V Drive Boat Mastercraft

[Jkobe Peoples]

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1) How much is the boat supposed to vibrate? When I look in the rearview

mirror, the objects in the mirror shake a good bit.2) Is the boat supposed to pull to the right?

Experts, please respond as I don't even have any friends who know anything

about tournament ski boats. I sick of fooling with this mechanical

stuff. All I want to do is ski!Thanks,R.Lacey

ps. please post here because my e-mail is broken too

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You should not have very much vibration in your boat.

A light buzz at speed that you can just feel with bare feet

on the floor is all that should be present.

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You may have a bad recon prop, try another.

Or the shaft may still be out of spec.

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Try riding in another boat (same model) and compare.

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About the pull, it's a workaround for a poorly designed steering

system and you will need it if you run the course.

-- (Delta Charley)

You might be a hacker if, you try to alter the

sound files on AOL loaded computers to say:

"YOU'VE GOT WELCOME, BYE-GOOD". :-)

Its rare that a shaft can be strightened enough to be re-used and

not have some vibration. Use a dial-indicator on the taper of the

shaft with the prop removed. If it is more than .003 out...get a

new shaft.Next check for proper alignment of the engine.....again no more

than .003 tolerance between trans coupler and prop shaft coupler

You can use a "feeler gauge" to accomplish thisMake sure you have a good prop rebuild. After doing the above

put another prop on the boat and see how it works....then put

your old prop on and if your shaft is good and your alignment is

good ....You should be good to go!!!While your doing this also check your "strut bearing" for wear. Also

direct drives are very easy to work on but should still be repaired

by somebody that understands direct drives....not an auto mech or

a stern drive mech.All Master Crafts pull right. That along with the "Hook" in the back

of the boat help make them track better in the course. If you don't

need that good of tracking you can grind a bevel on the TRAILING

LEFT EDGE of the rudder and make the boat steer more neutral.

Grind a little at a time until you get the desired affect. Good Luck

TJSSKIER

Cal Correct Craft.

I had the same problem on my '89 Nautique after a buddy clipped a rock in

shallow water. As the other posts have mentioned, it could be the shaft,

prop or coupler. My advice, start working on these items one-by-one,

starting with the prop and using the process of elimination to identify

which of these items is the source of your problems. Also, make sure

you're dealing with someone who knows how to straighten props, or even go

with a new on right off the bat. It took three trips to the shop to get

our prop back to straight, in the interim we replaced the shaft and the

coupler. If we had made sure the prop was repaired properly the first

time, maybe we could have avoided replacing the shaft, etc.

Would be nice if someone considered revisiting the floorplan layout of DD inboard boats. I would bet people would be fairly accepting of a DD ski tug that had a less obtrusive engine format. Maybe a transmission that had a few degrees of downturn on the output shaft so the engine could sit flatter in the hull and a dry sump. Sat a bit flatter - revisit the exhaust manifolds/intake to try to reduce the profile and slam the engine down in the hull to have the engine cover be smaller/flatter.

@gt2003 it depends. My vtx does not have the optional center pylon but you can ski off either the pop up or center. The center pylon is supposed to be "better" but then you are back to the limitation on where your passengers can sit as it makes the back seat useless when you have a skier out.

I have skied the X2 and it isn't awful, but its not a slalom course boat, appreciable bounce off the wakes - and for lighter/smaller skiers there is pronounced trough on both sides of the wakes. This makes it light years better than the 19' deep V runabout I learned to ski behind.

The simple physics is that the two hull designs are at odds - ski hulls are flatish with features to try to keep them shallow running and low displacement and surf hulls you want to settle in and displace when weighted - but with the right weight - and with a suck gate most any hull will throw a surfable wake.

We have a 2008 VTX. Skis well for a v-drive and surfs really well for a small boat if you weight it down a bit. I have a friend with an 2004 response and at our line lengths and 32-34 mph I am hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. Response seams a little narrower but a tad more firm. Honestly after a crossing or two you don't even think about it. Slower than 32 mph and the VTX wake is noticeably bigger.

See the pics bellow. The ski wake is at 34 mph. The surf wave is with about 2200 lbs ballast (all easily hidden in the boat) and just the driver. The surfer is about 5'10" for scale. Its a nice powerful fun wave to ride when you are to tired to ski anymore and there is still a bit of daylight.

We have a 2008 VTX. Skies very nice for a v drive at 32 mph and up, bellow that the wake gets large fast. I have a friend with an 04 response and at the line lengths and speeds we ski you are really hard pressed to tell the difference. response wake is a little narrower but also a little more firm.

Surfing is impressive for a small boat if you add a bit of weight. the pic bellow is of the wave with 2200 lbs ballast (all easily hidden in the boat) and just the driver in the boat. Surfer is 5'10" for reference. Its a fun powerful wave thats fun to surf when your legs are too tired to ski and there is still some daylight left.

I primarily ski a TT 197 these days, but spent the bulk of the past 16 years behind a diamond-hulled Malibu VLX. It's a 2001 which Malibu folks will argue back and forth may even be better than the VTX/20LSV.

From 15-28, the wake is definitely larger on the VLX, but it's softer than the TT. The disruption factor to my ski is honestly about the same or maybe only slightly more pronounced on the V. At 32 off I couldn't tell you blindfolded which was which. I don't ski any shorter than that regularly.

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Late 90's early 2Ks Malibu Echelon/Response open bow; late 90s Mastercraft Sportstar (watch out for the 90s vintage ProStars since some of them had chine issue and needed to be retrofitted with wings); Ski Nautique open bow (SNOB). The Malibus of the late 90's are likely the best bet but construction is better in the SNOB.

@Arctic Slalom- Models to target given slalom is a priority: 91-94 MC Prostar, '96+ TSC1/2 hull SNOB (Nautique) and of course Malibu Echelon and Response LX. All have excellent slalom wakes, no wood and are direct drive. The Malibu's will be Chevy powered and the others most likely Ford powered and all a mix of EFI, TBI or carb. Nautiques use RHR props, the other two LHR, not a big issue but makes driving just a bit different. Best barefooting hull of the three is the Malibu if he is interested in that.

Malibu open bows are the most useable and roomy and just my opinion the interiors are better layouts, the 'bubblebutt' Nautique is a fine slalom machine but the transom configuration is slightly annoying to sit and have ski on platform. Quality level of the Nautique is top notch but the fuel system can be a bit of a maintenance issue. On his Malibu search one thing to look for is a soft floor by the port side engine box and the condition of the HDS box (if it has one). Look for loose pylons in all, but the MC seems more prone to that.

Honestly on the EFI vs Carb question, I wouldn't be nervous at all about a Carb'd boat. If the carb is in good shape and properly adjusted you won't have any issues. Honestly a carb is simpler, and based on my experience just as reliable in a boat.

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