Top Speed w/537 Prop

[BSUBU_Kris]

I only get about 38mph top end with the 537 prop (13.5x16). I have a 2010 Wakesetter 23 LSV with the Monsoon engine. Just got the boat in December and have only had it out a few times. I now have about 13 hours on it so I wanted to see what the top speed was. This top speed was today, 69 degrees outside, 64 degree water temperature, sea level, only me in the boat, tanks empty and about 1/2 tank of fuel.

The boat has a really good hole shot and no problem reaching 5200 rpm at WOT. The speedo is only showing 38 mph at WOT. This seems really slow to me as I will be close to WOT while slalom skiing. Is this what others are getting with this setup? I did check the prop after I pulled the boat out today to make sure that the prop on the boat is the 537.

I can get by with a lot less hole shot and would like to be able to get a more reasonable top end, say 43-44mph. The boat has no problem at all hitting 5,200 rpm which I believe it the redline for the 350HP Monsoon.

I should have tested the speedo with my GPS but forgot while I was out on the water. Maybe it is just a speedo calibration issue?

For the math folks what speed will a 13.5 x16 prop push a boat at 5200 rpm?

For those of you that have the same set up I would like to know what top end speed you are getting and at WOT what rpm you are seeing with this prop. I would also be interested in speeds with other props as I might end up switching props.

Thanks,

Kris

[Lance B. Johnson]

I would check with GPS before anything else....

Edited May 8, 2011 by Ruffdog

[Wake My Day]

Did you have a look at the RPM at cruising speed. Say around 30 miles per hour. I would be curious of that number. My ACME 381 does about 30 mph at 3000 rpm with my hammer head motor.

Thanks

[BSUBU_Kris]

My speedo says 38 mph at 5,200 rpm.

[Wake My Day]

Hey Kris I read that in your last post. I was woundering what your cruising RPM is. Becasue our boats aren't the best planing hull, I notice even with my boat, from 3000 rpm to WOT (around 5300rpm) I only see about 10 to 12 miles per hour increase from my 30 miles and hour cruising speed at 3000rpm. If you let me know what your 537 gives you at cruise we might be able to shed some light.

My ACME 381 is 13.5 x 17.5, great cruising prop, however with my 1100's and the wedge, she has a heavy a**.

ACME 1939; my new prop. 14 x 15.5, I lost about 1 to 2 mph but gained quite a bit of jump or hole shot.

Quite a few BU owners are quite happy with the fusion 532 which is a 14.25 x 14.5. It is a delicate balance between prop diameter and pitch. If you are not worried about hole shot or loading full of ballast pick a small diameter prop that has a high pitch. You will have the best chance to go faster but suffer on hole shot.

Edited May 8, 2011 by Wake My Day

[chadwick02]

I would check with GPS before anything else....

[Wake My Day]

Check out this link. It calculates speed based on prop pitch, gear ratio and rpm. I believe that our vdrive wakesetters are a 1.5 to 1 gear ratio.

Marine Prop Calculator

Here is a direct link for calculating the slip of your prop

Slip Calculator

Here are two formula's for you.

Edited May 8, 2011 by Wake My Day

[Ndawg12]

A buddy of mine has an 07 23LSV and can easily go over 40mph. I GPS'ed my vRide at 47 and 5250 rpm. Both with the 537 and Monsoon 340hp, your Monsoon should be 350 hp, and fwiw it sounds like thats the prop you need because it's a good all-purpose prop since you bought a 23' wakeboard boat and also mentioned slalom skiing behind it. You need to check it with GPS and probably re-calibrate......was the water fairly smooth and no current, is your wedge in the up position? Did you pull the anchor?

Edited May 8, 2011 by Ndawg12

[BSUBU_Kris]

Interesting calculator on the boat speed based on rpm and pitch. Without any slip the formula would give us 1 mph for every 100 rpms with the 13.5 x 16 prop, so at 5300 rpm you would get 53 mph in a perfectly efficient system.

Forgot to mention I also have the cut diamond hull which in theory would be a little more effecient on plane as it should have a little more lift. The water was smooth where I checked it and there was some current but I ran both directions with about the same speed which would make sense with a paddle wheel. When I try the GPS I will do the same and average the speed.

Has anyone here found their speedo to be off by 6 mph or more from the factory?

This is going to really bug me until I can get the boat back in the water.

Thanks,

Kris

[Wake My Day]

Hey Kris, I had problems with my paddle wheel and speedo. Never really knew what my speed was. I also felt that my malibu speed control let me down when wakeboarding. Certainly when we cornering pulling a boarder. I read a post about converting my paddle wheel to gps. I took the plunge and wow what a difference. Consistant speeds when wakeboarding, the ability to make minor adjustments when surfing. Great success with this product. And the best part, the speed posted on the gauge is the right and exact speed. Have a look at the website.

Rob

Convert Paddle Wheel to GPS

[Fman]

Hey Kris, I had problems with my paddle wheel and speedo. Never really knew what my speed was. I also felt that my malibu speed control let me down when wakeboarding. Certainly when we cornering pulling a boarder. I read a post about converting my paddle wheel to gps. I took the plunge and wow what a difference. Consistant speeds when wakeboarding, the ability to make minor adjustments when surfing. Great success with this product. And the best part, the speed posted on the gauge is the right and exact speed. Have a look at the website.

Rob

Convert Paddle Wheel to GPS

Rob,

Is that GPS conversion a plug 'n play? how difficult to install? what brand did you go with? does it then activate the GPS feature on the Maliview? that looks like a great setup, assuming it would work with a 2011... there site only has 2010 listed.

Edited May 8, 2011 by Fman

[thtrog]

Like it has been suggested, check your speed with GPS before coming to any conclusions. I have driven a boat from the factory where the speedo was off closer to 8 mph.

[Wake My Day]

Rob,

Is that GPS conversion a plug 'n play? how difficult to install? what brand did you go with? does it then activate the GPS feature on the Maliview? that looks like a great setup, assuming it would work with a 2011... there site only has 2010 listed.

Fman: What's truly great about this device is that it is totally plug n play. My plugs are under my dash, so all I did was unplug the cable from the paddle wheel wire and plug in the module. Install took about 30 seconds. I ran my GPS sending and recieve unit on my fore deck and that was it. Whats really neat is if the key is on when we pull the boat from the launch to the tarp up area the speedo reads this as we are moving.

As far as brand. I chose the cheaper Swift version. It reads twice as fast as the garmen. Meaning its twice as accurate. I contacted the company about this and they stated that the garmin was more expensive for them to buy, but they said the swift works well and it does.

The device is very simple. It basically just replaces your paddle wheel and temp sensor. Meaning, the new gps interpets speed and sends this signal down the wire, the same as the paddle wheel. The maliview sees signal coming from this cable and displays it. The maliview or my Malibu speed control doesn't know that the speed is not coming from a paddle wheel, it just sees signal. I would give them a call about the 2011. Im sure it will work, but double check. There has always been an issue with gps signal speed in rivers with currents.

Rob

[board brained]

A buddy of mine has an 07 23LSV and can easily go over 40mph. I GPS'ed my vRide at 47 and 5250 rpm. Both with the 537 and Monsoon 340hp, your Monsoon should be 350 hp, and fwiw it sounds like thats the prop you need because it's a good all-purpose prop since you bought a 23' wakeboard boat and also mentioned slalom skiing behind it. You need to check it with GPS and probably re-calibrate......was the water fairly smooth and no current, is your wedge in the up position? Did you pull the anchor?

47? what prop do you have? and when fully loaded what is your hole shot like?

I can get about 43 out of mine, but the hole shot is not the best. I just ordered a 1235 for it as i have a ton of ballast in it now. so was thinking I would loos 2 to 3 mph top end.

[BSUBU_Kris]

The GPS would be good on a lake. On the CA Delta there is almost always a current so the paddle wheel is really the best option. Makes me feel better to here that someone else had the speedo off from the factory. I will quit worrying about it until I can get back out with the GPS.

Kris

[old skool malibu]

47? what prop do you have? and when fully loaded what is your hole shot like?

I can get about 43 out of mine, but the hole shot is not the best. I just ordered a 1235 for it as i have a ton of ballast in it now. so was thinking I would loos 2 to 3 mph top end.

I have a 1235 on my 09 VTX cut diamond and 38-39mph is top end.

[Fman]

Fman: What's truly great about this device is that it is totally plug n play. My plugs are under my dash, so all I did was unplug the cable from the paddle wheel wire and plug in the module. Install took about 30 seconds. I ran my GPS sending and recieve unit on my fore deck and that was it. Whats really neat is if the key is on when we pull the boat from the launch to the tarp up area the speedo reads this as we are moving.

As far as brand. I chose the cheaper Swift version. It reads twice as fast as the garmen. Meaning its twice as accurate. I contacted the company about this and they stated that the garmin was more expensive for them to buy, but they said the swift works well and it does.

The device is very simple. It basically just replaces your paddle wheel and temp sensor. Meaning, the new gps interpets speed and sends this signal down the wire, the same as the paddle wheel. The maliview sees signal coming from this cable and displays it. The maliview or my Malibu speed control doesn't know that the speed is not coming from a paddle wheel, it just sees signal. I would give them a call about the 2011. Im sure it will work, but double check. There has always been an issue with gps signal speed in rivers with currents.

Rob

Thanks for the feedback, so far my paddlewheel seems to be holding the speed pretty good.... usually within 1/4 MPH +/-, but if it starts to become an issue I will look into the GPS. I never visit the Delta, pretty much 100% freshwater lakes, so it would work well for my application. I guess you could always leave the paddlewheel hooked up and switch the connections if you ever took the boat out to the Delta or Sacramento river.

[Bobby Light]

I have a 1235 on my 09 VTX cut diamond and 38-39mph is top end.

yeah I was gonna say expect to lose closer to 5 mph off the top end going to the 1235.