Official 215 Express Thread

I have another newbie question for everyone. Yesterday we went for a trip down the sanitary and ship canal. There was quite a bit of debris floating and I was bobbing and weaving to avoid the junk. After about 8 miles I goosed the throttle a little to
get the bow down and it stuck for a second and then it felt like it let go and the RPMs spiked. I repeated this test several times and had the same result each time. I thought for sure I hit something and spun the hub. I turned around and headed 2-3 miles back. For reassurance I tried the same throttle maneuver again and to my surprise it didn't slip but held strong and got me up on plane. After it held several more times I turned around again and headed for the city where we enjoyed our day. We decided to cruise the lake back to the calumet river which is 12 miles or so and we didn't notice the problem re-occurr.

So my question is this: is it possible that I had a bag or other debris around the prop that was causing this issue. Or is it possible that a spun hub would only slip part of the time.
 
Last edited:
if you had the drive trimmed up it is possible it lost bite with the water when you applied throttle.....this happened to me once in my 215EC.....while I was making a turn I had the drive trimmed up and the prop lost bite with the water.....I was sure I spun the prop hub so I slowed down and went back to the ramp at slow speed and loaded the boat up and took it home.....as it turned out nothing was wrong....I just ventilated the prop....this was a new experience for me so I didn't know what was happening....from then on if I ventilated the prop I just slowed down and trimmed the drive down until the prop started biting the water again....

cliff
 
I just recently had the exact same thing happen on our local lake. Stopping to check things out I was unable to find anything that looked out of order. As it kept happening I checked again and noticed a very small amount of lake grass trailing around the skeg. I didn't think that what was there would have caused the issue but it was only when I pulled this small amount of grass out that everything was back to normal. A couple weeks later the same issue but this time I cleared another very small amount of weeds away and no problems. Amazing what a little debris, however small, can cause the prop to cavitate like that.
 
Cliff, I appreciate the response, the drive was trimmed all the way down so I am thinking I had some junk causing cavitation. I saw quite a bit of junk floating so it would not surprise me in the least if it was as petes105 was describing.
 
Rgory said:
I have another newbie question for everyone. Yesterday we went for a trip down the sanitary and ship canal. There was quite a bit of debris floating and I was bobbing and weaving to avoid the junk. After about 8 miles I goosed the throttle a little to
get the bow down and it stuck for a second and then it felt like it let go and the RPMs spiked. I repeated this test several times and had the same result each time. I thought for sure I hit something and spun the hub. I turned around and headed 2-3 miles back. For reassurance I tried the same throttle maneuver again and to my surprise it didn't slip but held strong and got me up on plane. After it held several more times I turned around again and headed for the city where we enjoyed our day. We decided to cruise the lake back to the calumet river which is 12 miles or so and we didn't notice the problem re-occurr.

So my question is this: is it possible that I had a bag or other debris around the prop that was causing this issue. Or is it possible that a spun hub would only slip part of the time.
Click to expand...

Rgory - what outdrive do you have - Bravo? Unfortunately the new site messed up everyones profiles and Signatures......but yes as you mentioned, it was probably cavitation. If it is a Bravo, you're not spinning anything - your motor would conk out (i've done it twice hitting dead heads)
 
Last edited:
I have an Alpha 1. As I get to know the boat a little more and see how it reacts I think it may have been just trimmed wrong. When I launched this weekend I was feeling a bit rushed and I trimmed it down out of the trailer position but not all the way down. When I pulled away from the dock and into the channel I had the same experience of slippage as the prop cavitated. After a few moments I collected my thoughts, trimmed all the way down and headed down river without incident.

Thanks for the ideas and the help.
 
Rgory said:
I have an Alpha 1. As I get to know the boat a little more and see how it reacts I think it may have been just trimmed wrong. When I launched this weekend I was feeling a bit rushed and I trimmed it down out of the trailer position but not all the way down. When I pulled away from the dock and into the channel I had the same experience of slippage as the prop cavitated. After a few moments I collected my thoughts, trimmed all the way down and headed down river without incident.

Thanks for the ideas and the help.
Click to expand...


in case you did not know, there is a difference between prop cavitation and ventilation......here is a link that describes the difference....

cliff

https://www.acepropeller.com/boat-propeller-cavitation-and-ventilation/
 
Hi
I´m new here and would like to know witch Fuel Tank the Boat have? Plastic or Metal?
 
Divetwins said:
Hi
I´m new here and would like to know witch Fuel Tank the Boat have? Plastic or Metal?
Click to expand...

IF nothing has been changed since it was originally built, it's plastic. But... you can EASILY check this out - just remove the flooring pieces in the center of the cockpit along with the tray. The tank will be staring back at you.
 
Had an adventure this weekend on the river. We launched and were headed down to the sandbar to meet up with friends. About 1.5-2 miles down river while on plane the boat suddenly died and would not restart. I was thankful it was after we passed a large barge, but still we were only a few hundred yards from a railroad bridge. I quickly deployed the anchor and was very thankful it grabbed and held. I was also very thankful when my friend showed up to tow me back to the ramp. As it turns out the fuse holder for the fuel pump melted. I am waiting to hear the final verdict from the dealer who repowered the original carbed 5.0 with a 5.7 efi motor. From researching online, it seems the 5.0 never had an electric fuel pump. This would mean the electric fuel pump, wiring, and affected fuse holder would have been added at the time of the repower? Overall I was very happy to reach the dock and I realize it could have been much worse.
 
Who knows the Original Price from the Boat?
And is it possible to install a larger Water Tank. Original is about 30 Liter.
And witch Font Style Sea Ray are using for the Letters?
 
Last edited:
Rgory said:
Had an adventure this weekend on the river. We launched and were headed down to the sandbar to meet up with friends. About 1.5-2 miles down river while on plane the boat suddenly died and would not restart. I was thankful it was after we passed a large barge, but still we were only a few hundred yards from a railroad bridge. I quickly deployed the anchor and was very thankful it grabbed and held. I was also very thankful when my friend showed up to tow me back to the ramp. As it turns out the fuse holder for the fuel pump melted. I am waiting to hear the final verdict from the dealer who repowered the original carbed 5.0 with a 5.7 efi motor. From researching online, it seems the 5.0 never had an electric fuel pump. This would mean the electric fuel pump, wiring, and affected fuse holder would have been added at the time of the repower? Overall I was very happy to reach the dock and I realize it could have been much worse.
Click to expand...
My carb'd 5.0 has an electric fuel pump
 
Would to Change the orig. Watertank. The is much Room where the Fuel Tank is. Who know s how much Liters is possible?
 
Where can i get the orig. Hull Decals and PinStripes for the 2000er EC?
 
Ebay would probably be the best "possible" source for stickers since they are no longer made by Sea Ray. Another way would be to simply have a vinyl/graphics shop make them for you. You don't necessarily have to make them match the original - be creative!

For a new tank size, you'll just need to take some measurements of the area.
 
Plenty of room forward of the fuel tank, especially if you relocate the fresh water pump. On my 225WE, I installed the holding tank and vacuum pump for a vacuflush head system there, and placed a new larger fresh water tank and pump under the galley sink.
 
I just bought a 1996 215 EC without a trailer. Does anyone know what the trailer dimensions need to be between the fenders and also from the bow eye to the back edge of the transom? Thanks
 
gatorm said:
I just bought a 1996 215 EC without a trailer. Does anyone know what the trailer dimensions need to be between the fenders and also from the bow eye to the back edge of the transom? Thanks
Click to expand...
I am picking my 96 up from the shop on Wed afternoon this week, I can take these measurements for you. Will post them here Wed night.
 
My switch labels are pretty faded. Just wondering about one switch. It looks like the profile of the boat. I thought Nav lights, but those come on with the anchor light 3 way switch. Anybody know the switch I'm talking about?
 
Tackleberry said:
My switch labels are pretty faded. Just wondering about one switch. It looks like the profile of the boat. I thought Nav lights, but those come on with the anchor light 3 way switch. Anybody know the switch I'm talking about?
Click to expand...

trim tabs switch?...usually has a profile of the boat with small arrows pointing up and down on the bow to show the direction the bow will react when pushing the top or bottom of the switch.....

cliff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,095
Messages
1,425,854
Members
61,017
Latest member
IslandGirls1020
Back
Top