31 SXT Cat in my driveway (!) and needs different props
 

I just got the boat home - safely. Looks just like the pictures, which was surprising. You can see your reflection in the gel coat it is so shiny. Interior is the same quality. If this boat was new, it would be a 9.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. Being a 1995 model, it is a 12 on the same scale! I am taking it to Lake Tahoe tomorrow! It has bravo one 4 blade 28's on it and supposedly did 100 MPH in the pacific ocean. The owner of the boat seem to think that I would need 24's for 6250 ft elevation at Lake Tahoe and that it would do 92 mph at 5600 rpm. (Both motors have 600 hp - I have the dyno sheets.) How does someone figure this out? There must be a formula and slippage is involved too somewhere.... Should I go to the 24's or should I consider 26's? The drives are 1.36
( 1.38?). Also, any suggestion about where to find a complete storage cover that costs less than $1000?

No suggestions from anyone?

Rick, Congrats on the new boat. I usually boat in the Sacramento and delta area but I do get to Tahoe once or twice a year. The 24 pitch bravo props are probably a good choice and it it not unusual to loose 15 to 20 m.p.h. at Tahoe elevation even with the prop changes. I run blower motors and without pulley changes that compensate for the thin air, that is my result. If you are in the Sacramento area keep in touch and boat with us. Doug

i have never been to Tahoe but we are at about 900 ft here and when we head to the coast we pick up about 2 mph.
24s sound like a good starting point

BTW, looks good! very clean :drink:

What one did yopu get?
-Mike

Doug, I know that I will loose 3% HP for every 1000 ft in elevation change. Thats about 19%, or a loss of 114 HP PER MOTOR...! This means I will lose 228 HP at Tahoe. This really sucks... Oh well. But, I plan on boating in folsom and the Sac river as soon as it gets warm - several months from now! I have a foot of snow at my home now.... Also, how long does it take the sac to clear up of debris so you don't have to dodge log jams and trees floating down the river? I took my jet boat up a little past where the feather river comes in - was a great day on the water! But this boat is something else. I bet it hauls a** at sea level.

Would like to meet new people who boat!

Thanks! It is very clean, especially for a 1995. You would swear it is brand new until you looked very closely. Then, you would think it is only a couple of years old. The guy who sold it to me got real choked up when I was leaving... He really took great care of his baby!

I am very detail oriented too, it will be a challenge to not scratch this boat. I already left a small scratch on the bottom of the nose with the trailer and broke a trailer stringer (the bolts pulled through the wood from setting the boat directly on top of the stringer) the first time I used it.

1995 warlock 31 ft sxt cat

Thanks!

You would not think someone could go boating at Tahoe in December and see people skiing at Homewood in the background. I cannot seem to post the video - I am not that technically savvy. If someone can PM me I can send them the video... It is only about 20 secs from my son's Iphone.

Hey Rick

I'm glad you got out on the water..lots of rain here Sat nite..reports were for a lot of snow at Tahoe area...lol

Best bet is to post your video to youtube and then publish a link.

I don't like to go out in the Delta until after Memorial day..I've seen logs then if we have had heavy rain...

I go out of Bethel Island so downstream from Sac an hour or two by boat...too many 5's to do it too often...

My 28' is red also...

Lane

Rick, Our 1st outing will be Desert Storm at the end of April. Twelve hour drive but a cool poker run. Nice looking boat. I put a launch ramp in the pond on my property so I can work on my trailer when a trailer bunk is damaged. It makes any trailer repair much easier without a boat on the trailer. Doug

I went out on the last warm day (52 degrees at Tahoe, 62 at Reno) of the year. I have never been to Bethel Island but if its only an hour or two that would be great. Lets stay in touch. Being a newbie, what are too many 5's?

I never thought I would buy a red boat, and this one is RED! It even has red seats too.... There are black stripes on the boat and the upholstery. But, the color works. This was a huge step up from my last two boats and the price was very reasonable.

I got lucky with the trailer repair - I could get to the back stringer and was able to make a good repair. But, the front two stringers are only a couple of feet long and they hold up the nose - and it looks like the felt wore off on a small section and the wood scratched the gel coat - da*n! Not too big, but there are hardly any scratches on this boat. Next time I take the boat out I will bring some more of the "felt" or what ever it is and try to make a repair.

I read a little about the desert storm, can you give me some more info about it? Where is it? How do you participate? I have never been in a poker run so I would need to know the rules of it too - it does seem very simple. Pick up a card and see who wins at the end. No extra or wild cards for getting there first????:grinser010:

Good to have a pond on your property - any bass in it? My wife used to live in Antelope.

I went out on Sat, Dec 4th

Ah thought it was this weekend!

Too many (5's) five mile an hour zones from the delta to Sac especially on a 100+ deg day...

now have a video posted
 

here is the second video we took: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0raslZDuxjM

here is the first one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4bl0DQYNRc

Next time we will do a better job of making a video. Also, you can see that the boat's props are WAY TOO HIGH A PITCH for this elevation. It has 28's on it and needs 24's. Cannot wait to see what it will do at sea level...!

OK, makes sense! I have never gone downstream from Sac, I have always gone upstream. I have been in discovery bay, quite the incredible place. I was fishing on a dock for catfish at a brother in law's place next to where a float plane was parked and a yacht went by with people in their best attire dancing to music on it...! Looking forward to exploring the Sacramento. This boat can hold some fuel too... 160 gals. I should be able to go quite a ways in it. Isn't there a lot of places you can get fuel, drinks, etc that cater to the people on the Sac?

I just googled the 2010 Lake Havasu desert storm poker run.... What a bunch of *****en looking boats! Looks like a blast.

Get a small fold out chart at one of the local marinas so you don't get lost. Happens to me occasionally and I've been boating there 20+ years :). Finding premium fuel is a challenge.. I run that and a little race gas....assume you need it? http://www.korthsmarina.com/ has Shell and would probably be about 1/2 tank from Sac and a central location in the delta.

Garlic Brothers in Stockton another spot for premium...and good food.
Sam's in Tiburon is fun in the SF bay but wait til late summer/October or can be snotty.. and of course its salty.
You have a 160 gal tank cause you gonna need it :eek:

Thanks for the heads up! I have seen a map of the Sac before - if memory serves me its a maze.

The previous owner told me that this boat runs on regular, it has knock sensors, but I suspect that premium is the way to go. The 502 motors in this boat have oversize valves, a cam ( don't know the spec on it yet), and a whole lot of porting done to the heads and intake manifiold. But, it has stock compression for 1995 motors. He told me and I have receipts that Mercury replace two or three motors and the last one blowing oil everywhere. At that point he took it to Paul Phaff and he personally helped with the rebuild ( He was the customer service manager there). He said he has had no problems with the motors since the rebuilds in 1998.
He rebuilt the heads on both motors, replacing the valves and valve seats, keepers, cam followers, etc 20 hrs ago.

What about Lucas octane booster? I used to use it in my two stroke boat and it seemed to help a little - not at Tahoe though because - you can get away with lower octane fuel at high elevation.

I googled 2010 desert storm poker run and saw that this is one heck of an event at Havasu. Lots of people, tons of top end boats. Incredible. Watched videos for about an hour of boats, hot babes, and more boats!

Rick, Desert Storm is a great time. We go every year so if you would like keep in touch. The weather is usually a lot warmer than Northern Cal. On the prop search, a boater buddy of mine has some 24 bravos listed on OSO for a good price. His name is Rob and he lives in S. Cal. Do a search or call him at 951-204-8892. He has them listed for $550 plus freight which is a fair price and his stuff is nice. Hope this helps. Doug

Desert Storm looks like an incredible time! I will keep in touch. As to the props, Brett from BBlades is going to call me tomorrow. But, I will keep your tip in mind! I assume he is asking $550 ea...?

No, per pair. He just listed them on OSO last nite. The great thing about a bravo boat is the ability to trade props without spending a lot of money, unlike a #6 drive. You can usually buy props, try them and resell if they don't work out as you expected. Good luck. Doug

$550 for a pair seems like a screaming deal. I shall call him. I need counter rotating too. I will also call Brett.

I have looked every day and have not seen the two 24 pitch 4 blade bravo one props that Rob from So Calif has posted....

I have called Brett of BBlades 3 times with no return call. I wanted to talk to Brett first because I am more inclined to buy a new prop than a used one and am interested in lab finished if it isn't too expensive.

I called BBlades before Xmas, I'm sending some speedmaster props to them, and they stated that they would be shut down over the holidays. Brett probably would not be much help until you have some speeds vs. rpm numbers for him. Call Rob, he'll answer the phone, he's a nice guy. tell him I said hello. Doug

OK, will do!

Rick

I just talked to Rob - he sold the 24's last week but he has a pair of 22"s. From the numbers I have run, it looks like 24's will give me 5000 rpm and 22's about 5300 rpm. I need to talk to Brett....

With aftermarket camshaft 5K is a little low in my opinion for a BBC....I would shoot for 5500 or so.

It is my impression that if two 600 hp motors cannot reach their peak performance because of too tall of gearing then they are straining and could break.... If red line is 5600 and the rev limiter cuts in at 6000, then I would think the proper props would allow me to reach 5600, maybe even slightly more.

Here is the question - what prop should I use? Anyone know what the mathamatical formula is?

31 ft 7500 lb CAT with two 600hp CBB's in it with a possible 5600 rpm and a 1.36 ( 1.35 something like this) gearing.

Rick

Hey Rick

Griff graciously posted the calculator in your other thread...

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/p...e-props-2.html

0r

http://go-fast.com/Prop_Slip_Calculator.htm

With 1.35 and 28 pitch 5600 rpm yields theoretical 110mph applying 7% slip is actual 102 mph which is about what the previous owner indicated.

With 1.35 and 24 pitch 5600 rpm yields theoretical 94mph applying 7% slip yields actual 87mph.

Not sure what prop you should run but this should help you determine your speed if you can make 5600rpm at the lake.
I like to balance my cruising speed/RPM with WOT speed..

Rick, I have run my Jag from Garwoods to Emerald Bay wide open with the wrong props without any engine damage. I usually run between 5800 and 6000 rpms and had the boat propped wrong and could only make 5000 rpm. I threw a blade and had to use a back up set. The motors just react with the larger pitched props by running with less rpm's and maybe outside of the power curve and the result is less topend and slower acceleration, not engine damage. Try Rob's props and for the money they will be very close. Again, the nice thing about Bravo 1 props is they are cheap and easy to swap or trade. I still have some props for a bravo drive but they they are Mach's 4 blade and Mirage 3 blade, both L and R's that I would sell cheap, but I don't think they would fit your application. Good luck and I sure wish spring would get here. Call me if I can help. 916 539-2540. Doug

Couple things to note... Doug's engines are supercharged , therefore will make more torque when "lugged". Your N/A motors will have a harder time at the same rpms. These older hulls are not as efficient as newer ones and i bet your slip is higher than 7%. If your propshaft is deep enough to get that kinda slip, your top speed will likely suffer a bit. I've played with props and spacers so i know. The bottom of your boat is probably closer to our Jags, than say, an Eliminator which is alot more efficient. Hope this helps.

I bet the warlock hull is very close to the Eliminator hulls of the 1990's. It sure looks similar to my 1989 27' and has a center pod unlike our Jags. I agree that 7% slip is pretty optimistic. Doug

I am most interested in all around performance. I want to be able to hit 5600 rpm at what ever altitude I am at because everything I have been taught tells me that this is better for the motors than lugging them. Besides, its seat of the pants performance that counts, not top end - at least in my opinion!

The previous owner thought that 24 pitch props would give me 92 mph.... Once I get a GPS and new props I will find out!

QUOTE=27daytona;3286846]Rick, I have run my Jag from Garwoods to Emerald Bay wide open with the wrong props without any engine damage. I usually run between 5800 and 6000 rpms and had the boat propped wrong and could only make 5000 rpm. I threw a blade and had to use a back up set. The motors just react with the larger pitched props by running with less rpm's and maybe outside of the power curve and the result is less topend and slower acceleration, not engine damage. Try Rob's props and for the money they will be very close. Again, the nice thing about Bravo 1 props is they are cheap and easy to swap or trade. I still have some props for a bravo drive but they they are Mach's 4 blade and Mirage 3 blade, both L and R's that I would sell cheap, but I don't think they would fit your application. Good luck and I sure wish spring would get here. Call me if I can help. 916 539-2540. Doug[/QUOTE]

Doug, you have been a great help. Right now I am just going to wait for a warming trend and then do some work on the boat regarding checking/replacing the impellors and fixing the oil leak on the port drive. I also need to modify the cover because it has seats from Skater in it ( perfectly matched material and color to the rest of the interior too. ). I also need to find a way to do a little work on the bow trailer stringers.

Keep an eye on the weather at Folsom and lets go there when it hits 70 - 75 degrees! You can call me too at: 775 287-8458 cell

My son just went to Vegas and bought a 2003 Crownline 266 with a 496 and triple axle trailer for $14,500.... Its parked in my driveway covered with snow... Nice family boat.

Rick

I agree, my slippage numbers are typically at 15%, but I have been as low as 11% when the conditions are perfect.