Okay, the first two hours of the break-in have been completed. No problems with the Merc 115 Pro XS motor. Top end it turns about 5 grand and does about 37 mph. Ran the motor for an hour, fished for 3 hours, ran the motor for a second hour. No fish were caught or harmed. Bummer!
Anybody interested in lean? No? Well, here it is anyway. I started with the motor trimmed at the bottom. The boat was level until the rpm got to 3500. There was a very slight lean to port and the boat was trying to turn left. I countered by turning the steering to the right ever so slightly. When I pushed the rpm to 4500, the lean was major, and the boat was pulling HARD to the left. Scary lean. My passenger moved to the starboard side of the boat to try to balance the weight with some success, but not enough. The boat is still pulling hard to the left and required significant steering to the right to counter it.
Next, I started trimming the motor up and the boat leveled out and the pull to the left disappeared. The boat was running straight and level with the motor trimmed upwards from dead bottom to a point just below where the boat would porpoise if trimmed any higher.
When I retrieved the boat, I checked the small trim tab (Part 31640T07 - Trim Tab) position and it appears to be pointing straight back. It’s possible that pointing it more towards the starboard side of the motor might counteract the pull to the port with the motor trimmed all the way down. But it might also introduce some steering to the right with the motor trimmed up.
My lesson learned from the first 2 hours of running the boat is this: 1. With the boat motor trimmed to dead bottom, the boat will develop a major lean to the port at any rpm above 3500. 2. With rpm above 3500, the motor must be trimmed up to a point where the lean goes away.
Elevation may be a factor on what rpm causes lean for me as the elevation differences for me can vary about 3400 ft. My local lakes are 4200 ft MSL. One lake I fish occasionally is at 7600 ft MSL.
Li Time batteries were down about 15% after trolling for 3 hours and the Ulterra Quest set at 1.7 mph cruise. Prop speed varied between 4 and 7 due to wind. The Merc slowest speed at idle is about 2.6 mph. My crank battery never read below 12.7 with the Merc turned off. I’m thinking I should be okay with the 2 DRs and the Garmin Echomap running off the crank battery for now. More use of the DRs while fishing for trout and kokanee might dictate a swap to a separate battery for the sonar & DRs. More on that later as I gain experience with that. Well, that’s my report for the maiden voyage of my new Adventure Sport 1775; it’s definitely a keeper.
Anybody interested in lean? No? Well, here it is anyway. I started with the motor trimmed at the bottom. The boat was level until the rpm got to 3500. There was a very slight lean to port and the boat was trying to turn left. I countered by turning the steering to the right ever so slightly. When I pushed the rpm to 4500, the lean was major, and the boat was pulling HARD to the left. Scary lean. My passenger moved to the starboard side of the boat to try to balance the weight with some success, but not enough. The boat is still pulling hard to the left and required significant steering to the right to counter it.
Next, I started trimming the motor up and the boat leveled out and the pull to the left disappeared. The boat was running straight and level with the motor trimmed upwards from dead bottom to a point just below where the boat would porpoise if trimmed any higher.
When I retrieved the boat, I checked the small trim tab (Part 31640T07 - Trim Tab) position and it appears to be pointing straight back. It’s possible that pointing it more towards the starboard side of the motor might counteract the pull to the port with the motor trimmed all the way down. But it might also introduce some steering to the right with the motor trimmed up.
My lesson learned from the first 2 hours of running the boat is this: 1. With the boat motor trimmed to dead bottom, the boat will develop a major lean to the port at any rpm above 3500. 2. With rpm above 3500, the motor must be trimmed up to a point where the lean goes away.
Elevation may be a factor on what rpm causes lean for me as the elevation differences for me can vary about 3400 ft. My local lakes are 4200 ft MSL. One lake I fish occasionally is at 7600 ft MSL.
Li Time batteries were down about 15% after trolling for 3 hours and the Ulterra Quest set at 1.7 mph cruise. Prop speed varied between 4 and 7 due to wind. The Merc slowest speed at idle is about 2.6 mph. My crank battery never read below 12.7 with the Merc turned off. I’m thinking I should be okay with the 2 DRs and the Garmin Echomap running off the crank battery for now. More use of the DRs while fishing for trout and kokanee might dictate a swap to a separate battery for the sonar & DRs. More on that later as I gain experience with that. Well, that’s my report for the maiden voyage of my new Adventure Sport 1775; it’s definitely a keeper.
Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 83 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."
I'm 83 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."