M220 engine choice

[boat406]

M220 with M6 @ 3000 ft had enough power with the standard prop. Boat was pretty loaded. 4 adults, 5 kids, minus 300-400 ballast and the boat plained out.  Next summer will mess with Speed / Surf prop to get the rpms down a bit during surfing. 

[Tjards]

Reporting back that boat worked well with an M6 at 5400'. Was running a 3311 prop 18x14. Boat had plenty of torque out of the hole and held surf speeds no problem. Had 4 adults, full tank of fuel, 650 Pnp and could run wedge all the way up to 5 and still hold 11.6 mph. Rpm would range from about 3400-3900 pending the surf speed and wedge position. Overall I was very impressed.

The only down fall I could find is that if wakeboarding was a primary focus it would not plane out fully sacked. I ended up draining about half the PNP and then it would get on plane no problem. Wakeboard wake is still plenty big even after draining some rear weight.

I will be spending some time on this boat down in southern Utah also this week and happy to report back. Thinking I might run a day on this prop and then swap to a 18x15.5 to see the difference.

 

[bigskydoc]

Appreciate the input. After thinking it over I decided to go with the LT4, and the 17x17 "speed prop."  

One of my big reasons for upgrading from my current boat is bringing down the RPM and overall noise level, and the LT4 in the M220 and M240 is just so damn pleasant. It purrs under load at our 3900 foot elevation. 

[Tjards]

On 9/4/2021 at 8:58 AM, bigskydoc said:

Appreciate the input. After thinking it over I decided to go with the LT4, and the 17x17 "speed prop."  

One of my big reasons for upgrading from my current boat is bringing down the RPM and overall noise level, and the LT4 in the M220 and M240 is just so damn pleasant. It purrs under load at our 3900 foot elevation. 

Great choice. I don't think anyone has ever complained of having too much power. That LT4 is a work of wonders.

[surf6250]

My M220 does fine on LakeTahoe with the M6 and high altitude prop.  I surf with the wedge set at 3  or 4, 11mph,  and the rpm is between 3400 and 3600 depending on how choppy the water is.  Yesterday I tried the wedge at 4 and 12 mph, throughout a great wake turning 3780 rpm.  I run it with 450LBS of lead and normally have 4 adults and 2 kids.  It was a little sluggish with 10 people and wake took a few seconds longer to form up. 

Now, my neighbor, beleave or not, bought M220 this summer to, with the LT4 motor and standard prop.  I surfed his boat at 11.6 mph with the wedge at 3 and the wake was very similar to mine.  He was turning 3400 rpm.  The biggest difference between the boats is, his is faster.  Smooth water I get 30 mph out mine, he gets 40 mph in choppy water.  Remember I do have high altitude prop and you loose 4 to 5 mph. I asked him about fuel burn.  He said, the burn was significantly more than his old boat, Malibu LXV 22 with standard motor.  My old boat was a Axis T22 with standard motor, and the burn is about the same as my M220.  This surprised me, I was expecting more pain at the pump with M220.  It just come down to money.  Unfortunately I do not have endless amounts of  cash, if I did I would be rocking the LT4.  This is a little late but I hope it helps