04 200 Select

[SL06]

I was looking at an 04 200 Select with a 5.0 Alpha One today and I was wondering what people thought about this combination. We plan on using it for general cruising and wakeboarding. My understanding is the 5.0 with a Bravo III is the ideal setup for this boat; however I'm wondering what kind of reliability the Alpha drive is going to be and what kind of performance I should expect out of it compared to the BIII. I'm also wondering if the 5.0 is going to be enough motor or if I should just look at something with a 350mag.

Thanks!

 

[cleanairguy1969]

I have a 2007 200 select with the 5.0MPi 260hp and Alpha One. I use it mostly for water sports. It has a good hole shot when pulling skiers. Mine came with a 19pitch Vengeance prop. I cruise 32 mph GPS at 3500 RPM wit my family 4 and all our gear. The boat is a little sluggish with 8 people on board, I could still pull a skier with that load. I top out at 51MPH. I added a 19Pitch High Five Prop and Perfect Pass Star Gazer. I find this to be a good combination. With the
High Five prop I get a better hole shot and stay on plane at slower speeds, but I give up 3 mph on top. I seldom run at wide open throttle so it does not matter to me.

 

[Lightguyjeff]

I have a 2007 200 select with the 5.0MPi 260hp and Alpha One. I use it mostly for water sports. It has a good hole shot when pulling skiers. Mine came with a 19pitch Vengeance prop. I cruise 32 mph GPS at 3500 RPM wit my family 4 and all our gear. The boat is a little sluggish with 8 people on board, I could still pull a skier with that load. I top out at 51MPH. I added a 19Pitch High Five Prop and Perfect Pass Star Gazer. I find this to be a good combination. With the
High Five prop I get a better hole shot and stay on plane at slower speeds, but I give up 3 mph on top. I seldom run at wide open throttle so it does not matter to me.

I have a 2003 200 with a 5.o alpha 1. I have most of my boating experience on a 220 and a 240. It was hard for me to think I could live with something less until I purchased the 200. I will admit that bigger is better, however I am not the least bit unhappy with my purchase. I test drove 23 ft and 22ft in other brands (bayliner and four winns) and the sea ray was far superior. I have a 19 p 3 blade prop and am interested in a 5 blade and or smart tabs to tweak to for my purposes. I convinced the power of the 5.0 is enough, although I seak a faster plane. I am trailering this boat and am grateful I am not pu lling the 220 or 240. I don't think you could do better for a 21 ft boat. Let us know your thoughts after christen her.

 

[julians]

I have a 2006 200 select with the 5.0mpi and alpha 1, and I find it a good combination. Its definately not lacking power. I wakeboard a lot with it, and its fine at pulling heavyweights with poor technique out of the water even with a few people on board.

I get ~48mph on the gps at full throttle, which is great, but its rarely calm enough to use full throttle.

I bought it from new, and selected this drive and engine combination as the one that suited my budget the best.

Having said all that, more power is always better , you never hear from people saying they wish they had less power, but more power usually costs more money, so if this one is priced right then dont worry about the engine and drive combination.

With regards to reliability, I had some issues with the drive at around 225 hours where it stripped the teeth off one of the gears, this cost a fair amount to get fixed, and I have no idea what caused the problem. I think it was a one off and not a wider issue with the drive.

The engine itself has been pretty good, The idle air control valve failed a couple of years ago, and some of the hose clamps corroded and failed leading to an overheat, but apart from that its been good so far (6 seasons and 330 hours).