Starcraft 210 Fishmaster Yamaha F 200 Performance issues Need Advice.

[Trorun]

I have a brand new  210 StarCraft Fishmaster with a Yamaha F 200 on the back.  I have two notable issues with the boat. The boat upon getting up on plane will list to port considerably.  Can offset the list by having weight and passengers shift to Starboard side but it I have never experienced this on any of my Arimas with similar hp motors.  The motor has a Yamaha Reliance SDS prop with a 14.25 inch diameter and 17 pitch. The motor is mounted on the second hole and antiventilation plate is approximately 1 inch above the bottom of the boat.   Other observations include, when trying to trim up,  the prop seems to lose its grip on the water or blow out prior to getting any appreciable bow lift and I can not get the bow up to even experience any porpoising.   There are three trolling motor AGM batteries up in the bow and a Terrova 112 bow mount trolling motor. .   A lot of information here but Need someone with the same boat to compare experiences.  thanks in advance for any input. Performance 5300 rpms 33mph gps

Edited July 22, 2016 by Trorun

[muskie magnet]

Sounds like motor deff. needs to go down 1 or 2 holes...this might not fix the problem though. I had this happen on my 19 ft tracker with a 150 on it...the hull was warped. Take the boat back to the dealer and have someone go for a test ride with you..tell them to fix it or keep it..don't mess around them..be polite , off coarse . When its fixed have them go back out for a test ride before you take it back.

Edited September 25, 2015 by muskie magnet

[Ivan]

Could have something to do with what hole the motor is mounted on.  I'd guess it has more to do with your prop.  I think a prop with more cupping creates more bow lift.  I'd also guess you might want a 19 pitch prop.

 

Have you used this?

http://www.yamahapropselector.com/propSelector/web/

Edited September 25, 2015 by Ivan

[Gill-T]

You might want to invest in trim tabs

[muskie magnet]

I have a 20 ft Lund Tyee with a 200 merc on it...does 45 mph with 2 people and gear..no need for tabs, that motor needs to come down I'm thinking, then a 19 prop also. Funny they sell you a new boat and not have all this stuff dialed in ..must not sell a lot of them in that configuration or they would know exactly what to do with mounting and pitch. Congrats...looks like a great boat !

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Good advice. This should not be your headache. If you dont get satisfaction from dealer contact Starcraft. It's not just a performance issue but a safety/liability issue. Mention that to your dealer or manufacturer and watch the action come.

I have a 20 ft Lund Tyee with a 200 merc on it...does 45 mph with 2 people and gear..no need for tabs, that motor needs to come down I'm thinking, then a 19 prop also. Funny they sell you a new boat and not have all this stuff dialed in ..must not sell a lot of them in that configuration or they would know exactly what to do with mounting and pitch. Congrats...looks like a great boat !

[PhlyanPan]

Where is the antiventilation plate relative to the surface of the water flow at cruise?

[Trorun]

Thanks for all of the advice guys. Boat was taken to the dealer, and Starcraft has also been notified and said that between them and the dealer they would figure it out. It was driving me nuts. Nice stable boat to troll from and fish from but getting to and from was really frustrating. Again thanks for the help and I will post with the info as soon as they figure it out.

[Iceman]

Tor;

It would be nice to know who did this to you, so others could avoid it.

John

[Trorun]

I'm not ready to throw the dealership under the bus yet. They have been very responsive a d have committed to make it right. I will wait on passing judgement. It appears that this was a Starcraft prerig

[walleyehunter]

Sounds like the prop/motor holes for sure. As for Trim tabs, I run a 196 fishmaster and several of my

Buddies do too, after fishing on my boat with tabs they are all putting a set on. The tabs really smooth out the ride and keep the hull from pounding when it gets choppy. Also the tabs really help when the boat leans to one side or the other when running. Even with 3 big batteries in the bow, it still picks up and slaps when it's choppy, lower the tabs and let that huge bow slice through the chop.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Trorun]

Thanks walleye hunter. I'm looking at tabs as well, once I can get the bow up wit the right motor setup then the tabs will work for the rest. What tabs did you put on yours. I'm looking at the Leno brand right now.

[walleyehunter]

I have the bennetts 9x9. They came on the boat when I bought it used. I highly Recommend getting the lighted switch to see what position they are in.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Trorun]

thanks I will look into them.

 

bill

[BAZOOKAJOE]

Heard you need a 4 blade Mercury stainless prop for that boat and motor

[K Gonefishin]

Starcrafts love tempests props. 19 most likely

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Trorun]

The boat was finally tested. Water tested with only him on board and he could not get it to list to port, got about 37 mph top speed and said the rpms were about where they should be at 5600. Suggested that I did not trim the boat properly. I was a little disappointed in his analysis to say the least and have over 40 years of experience on the water so I hope his last statement was in error. So I will go to Starcraft next. In the mean time I thought I would test the waters here again as your advice and recommendations have always been welcome. The boat does seem very sensitive to shifts in weight while running. The boat seems very stable when at rest or trolling speeds. When perfectly balanced on the water at rest and powering up it will lean to port significantly .

I think the prop needs to be reassessed for performance once the boat is again fully loaded with average load and passengers. Trim tabs, as suggested by you guys, will probably make a world of difference when running and solve most of the listing problems. Top end speed seems to be slow for an aluminum boat with 200 hp Yamaha but they say a lot has to do with the hull design. I used to get over 35 mph with a 21 Arima glass boat that weighed several hundred pounds more than this Starcraft and that was with a 115hp Yamaha. The current prop is a 14.25 diameter with a 17pitch. Please provide me with any suggestions you may have. Especially those that are running Fishmasters on the lake.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Trorun

[muskie magnet]

Well, That's disappointing. Last time I had my Lund 1950 Tyee out I got 48 mph with 2 guys and gear with a 200hp Merc EFI . 19 pitch stainless steel prop. , just seems very slow to me and doesn't sound like he did anything to solve your problem..you should've went on the test ride with him, with 2 guys and gear your right back where you started. Like I said, I went through this with my Tracker and you need to go out with them and talk about it on the water ! Good Luck!

[mudflat]

Here's a Yamaha performance bulletin for a F200 on a STX2050, closest I could find to your boat using the same prop

 

http://yamahaoutboards.com/sites/default/files/bulletins/STA_STX2050_F200XB_2014-06-10_ALM.pdf

 

While your boat is a little bigger and heavier than the STX2050 it's pretty close. I would expect similar performance numbers just a little lower 

[skipper19]

That boat should hit minimum 45 mph trimmed out. The mounting position is to high. That causes the bow to plow water, not good for speed or handling. Cavitation plate trimmed down on max should be below the hull running surface unless on an extention bracket. Once it is lowered you should only have to use trim tabs to adjust list due to loading or wind. All bow height or porpoise reduction should come from a good range of trim. Got a engine hoist?...do it yourself and save the agravation of someone telling you its your operator error. The dealer is not even on the bus!

If I'm wrong you can put it back to original and I'll jump off the bus...but slow down a little first!

Mark

Got thinking a little more on this. The dealer should be willing to at least loan a different pitch prop for testing. Also about the height. The anti ventilation plate should be running on top of the clean flow from the hull and create it's own small undisturbed wake and rooster tail. This indicates good positive down pressure under the plate while on plane. This is a trial and error thing that requires 2 people to do while testing. Stainless props can slip if the motor is too high because they grab more water than aluminum. I think to start with height, be sure the plate is at least even with the hull bottom visually in the level plane of the hull and plate by adjustments to trim. You could use a yard stick or something straight edge to determine if the motor is too high. Be careful to not be so high that the motor could overheat. Too low and you get excess drag and loose speed. It's one of those things of trial and error. Testing is key after each change. Don't do more than one at a time before testing to eliminate one problem at a time.

Edited December 17, 2015 by skipper19

[Ivan]

Man...I feel bad for you.  That boat should have way better performance than what you are getting.  Your dealer obviously doesn't know how to rig that boat and to insult someone that just purchased a brand new rig from them is inexcusable in my opinion.

 

I would get your mounting hole and prop correct before you worry about trim tabs.  Don't let the trim tabs be a band-aid.  Get everything else performing correctly first. The boat should get up on plane, stay straight, and be much faster than it is just with the correct prop and motor height.  After that, trim tabs will make it even better for hull pounding/slapping.

 

From stuff I have seen on other sites, seems Starcraft Fishmasters like 3 Blade Tempest props (somebody may have told you that earlier here).

 

Maybe try calling these guys and see what prop and hole mount they recommend for your set up.  I hear they rig lots of Fishmasters and they sell Yamahas.  http://vicsboats.com/

[Andre wallyandre]

The STX 20150 is 19deg. at the transom, the 196 is 19 and the Fishmaster 210 is 15deg. that makes a huge difference specially on speed and getting on plane. The more the V the more you need lift and power; and the 210 is 1" narrower.

[Trorun]

Thanks guys. Great information. Mudflat I agree performance data I agree should be similar to what you posted. I agree with you muskiemagnet as well. My buddy runs a 20 ft lund and gets high 40s out of his 150 Yamaha. And skipper I checked the cavitation plate before bringing t to the dealer and it was about 1.5 inches above the point of the hull bottom when trimmed all the way down. From your suggestion it should go down that distance to start with. Thanks again guys, some day I hope to pay you all back.

[muskiedreams]

I assume you have gone through the break in period and followed the break in instructions since the motor will probably not give peak performance until broken in.

 

I looked at the operator's manual for my Evinrude 15HP 4 stroke that I use for a kicker. In the installation instructions, it says that the anti-ventilation plate must be no higher than the boat's bottom and no lower than 2" below it when the angle is parallel with the bottom of the boat. i found the operator manual for your motor online but it doesn't go into any detail on mounting. I did do a little more research and found that it may vary depending on the boat and motor.

 

Here is a You Tube link  to a video where a guy was trying different heights and aluminum vs ss prop with a Yamaha 90 hp. In that you can see that the anti-ventilation plate is a little above the bottom of the hull. But it may depend on the hull or how flat the hull is at the transom and how high the hull is in the water when it is on plane. There is a few other You Tube videos there that you might want to look at.

 

So changing the height may or may not make a difference. Doing it takes some time and you will probably have to reseal the bolt holes. It seems like Starcraft should already know what the optimum setup is for that motor on that boat including height and prop. Especially if is normally equipped at the factory that way. A good question might be: What motor is this boat normally equipped with from the factory? OR: How many of these boats have they shipped with this motor? (since there might be choices available). I would think that they have already done the testing to determine the best setup if it is a standard configuration. If so, they should be able to tell you the standard motor mounting specifications and what prop it should be equipped with so you can verify that it is all correct on your boat. I wonder if adding the bow mount and deep cycle batteries would have an effect on it but I wouldn't think it would make that much difference.

 

Maybe it would make sense to try a 19 pitch prop. It would be easy enough to try. If the boat gets on plane real quick with the 17 pitch, that may be an indication that the 19 pitch would be more suitable. If it seems to be having a hard time getting traction at first or right after it planes out, maybe that would be an indication that the motor needs to be lowered.

[plecos4sale]

I have the same boat and my max is 40mph.

I to thank you all for the info here

Steve