefer to run the cheaper Bravo Ones. Any advice would be appreciated!

I'd think at 6,000 rpm's your already (twisting it hard) for a 500efi.

I think you are correct.....6000RPM is too much. Previous owner told me "no problem", but he was selling, and wanted to give the 34 Bravo 1 props away with the boat, rather than his labbed finished 36 P props, that he claimed "were not his". Does anybody have one of these boats with the 1.5 ratio and 500 EFI. I would like a little info before I start ordering props. Is it possible to pull a 34 pitch Hydromotive PX 5 blade and still come on plane easily? Or would the 36 P Bravo One be the best all around choice?

All the 36 spectres we set up would run 34 pitch bravo 1 1.36 ratio,the 34 bravo seamed to handle the best and settle the boat in easier,with the mdg 650 would we see around 120 at 6000rpm.tons of throttle response,some i ran labbed some stock,i would set your boat up with 1.35 ratio,34 pitch bravo,should run 110 on a good day at around 5300-5400rpm,that is if your motors are still in good shape and not too tired

My motors have 260 hours on them. Compresion is good, within 6% from best to worst cylinder.
Most of my boating is done on smaller water, with lots of boat traffic, so top speed is not a huge issue. My boat is 1.50 ratio, so I was wondering if I could effectively pull a 36 P Bravo One prop for the times I would like more top speed? With the 34 P Bravos my RPM is way too high.....past 6000 rpms if I pushed it. I really dont want to change the ratio at this time. My Hydromotive 33 P5 X's currently run me to 104 mph at 5800 RPMs on fairly flat water. I think it is possible to hit 110mph with 34 P5 X's at a lower RPM (5300-5400???), but I wonder how I will come out of the hole/plane. I really hate to struggle planning, just to get a better top end.
It seems that most of these boats have 1.36 ratios, and maybe that is what I should go to, but at this time I would rather just swap props........? Anybody have any experience with 1.50 ratios in their 36 Spectre PR?

something doesn't seem right with your combo. You should be running in the 105 range at about 5200 with your set up. either your tachs are way off, gear ratio is not right or the props are not 34's. only other thing is you could be over trimming the boat.

The props are stamped on the barrel 34's, and the numbers match Mercury part numbers for 34's. They were on the boat when I purchased it recently. They could have been tweaked, or something.....I don't know for sure. They Hydromotive props are brand new. I know they have not been altered. Both tach's read even with each other, but maybe they could be off as well. It just seems with the 34's on, that the boat is really reving up, that I think the 6000 rpms is accurate....or close. With the hydromotives WOT is 5500-5800 at 103-104mph....definately not as many RPM's as the Bravo 34's. The side of my drives are stamped 1.5 ratio......however they could have been changed......I have not had them apart to verify the internals. I was just thinking that maybe a set of Bravo 36 would be the ticket to 110 mph at resonable RPM's. I currently have NO trouble planning with either of my current sets of props....even with me easing into the throttles. The 34's will blow out if I am not gentle, but really no issue getting up and going. Now if I could just get rid of some of that mid range porpoise.............!

With a pair of 1.36 drives and 36" bravo props Zipp express ran 114-115 with 500 efi's. But those driver had tighter centers than your boat most likely has. When you get a chance, measure your drive centers, and then also take a straight edge from your running surface to the drive and measure how high that prop shaft is above the running surface. Zipp ran the best at 1.5", but the majority of the boats that went out were in the 1" range. If possible see if you can get your tach's checked for accuracy. The easiest way to determine your drive ratio would be to rotate the input of the drive until you get one full rotation on the prop shaft. Its possible that the drives could have been rebuilt with the wrong ratio. I would also have the props put on a pitch block just to verify what they really are. Most of the Bravo 1 props that I have seen measure about 2" less pitch then what they are stamped. (unless they are labbed)