V-king 175 Merc

[LSaupe]

Chine walk is just the nature of the beast (at about 60 MPH or so). Good discussions on the S&F website. Bottom line it is all about set-up and seat time. Luckily for me (or maybe not) I finally got my boat to stop chine walking by set-up alone. This does not help me learn to drive however. I had a real bad chine walk issue what helped the most was getting the boat balanced side to side when sitting static in the water. I did this by putting a trailer stick-on level on my dash and moving things around to have it sit level with me in the seat. Big weight move was the battery from the starboard to port side. One other huge item involved engine height and prop selection. Raising the engine mellowed out the chine walk and switching to the 4 blade finally made it go away. Along with this however, is solid engine mounts and a properly adjusted dual steering cable system.

Seat time involves proper timing of counter steering inputs (quick chops to the left). Many good info out there in the bass boat forums as well.

If you have not yet seen it here is a good video on the topic.

http://s88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/bigharry_2006/vids/?action=view&current=fullvideo1testversiondelete2.flv

More good stuff at (don't forget to look at the Blow Out section - possible dangerous behavior at 80 MPH)

http://www.kencook.net/Chinewalk.html

http://www.boatsetup.com/

[LSaupe]

Another good article at Aeromarine Research:

http://www.aeromarineresearch.com/publications/HB_Jan2008.html

[shellyisland]

Excellent resources and I would use them. There is also an article here on the YT hull and the reason for it's inception (new V6 power.) My simple answer: engine has to be raised i.e. jackplate. You are likely running 25p deep and you're going to "walk" every time.
Smaller pitch and/or four blade would be another possibility, as mentioned earlier. Tunnels run different than V's and you may be trimming out too far.
Good luck...our Valero O.B. has same color scheme as yours, only one I've seen :0)

[transomstand]

The Trophy is the best compromise, but it is still a compromise. To get the boat to perform to it's full potential, you'll need 2 props, and change back and forth for the situation.

[Alexjoz]

Thanks for the great information ! The motor is solid mounted. No Jack Plate. Actually, It's bolted directly to the transom ,as it came in 1988. I want to make some smart modifications/improvements to the boat, as time and budget permit.

[shellyisland]

Two props is good advice. I have two reasons why I don't switch out, Leisl and Leah...sometimes Freckles :0)
I was thinking, happens sometimes, you should have 5 mounting holes on your Merc? Can you raise it and bolt it back on the transom? Need around 2 inches below pad to start...how deep are you running now approximately? May be a quick, free improvement for this summer at least.

[Alexjoz]

Good call on the mounting holes. The Merc is mounted in the top mounting holes, meaning it can come up. It looks like it was mounted in the middle mounting holes at one time. I wonder why it was moved down ? Better for skiing ?
As far as props: I'm going to keep the Laser II 25p for skiing and such, but most of the time I'm riding on the lake solo or with one other passenger. Right now watching the tach at top speed the other day showed 6200 rpm (63-64mph). I'm thinking a 4-blade Trophy would be a good choice to start, from everyone's input. What pitch/size prop would get my rpm to the 5500-5800 rpm range? Thanks everyone for the help!
Very good articles on chine walk too! Got a little feel for it the other day. As it started to walk I was holding pressure against the steering wheel and varying that pressure on the wheel, kind of in opposite rhythm of the chine walk...

[LSaupe]

Probably of 26 or 27, using the large diameter (there are three sizes) ventilation plugs. However, your RPM vs speed does seem a bit high for your 25P. What are you running for a gear ratio? GPS for speed?

For my rig with the Trophy's I seem to see a shade under 300 RPM change for each inch of pitch variation.

Best bet though, is to find someone with a one and see if you can give it a try. Though I have bought and sold a few used ones without much problem so that could be an option.

[Alexjoz]

I have no idea what the gear ratio is on the motor. I looked through the manual to no avail, where can I find the information?
Speedo was checked against a GPS and it was pretty accurate, within a couple mph. I spoke with the original owner and he could get 63mph out of her, before it started walking.
As far as getting a prop to try, I really don't know anyone in the area who has one. I swear everyone is getting Pontoon Boats ! I'll probably try going the used route to find a prop. I'm going to measure later on today and see how deep I am running the prop now.

[hydrostream76]

To get the boat to perform to it's full potential, you'll need 2 props, and change back and forth for the situation.

that really is the best advice ....
it's also what i do, i have a 26 chopper
and a 19 pitch aluminum for skiing
also gives you a spare prop if something happens