New owner-ballast/engine issues

[hunter77ah]

Hey guys, I'm new to the crew and new to v-drives in general. Recently purchased an '06 VLX with the 4 bag ballast and the PWedge. Just took it out for the second time yesterday and was having some issues with getting on plane as well as power issues. We had 5 people in the boat with the rear and mid tanks full with the front about 1/2 full and the Pwedge all the way down. Everyone was sitting in the middle of the boat as it was slightly raining out. Additionally, I am 99% sure we have a stock prop-Acme 537.

Two questions.

1) How do I get a good wake out of the stock set up? For some reason I have yet to get wake with a decent pop out of it. I usually do not have any issues behind other people's boats but I can't seem to get my boat dialed in. Any suggestions?

2) For some reason the boat had issues getting the boarder out of the water. I know that all of the people in the back of the boat will cause a bit longer to plane, but it seemed like the boat was really struggling to get going and the power seemed to cut out on turns. While it did not happen yesterday, I had an issue the first week where the boat seemed to be running really rich (black dark exhaust fumes). Anyone else have this problem?

I am currently at a loss as to what to do. I was super excited to get a new (to me) boat but have been disappointed so far. Not sure where to go from here.

Any help will be awesome.

[srab]

LCR or Monsoon engine? With stock ballast and only 5 peeps, I wouldn't expect a struggle with the 537.

How old is the gas in that tank, and was it stabilized prior to winter storage?

Edited July 3, 2013 by srab

[hunter77ah]

LCR or Monsoon engine? With stock ballast and only 5 peeps, I wouldn't expect a struggle with the 537.

How old is the gas in that tank, and was it stabilized prior to winter storage?

Monsoon 340. I put about 20 gallons of 89 octane in it before going out yesterday.

Once again, I appreciate all the help. The "Crew" here is awesome. So many helpful people with so much experience.

Edited July 3, 2013 by hunter77ah

[JAXONBOATS]

dont get discouraged, you bought a wicked good boat

start with launching without any ballast to ensure the engine performance is not in question

if the engine is in questions a simple $100 for plugs, cap rotor, fuel filter all easy to do and that takes the engine out of the equasion- sounds like the fuel concern has been taken care of.

check to make sure your hull is not filling up with water, I say that because we sprung a cooling hose once and with 4 tanks full and 2 900lbs sacs in the back the boat would not get up on plane. Check to ensure the tanks are filling the tanks and that one of the hoses is not filling up the boat.

Prop should be fine unless maybe you are at an elevated altitude say a mile high, then maybe the 12 series wheel

The boat will perform with 9 people. full ballast, wedge down with a wicked wave

[hunter77ah]

Changed the plugs, did some other maint. (including checking the pump lines) seems to be running great now.... Must have just been an off day. I was pulling a heavier rider than usual. I plan to change the fuel filter and oil this week.

If I can only get this wake dialed in now

Any suggestions for a really poppy wake? Speed, ballast settings, wedge?

I have been riding full ballast, no wedge, 21.8mph. Only driver and spotter in the boat.

Thanks!