New owner of a 1986 Sea Ray Weekender 24ft...have a couple questions

J

jrich58

New Member
Sep 9, 2016
8
Lake Champlain, NY
Boat Info
1986 Sea Ray Weekender 230
Engines
Mercruiser 260 V8
Hey Everyone

I am a first time boat owner who couldnt pass up the chance on a 1986 Sea Ray Weekender 230 w/mercruiser v8 cuddy cabin. I am having a bit of a hard time reaching plane, it does get there but seems to struggle. I have my trim adjusted all the way down as recommended.

But I also have 4 trim buttons (as Im told from the guy i bought it from) on the dash of my boat. My question is, what do these buttons do as they aren't labeled at all? Would adjustment of these help my boat plane quicker/better.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Josh
 
likely you want to push both buttons all the way up. this lowers both tabs. once on plane i raise both of mine back up (push both buttons down) then adjust my 'list' by pushing up on the side that is high. they work opposite of what it looks like. pushing the left one up actually lowers the right one, pushing the left (port) side down. so the left button controls the right tab and right button controls left tab. it also takes about 10 seconds or so for the boat to react to changes so just make little adjustments until you get used to it. bottom line, i try to only use mine to get on plane then pull them both all the way up.

what prop are you running? i have a merc 260 with a 14.5x17 but i'm probably a little heavier than you. i don't have my drive all the way down. probably about 90% down. i adjusted it to a good setting and leave it there. what is your max RPM?. i max out about 4000RPM and cruise about 26MPH at 3200RPM
 
Boatman is correct that those buttons are for your trim tabs. Verify that they're working and use them. They make a huge difference in the boat's ability to plane off. Other possibilities are that the engine needs a tune-up, could be low on power as it's 30 years old, and if the hull bottom is dirty that can also affect things. Your engine's MAX RPM (from that era 5.7L) at WOT is probably listed at 4,600. Ideally, you want to be able to get as close to that as possible - at least within a few hundred RPM's, depending on load. The closer the better. If not, either something is wrong mechanically, there is too much weight in the boat or it's propped wrong.

You can look on Sea Ray's website for the Prop Matrix for your boat/engine combo to at least see what would have been the original size prop.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Boatman is correct that those buttons are for your trim tabs. Verify that they're working and use them. They make a huge difference in the boat's ability to plane off. Other possibilities are that the engine needs a tune-up, could be low on power as it's 30 years old, and if the hull bottom is dirty that can also affect things. Your engine's MAX RPM (from that era 5.7L) at WOT is probably listed at 4,600. Ideally, you want to be able to get as close to that as possible - at least within a few hundred RPM's, depending on load. The closer the better. If not, either something is wrong mechanically, there is too much weight in the boat or it's propped wrong.

You can look on Sea Ray's website for the Prop Matrix for your boat/engine combo to at least see what would have been the original size prop.
Click to expand...

So the two buttons closest to me are down and the others are up? They aren't labeled at all and I have four sep buttons.
 
No, the buttons on the left control one tab, while the buttons on the right control the other tab. Depending on how the wires are connected on the back side will determine which tab the left buttons control and also which direction the tab travels (and the same for the buttons on the right). Generally speaking, don't think of what you want the tabs to do. Just think of what you want the port and starboard side of the bow to do. "Typically", pushing the top/left button will lower the bow, and so forth for the other three buttons. But, again, you gotta see what's what with your boat as connections could have been changed around over the years.

If you're near the boat, just go out and play with them. Take someone with you to look at the tabs. It will make much more sense by doing that. You won't damage anything if you do this out of the water, as long as the tabs won't contact the trailer.
 
My 1988 230 Wk.with 260 Hp. 5.7 will easily get on plane without any help from trim tabs I'm running a 15x17 pitch prop.
 
agreed dvx. i don't 'need' the tabs to get on plane but when i have 5 or so people i use them to help. when its just me and my wife i just leave them fully up and adjust as needed once on plane

and on a 1986 merc 260 i believe the max RPM range is 4200-4600 if i remember correctly. i max out about 4000 with a full tank of fuel, 1/2 tank fresh water and 2 of us but i think a new prop would help but again, my boat is likelier a bit heavier than the OP's
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys for all the responses. I can get up to plane, but it seems that is about 25 mph or so. I am also not sure when to use the motor trim adjustment in relation to speed.

What is the "cruising" speed of this type of boat?
 
my 250DA can stay on plane at about 23 MPH but i try to cruise closer to about 25 or 26
 
i have tried what others have mentioned about trimming for max RPM but mine never seems to change no matter where i have it set. i set it to the 'cleanest' sound and good ride
 
If I want to slow down I will lower the drive and reduce throttle this drops the bow and helps slow the boat down quicker .When cruising I raise and lower or bow with the outdrive trim to go into a wave .The more I raise the outdrive on plane the less drag there is and the lighter the bow will be which will increases speed. And of course when I'm starting to go I put the drive full down to help force the bow down to get on plane once up on plane I lift outdrive depending on lake condition.Really hard turns I drop the drive so I don't pull the prop out.
 
The other advantage to trimming the drive out when on plane is that you will see the tach and speed rise. You can reduce the engine speed a bit and still stay on plane. This saves wear and tear and fuel as well. I trim out just below the point where the boat starts to "porpoise".

Good Luck
 
Hey everyone. Im about to get my boat out for the season but I need some help choosing an anchor weight for my boat, I had to cut mine last year. Ive got an 86 230 Weekender and needing a fluke type, just not sure what weight to go with. Any advice would be super helpful.

Thanks!
Josh
 
I was curious if you guys could give me tips on how to proper plane out my 86 sea ray weekender 230 with regards to prop trim, etc. I am still having a hell of a time getting this boat up to plane without having to pound on it.
 
you shouldn't have any issues with that boat and engine combo. i have a 250 with the merc 260 and can plane very easily with 2 on board and a full tank of fuel and a half tank of water. even with 4 on board it planes pretty quick. i have a 14.5x17 prop and lower my tabs all the way then raise them as needed once up. as far as the outdrive i go all the way down and trim it back up for a second or so. seems to be pretty good there. when it is just the 2 of us i usually leave the tabs up and can still plane pretty quick
 
I have a 88 24'er and plane pretty fast without my tabs..... someone's going on there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
jrich58 said:
I was curious if you guys could give me tips on how to proper plane out my 86 sea ray weekender 230 with regards to prop trim, etc. I am still having a hell of a time getting this boat up to plane without having to pound on it.
Click to expand...

Physically verify that your drive and tabs go all the way down.

Let's talk sans tabs for now. But using them will help TREMENDOUSLY. Always start with your drive all the way tucked in. Then apply the throttle fully, but smoothly. You may not always need to apply full throttle, but don't hesitate to do it, either. Smoothly... put it in gear, then take about 3 seconds (this is not an exact science, though) to go to full throttle. As the bow starts to come back down, smoothly pull back on the throttle to about half-ish while at the same time trimming up a second or two.... again, not an exact science, but this should help you get close and then you can fine tune from there.

If you're still having issues, you're either expecting too much from a 31 year old boat, or there is an issue with getting full engine power to the water in some way or another.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Physically verify that your drive and tabs go all the way down.

Let's talk sans tabs for now. But using them will help TREMENDOUSLY. Always start with your drive all the way tucked in. Then apply the throttle fully, but smoothly. You may not always need to apply full throttle, but don't hesitate to do it, either. Smoothly... put it in gear, then take about 3 seconds (this is not an exact science, though) to go to full throttle. As the bow starts to come back down, smoothly pull back on the throttle to about half-ish while at the same time trimming up a second or two.... again, not an exact science, but this should help you get close and then you can fine tune from there.

If you're still having issues, you're either expecting too much from a 31 year old boat, or there is an issue with getting full engine power to the water in some way or another.
Click to expand...

spot on

 
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