Matercraft powerstar 200 slalom wake

[duffbeerisgood]

We love our outboard Powerstar, its perfect for our family however the slalom wake is not very good.....

I am trying to get back into skiing more often and with my knees its been difficult. 

Anyone have advise on getting a better slalom wake out of the Powerstar? I have read that a sorter rope and 34MPH will help, but with the weight of the engine hanging off the back its pretty difficult to get a decent wake. I've added some weight in the front and played with the trim a bit but still not great, Would more weight in the bow help? Any other suggestions?

[foxriverat]

On page 127 of this old waterski boat buyers guide they give the slalom wake decent reviews. Are you skiing with motor trimmed all the way down? https://books.google.com/books?id=oic2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA5&dq=mastercraft+powerstar&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiulMS_4bD9AhVlHjQIHSGdCCoQ6AF6BAgGEAI#v=onepage&q=mastercraft powerstar&f=false

[skialex]

I tawt I taw a puddy tat!

I’m sorry for this but I couldn’t help it… 😊 

[duffbeerisgood]

1 hour ago, foxriverat said:

On page 127 of this old waterski boat buyers guide they give the slalom wake decent reviews. Are you skiing with motor trimmed all the way down? https://books.google.com/books?id=oic2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA5&dq=mastercraft+powerstar&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiulMS_4bD9AhVlHjQIHSGdCCoQ6AF6BAgGEAI#v=onepage&q=mastercraft powerstar&f=false

We typically have the trim in a neutral position, however, I have tried various positions. That article is interesting b/c I would rate the wake larger than normal and pretty hard.   Now there is no way I am expecting something a DD would produce but looking for advice on how to improve the wake......  I will note that the last time I skied behind it we did have 6 ppl on the boat and a full tank of gas..... So I am going to try and lighten the boat some (less ppl gas etc.) and see if I get better results.....

Does anyone with experience w/ this boat have additional things to try???

[jpwhit]

Some outboards have a mechanical limit on how far down the outboard can go with the power trim. You may want to check if there is the ability to change that to give you a wider range of trim options. 

Reducing overall weight and/or increasing speed will both always reduce the wake. Sometimes pretty dramatically. You may not have to speed up all the way to 34, if you're not already skiing at least 32mph, I'd give that a try. Moving weight from the back of the boat towards the front of the boat will make a much bigger difference than simply adding weight to the front. Look and see if there is any weight in the back that can be moved forward. Battery comes to mind if it's in the back. Something like an anchor if you can't leave it, move it to the front.

Technique can also make a huge difference. If you're not keeping the ski completely on edge through the wakes, then you're going to get a lot of jarring. Mentally it can be hard thing to do, especially if you're dealing with knee pain to force yourself to keep cutting hard through the wakes with the ski on edge instead of going flat. 

[skibrain]

Even in a direct drive, we take the back seat out for less weight and run at 1/4 tank of gas. 

Driver and spotter. Trim down a bit to push the nose down and stern up. Yes the outboard is at the back, buts it’s a lighter power plant than than an inboard or I/O.  I added transom wedges to an outboard powered boat I had. ($30 aluminum shim plate between transom and motor brackets) it allowed maybe 4-5 degrees more negative trim when running. Also gave me better nose-down planning at low speed( 13-14 mph) in yrs I was pulling small kids on skis and kneeboard. 

sometimes a switch to 4 or 5 blade  prop will change the shape of the wake. I can’t comment from experience there.

Fun link with boat guide. Man there were a lot of companies with a ski-focused offering.

Edited February 25, 2023 by skibrain

[motoxr]

Clearly the wake will not be the same as a direct drive. However, it's great to see you're trying different options to improve things. Rather than simply relying on the trim of the engine, you may want to try adding trim tabs to the boat. It's not too difficult to install and you can also tune each side independently if needed based on weight in the boat.

I have installed Bennett's Trim tabs in the past..(not on a ski boat) with great results.

Good luck with the project.

[foxriverat]

When I had my 95 malibu flightcraft barefooter with 200 merc outboard and stainless high 5 prop. Trim was as far down as it would go for skiing or footing. I would only raise it for wakeboarding or going 60 mph. If I remember right there may have been a steel rod that you could take out and slide in different holes on mount to let it go further down.

[ETskier]

We have some guys nearby who are having the same problem with theirs, same boat. However they had a nice soft wake with 2 previous engines. They were 200, then 225 2 strokes. Now they have a 250 4 stroke and terrible slalom wakes. They think it is the extra weight. Looking for  different motor.

[duffbeerisgood]

58 minutes ago, foxriverat said:

When I had my 95 malibu flightcraft barefooter with 200 merc outboard and stainless high 5 prop. Trim was as far down as it would go for skiing or footing. I would only raise it for wakeboarding or going 60 mph. If I remember right there may have been a steel rod that you could take out and slide in different holes on mount to let it go further down.

I will give it another go with the trim all the way down and see how big of a difference it makes. In our boat the steering is really difficult, ie very hard to turn, with the trim all the way down. Which my wife complains about while driving.... I'll have to check on the mounting bracket and see if there are any adjustments which may help with both....

[duffbeerisgood]

40 minutes ago, ETskier said:

We have some guys nearby who are having the same problem with theirs, same boat. However they had a nice soft wake with 2 previous engines. They were 200, then 225 2 strokes. Now they have a 250 4 stroke and terrible slalom wakes. They think it is the extra weight. Looking for  different motor.

This is encouraging... Mine has the original 2 stroke merc with high 5 prop. So hopefully I just got too much weight in the boat. 

[Ski_Dad]

I had outboards before my Malibu DD.  Prop is a big deal. Go with a 3 blade that will put you at least 5500 rpm with just you in the boat. And also check how high the outboard is set on the transom.  Most boats have that wrong.