220 DA thread

They have different sizes. And yes, Crutchfield is great!
 
Lets Rock, have a great summer!! Are you on the north or south shore?
 
Lets Rock, have a great summer!! Are you on the north or south shore?

I actually live on the north shore but have a slip on the south shore. You come over to the island at all?
 
I havnt been to the boat to measure the frame, it is the orig Sea Ray frame. The top was redone by arizonaboattop.com towards the end of last summer. I had it done in sunbrella and eisenglass as these materials will last much longer than most others. The next time I am at the lake I will take some measurements and post. I dont have the camper enclosure, just the top. I had a drop curtan that drops from the rear of the ft top straight down with windows behind the drivers seat and a roll up opening with window at the walkway and had dual zippers at the rear of the ft top so the drop curtain and the rear bimini can be up at the same time. It closed in the drivers seat area nicely for those cool or rainy days (not to many here in AZ). Since we boat all year and the winters sometimes are cool it works well. Also last summer monsoon season kept everything nice.
 
collector21,
Yes please, if you have a moment, please give me the measurements on the bimini frame over the steering wheel. It lloks like the frame is 84" wide based on my measurements across the windshield frame.

Does anyone have any problems with water intrusion into the cabin at the stepdown. I have some spider cracks on the fiberglass stepdown where the cabin door is. The lip there is not that high. We had a strong rain the other day. The boat was on the trailer not exactly sitting where the water would run towards the back. I had an inch of water in the floor of the boat. Anyone else have a problem in this location?
 
Does anyone have any problems with water intrusion into the cabin at the stepdown. I have some spider cracks on the fiberglass stepdown where the cabin door is. The lip there is not that high. We had a strong rain the other day. The boat was on the trailer not exactly sitting where the water would run towards the back. I had an inch of water in the floor of the boat. Anyone else have a problem in this location?
I never have but it's always covered by the camper top or storage cover if I'm not on board. Anything you could think of to cover the cabin door should keep water in the step area that has a drain. Make sure the drain is not plugged?
 
Well,
I just got back after taking the 220DA out for the first time since I bought it over 2 months ago. I experienced some problems which maybe someone can shed some light on. The boat performed well at idle speed to the end of the channel and then....I gave her gas and all it would do was plow. I got it to plane and all it would do was 2600 RPMs at WOT. The fastest it would go was 20 - 21 mph as shown on the GPS. I ran it across the bay for 9 miles at this condition. The engine runs rather well but couldnt get over 2600 RPMs. I tried trimming the outdrive to find the sweet spot but never found it. The boat has Bennett Trim Tabs that don't work. Even though they don't work at the moment, the rams were fully retracted or so the appeared.

When I got the boat home, I noticed that even though the trim tabs looked to be retracted, the actual tabs stuck down about an inch below the hull. I went on Bennett's web site and it indicates that the flat undersides of the tabs are to be 5/8" higher than the bottom of the boat. From what I see now is that the trim tabs are a huge drag or so it seems. I want to remove the trim tabs altogether for now and make their replacement a project for the future if the boat seems to require them. Any ideas on this matter? Any Sea Ray owners not have trim tabs?


The prop I'm running is a Michigan Rapture stainless steel 14.25" with a 19 pitch. The boat has a 5.7 motor. The previous owner replaced the original Alpha outdrive with a Bravo. Could the Bravo outdrive be a contributor to what I am experiencing?

I appreciate any insight, suggestions, etc. on this matter. Thanks in advance.
 
Can you post pics of the tabs. i dont think that is enough drag to cause the issue. Did you recently do a service on the engine? Make sure the timing is correct and check the rotor and cap, the plugs and plug wires. Your motor seems to be loosing horsepower to push the prop. Also, how much fuel was on board, how many people, and how much gear?
 
Well,
I just got back after taking the 220DA out for the first time since I bought it over 2 months ago. I experienced some problems which maybe someone can shed some light on. The boat performed well at idle speed to the end of the channel and then....I gave her gas and all it would do was plow. I got it to plane and all it would do was 2600 RPMs at WOT. The fastest it would go was 20 - 21 mph as shown on the GPS. I ran it across the bay for 9 miles at this condition. The engine runs rather well but couldnt get over 2600 RPMs. I tried trimming the outdrive to find the sweet spot but never found it. The boat has Bennett Trim Tabs that don't work. Even though they don't work at the moment, the rams were fully retracted or so the appeared.

When I got the boat home, I noticed that even though the trim tabs looked to be retracted, the actual tabs stuck down about an inch below the hull. I went on Bennett's web site and it indicates that the flat undersides of the tabs are to be 5/8" higher than the bottom of the boat. From what I see now is that the trim tabs are a huge drag or so it seems. I want to remove the trim tabs altogether for now and make their replacement a project for the future if the boat seems to require them. Any ideas on this matter? Any Sea Ray owners not have trim tabs?


The prop I'm running is a Michigan Rapture stainless steel 14.25" with a 19 pitch. The boat has a 5.7 motor. The previous owner replaced the original Alpha outdrive with a Bravo. Could the Bravo outdrive be a contributor to what I am experiencing?

I appreciate any insight, suggestions, etc. on this matter. Thanks in advance.

I don't think you should consider using the boat without trim tabs. I couldn't imagine mine without them. I did quite a lot of adjusting while underway, until I added the Bennett Auto Trim Tab system. Didn't really have to touch them much after that. This is a high cruiser, and from what I've heard, the higher the boat, the more you have a need for the tabs.

As far as getting on plane, I have a similar problem when I'm totally loaded, with full gas, full water, and 4 or more passengers. Once the boat lightens up, it gets on plane faster. The tabs are a big help getting on plane when overloaded. That said, if you are not overloaded, the boat really should get on plane without any help from the tabs.... it just takes longer.
 
I plan on having a mechanic check the engine out. As far as load goes, I had 2 adults and a child, a full tank of fuel, an empty water tank, 2 additional batteries and the normal days worth of goods. The boat did get on plane but would not exceed 2600 RPMs or 20 mph. When in neutral, the engine can be revved and easily get up there. There is something keeping the motor from exceeding 2600 RPMs while underway. I was thinking there was just too much drag from the tabs or the prop being the wrong size. Although I have found one 220DA owner on the internet mentioning they had the same diameter and pitch that I have. Any thoughts on my prop or the outdrive?

I want to keep the trim tabs but for troubleshooting sake, I would like to remove them. Once the boat performs to my satisfaction, I will reinstall them and make sure they are in accordance with Bennett's installation instructions.
 
You have an issue with your engine and the trim tabs have nothing to do with it. The normal WOT for your engine is 4800 RPM and all your engine is capable of is 2600 RPM. Neither the trim tabs nor the size of the prop would have that kind of effect on your engine. Don't remove the trim tabs, you are going to want those when you resolve the issue with your engine.
 
I wonder if the secondaries on the 4-bbl carb are not openning as they should. You may want to check that, although I don't think you would get on plane without some help from them. Maybe they aren't openning as far as they should? Just one possibility.

Also, did you check your speed with a GPS unit? The onboard speedo may be very much off. Mine is, and shows a much slower speed. Your tach may be off also. My tach varies a lot during the day, but settles on where it should be. I don't really even need it, since I don't push the boat very hard. Don't really need the speedo for that matter!
 
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I checked the speed with my GPS. As far as the tach goes, if it was inaccurate, it would not have been that far off of 2600 RPM. I have been doing quite a bit of research online regarding people having similiar problems. It seems as if the majority of the problems is the result of either fuel issues or ignition issues. The carburetor on the engine now is either a Weber or a Holley, not sure which one. I don't think that it is original or even the right size for that matter. Either way, I'm going to change plugs, coil, rotor and fuel filter and try it out again. I will also check the compression on each cylinder as well. If the motor still acts the same, I will change out the coil and fuel pump. If the carburetor is suited for the engine, I am going to rebuild it more sooner than later. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
 
I'm wondering when I will need to rebuild my carb. I haven't rebuilt a 4 barrel carb in many years. In case you haven't done one, it's not too difficult, and only basic tools are needed. Other than that, it sounds like you have a good plan of action.
 
CHOOSING THE RIGTH PROP

Hi
I just repowered my 220DA. Bougth a brand new Mercruiser 5.0 MPI with Alpha One gen. II. Now i'm wandering about the propeller. The gear ratio is 1:62. Does any of you guys have any suggestions? I know that I should choose a prop that gives me the right rpm, but instead of trying a number of different pitches, it would be nice to know if you have experience or knowledge about what should be the right one.
 
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This is turning into a major event. After finding the Serial # on the engine, it turns out I have a 1998 5.7 on a 1990 220DA. It's great if the motor is good. Once I install my new starter on Friday, I will check the compression in the cylinders. It appears the engine used to be fuel injected. The intake has a 1406 Edelbrock 600 CFM Street Carb mounted on it. The ports in the intake where the injectors should be mounted were capped off with what appears to be a carriage bolt heads and jbweld.
IMG_0436.jpg



The boat has the original wiring harness or so it seems. Any suggestions on getting the boat to run normal. I'm thinking all I have to do is replace the intake manifold and carburetor. If so cheapest suggestions for manifold and carb. Do I need to provide additional information regarding the engine?
 
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This is turning into a major event. After finding the Serial # on the engine, it turns out I have a 1998 5.7 on a 1990 220DA. It's great if the motor is good. Once I install my new starter on Friday, I will check the compression in the cylinders. It appears the engine used to be fuel injected. The intake has a 1406 Edelbrock 600 CFM Street Carb mounted on it. The ports in the intake where the injectors should be mounted were capped off with what appears to be a carriage bolt heads and jbweld.
IMG_0436.jpg



The boat has the original wiring harness or so it seems. Any suggestions on getting the boat to run normal. I'm thinking all I have to do is replace the intake manifold and carburetor. If so cheapest suggestions for manifold and carb. Do I need to provide additional information regarding the engine?

Can I ask where do you look up the S/N to find what type of engine you have? I suspect mine was rebuilt/replaced along the way but cant tell by looking at it.
 

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