2004 ProStar 197 TT Hull Tuning - if a radical solution worked it would be cheaper than trading up.

[eleeski]

I'm not sure what you are looking for. If you enjoy tinkering, slap on a trim tab and play with it. Great project!

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the boat's slalom wake at any speed that will prevent you from improving. I have coached so many people through PBs behind my 2004 and 2011 Mastercrafts at varying speeds and rope lengths to prove that claim. Lots of college kids learned with me (enough to earn me an AWSA Coach of the Year award) so my insight is valid. The wake will not hold you back.

 

Fear of the wake or buying into the herd mentality that there is something wrong with your boat will hold back your skiing. The difference between boats is minor, especially comparing a light setup at home to a 3 crew full gas tournament setup. Training behind that MC might actually be an advantage in tournaments.

 

Coaching is a way better value than swapping boats or modifying your boat.

 

The trick wake, wakeboard wake and surf wake are also great for having fun. Don't lose sight of your family and friends.

 

If you just want to ski, go ski.

 

Eric

[GregHind]

If the goal is to meet IWWF and AWSA boat rules and have a great wake at all speeds and line lengths (like the hydrogate does) that is a massive engineering task. If you are happy to choose between the stock wake and a great wake at YOUR speed only (probably ok for a range of line lengths but probably not perfect for every single speed and length then you should be able to get a plate to do that. I.e plate up stock wake. Plate down your wake is great but maybe not 36mph.

 

I’ve skied behind an Australian ski boat that was crap without a plate and with a plate was awesome.

 

https://teamtalk.mastercraft.com/showthread.php?t=79540

 

The plate will push the nose down and increase drag but that extra boat in the water not just the plate by itself will increase lift and make the wake smaller.

[GregHind]

You may or may not work it out though.

[swbca]

@GregHind Have you skied behind other boats with something similar to the CC Hydrogate ?

 

The CC hull as a tunnel down the center that is about 9"Wide x 1"High. The gate blocks the end of the tunnel at the transom. Most other boats don't have the tunnel, but I don't know if that makes a binary difference. The owner of this boat is an engineer who believes the hydrogate's impact is primarily related to its position relative to the prop. The tunnel is secondary.

 

It would be easy to mount a plate on the transom with multiple sets of holes (like a plate mounted ski boot) so it could be adjusted up and down.

 

Back to the question . . have you skied behind boats other than Correct Craft with a similar plate ? The guys who ski behind this boat are 35 off skiers at 32mph and 36mph. They say the gate down position is a huge improvement for slalom.

 

[jpwhit]

It's because of the tunnel, the hydrogate directs the water coming down the tunnel downward and lifts the rear of the boat.

[elr]

Hydrogate is an elegant way of adding hook to the tunnel.

[swbca]

@elr @jpwhit The Prostar doesn't have the tunnel but it does have the hull scooped out to yield to the cone of high pressure behind the prop. The ProStar already has a small hook behind that scoop, but it might interesting to see if an extension to the hook behind the prop would change it from a good trick wake to a good slalom wake. (ie the CC Hydrogate function)

 

I agree with my engineer and owner of the CC, who says Hydrogate performance has much more to do with the prop than the tunnel.

 

I will report back with the results of some testing.

 

 

[elr]

Purpose of the hydrogate/tunnel was to improve trick on a great slalom hull. The prop didn’t change.

[swbca]

@elr I was referring to the hydrogate's proximity to the prop. Not the prop

[elr]

I think the least expensive way for you to effectively train for tournaments is a ZO CC 196 or ZO Centurion Carbon Pro. Proper speed control and great slower speed wakes.

[LeonL]

What @elr said concerning Hydrogate. Previous iteration of CC 196 had the "hook" molded in to improve slalom, but it hurt the trick wake. In order to please both groups the Hydrogate was installed on the next hull generation. There is an old thread that @Jody_Seal gives an excellent explanation of the revision. Still doesn't help your situation. See @eleeski comment.

[Alberto Soares]

I tried that on a 2010 LXI Malibu, it did not work, I got the best wake taking off all weight I could from the stern and adding 80 pounds into the bow.

 

 

[GregHind]

@swbca Where is your battery located? Have you tried temporarily removing stuff from the rear of the boat? Seat, boarding platform anything you can

I’ve never skied behind a correct craft they are fairly rare in Australia.

I spoke at length to a very good ski boat designer about 8 years ago about this. He said to try a fixed hydrogate style setup on my boat. I think he said to sicaflex it on for testing at these speeds. From memory have it stick down 15mm. I’d probably brace it back to the boarding platform brackets

 

If you go with a plate make sure it has channels on it so the water can’t escape out the sides, that force it to run down a tunnel. I.e either bend the side edges down or fit some angle along the side that sticks down say 20mm

 

I think this kind of thing is fun but you have to be prepared to fiddle. I have an outboard and fitted a plate between the hull and motor but ended up removing the 6” set back jacking plate and have not cut and shut it yet to fit again. But I will. It helped a lot.

 

The hydrogate turns the water down and provides lift like the hook does.

 

The further back the plate goes the more leverage it has. Wide obviously helps too. A small amount of negative attitude of the plate helps a lot. You may want to remove the hull hook to make the most of the setup

 

The plate makes a big difference to an X14V. I’d have to look if the x14v has hook in it. If it doesn’t then I’m not sure if the hook would disrupt the water going over a plate too much.

 

Two friends had Australian built boats with horrible slalom wakes. One fitted a plate and it was amazing. The other realised if he left all his ski gear in the nose of the boat Kneeboard, skis, boom bar the works and ran with very little fuel (rear tank) it made a huge difference. Both were really good after that

 

All good fun to play with this stuff!

[Broussard]

Buy a Ski Nautique 196 with ZO

[dvskier]

@Broussard Absolutely! The best choice.

[Ed_Johnson]

Any comments on the Red 2002 MC TT wake.... My neighbor is looking for a low hour one.

We owned a 2001 that was terrible.

 

 

[Yannis]

I have a MC ProStar 190 TT year 2004 engine 6.0L trans1.5:1 prop OJ 4B 13.7X17.5 and Z/O. The best boat ever for tricks, powerful but very proportional and accurate tow for slalom with normal wake at 32-34-36. Needs more attention for driving it dead straight in the slalom course with aggressive skier behind and Sure Path measurement. Gas consumption is lower from other ski boats .

With half tank gas, 50lbs weight at the end of the bow and 80lbs ballast behind passenger seat there’s less wake at slalom speed the steering wheel is heavier and more gas consumption.

 

 

[Alberto Soares]

The 190 is a great boat for slalom, the only problem is skiing short line with wind, it throws a lot of water at the skiers face.

[Broussard]

@Alberto Soares He is talking about a 2004 190 (same hull as the 197) not a 1994!

[swbca]

@GregHind You commented on a CC Hydrogate type setup added to your boat but you didn't say what boat you have (what is your boat ?)

 

Then you commented several times on a "plate". I think your were talking about something similar to a large trim tab with channels centered on the transom making a positive difference on a few boats ? Am I reading your post correctly ?

[Deanoski]

take the boat off the trailer and put a 196 on it problem solved inexpensive fix

[dvskier]

No doubt he’d be very happy with the SN 196. I am.

[Alberto Soares]

PM @Bruce_Butterfield, I think he has a great 6.0 ZO 196 ready to go.

[DW]

@swbca - did you test the plate extension? What were the results?

One side effect could be porposing.

[swbca]

FINAL COMMENT . . . I have found a working solution to the large 30/32mph wake on the ProStar 197. Adding a stainless steel plate to the transom equivalent in exposed surface area to the Correct Craft 196 "Hydrogate" plate improved the wake. The final setting is 5/16" depth on the 12" wide plate . . matching the width of the PowerSlot scoop where it meets the transom. Not a dramatic change in the wake but enough to justify the effort. Shallower trough and the 22 off rooster tail peak is knocked down

 

The bigger part of the solution is skiing at rope lengths that don't inflame surgically repaired knee joints. I can ski all day everyday at 32 and 35 off at 32mph without joint problems. Not an ideal solution but its a good enough compromise since I'm not going to change boats.

 

[Andre]

Good work! That wake looks real nice!