New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

I just bought a 1994 z240 talari and am very new to boating: I have a a few questions regarding it

1) how do you fill the fresh water tank for the shower on the back swim platform, I have looked in the owners manual I got when I purchased the boat but it doesn't show. manual is real generic

2) Is there any advantage other than the sound to having through haul exhaust. added performance? curious if it is worth installing

3) I have a 7.4 liter engine but the boat seems very sluggish off the start. I have a high 5 prop. I think I might need to install trim tabs. how much will this actually help?

4) I thought this boat would be a little faster than it is. maybe the spedometer is wrong. any techniques under 1k to improve the speed?

Re: New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

Welcome to the board, and congrats on your "new" boat!

Let me give you some quick answers to your questions.

1) If you have a freshwater holding tank, You should have a "water" fill somewhere along your boat. Otherwise the transom shower most likely pulls water from a thru-hull fitting under your boat.

2) This is a heavily debated topic all over the internet, and the most basic answer is, No. You'll most likely only gain 1mph. Search our forum, and you'll find many of us have looked into it, but then changed our minds when we found it it'd cost about $1800-$2000 to have it installed.

3) Have you had the engine checked out and tuned up by a Mercruiser service shop? Maybe it's time for new plugs & wires, or a carb tune up. Concerning the prop, drop by our "prop talk" and ask as many questions as you'd like. Those guys really know their stuff, and can help you out there. And trim tabs are more for helping level the boat out from side to side.

4) Nope, speed modifications on a boat are extremely expensive. The only thing under $1k is a prop switch. If you really want to improve your speed, you're going to be spending at least $7k for a supercharger, or an engine swap.

Re: New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

The fresh water fill on my 240 is in the starboard rear floor compartment. I think it is only a 3 gallon bladder. I have never used the on board supply.

Re: New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

4) Likely due to the prop. A 5 blade prop will give better hole shot and allow you to plane at lower speed at the expense of top end speed. How are you measuring speed? GPS would be the best way, the speedo on the dash may not be giving you an "accurate" reading

Re: New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

Our moderator (WetWilly) has a '96 version of that boat so i'm sure he will be able to answer most, if not all of your model specific questions.......once he finally rolls out of bed & puts the coffee pot on. ;)

Re: New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

Dang Mikey, your brutal and clairvoyant!!! :rolling_laugh:

Actually, I was responding to this thread about 13 hours ago until my connection dropped due to some issue at ComCast so I just went to bed :tongue_2:

About the prop, it sounds like wallball has a Bravo 1 where I have the Bravo 3 so I'm not going to be much help with the High Five... :(, but I do have my opinions and they're right in line with ShabahZ250 and Z202 posts, anyway.....


Hi wallball and welcome to the club!

Your poor takeoff could be from a few issues but I agree with our other members in that the motor is having a hard time turning the prop due to being over pitched or out of tune may be the main problems here.

Trim tabs are not the issue here or the solution, unless you have a weight balance issue. We have them and I only use them so I can reduce the planning speed once under way while trimming the outdrive for best MPG and to help balance the load when we are carrying weight. I find most of the time the outdrive trim works just fine.

As ShabahZ250 said, insure the motor is performing as it should, then put her in the water and with no more than two people aboard and a 1/4 tank of gas, run your boat up to top speed and recording the RPMs at WOT (Wide Open throttle). The 7.4L should be turning around 4200 - 4600 at WOT. Once we have some data to work with, then we can determine the best course of action.

Like Z 202, I suspect a lot of your issue is the High Five. He's right, it's designed for a faster holeshot by providing a better "bite" without ventilating but it may be over propped for your Z240. Again, without some more information, it's difficult to determine this.

WetWilly [/SIZE][/FONT]

Re: New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

with 2 people in the boat the rpm is reading 5200 at WOT, maybe the guage is wrong. I actually had the carborator replaced by the marina that sold me the boat.

I have my boat listed as a 1994 but looking at some of your pictures on this site my driving counsel doesn't look like the one 1994 I could find. Did they have different counsel choices? it looks most like a 1992 from the setup. I boat this from a mariah dealer should I be conerned or am I over reacting to this? This mariah dealer has left a lot to be desired.

Re: New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

Your hull identification # will give you the date of manufacture. See this thread: Hull Identification

5200rpm at WOT is too high. Should be in the 4400 to 4800rpm range.

Re: New to Boating, I have a few questions
 

thanks for the hull id, that is what I thought I am going to have the mechanic look at it because he said it should be 4600-5000 with 5000 being a little high but tolerable. I do have a 5 blade propeller on it which I think pushes this to the upper range. again thanks for your time and help, trying to work out all the kinks on a inland lake this summer before I move it to lake michigan next summer.