Pulling skiers

G

Gidders

New Member
Jan 24, 2011
73
East Coast, NSW Australia
Boat Info
Sake Joe
Engines
6.2L Mercruisers, V drive
Just wondering how the 5L 220 HP motor goes pulling up one or 2 skiers. I have a 195. I haven't tried to pull a skier yet, just towing a biscuit around. Is there any mods you need to do when considering using the boat for skiing.

Regards Gidders
 
One skier will be very easy... even if you are teaching a beginner. Two skiers will require that they know how to hold on, plow a bit, and then get up quickly.

No modifications are required for recreational skiing, other than maybe a rear view mirror.
 
I would consider adding smart tabs. Your boat will get up on plane much faster.
 
With the 195 and a V-8, you'll have NO problems. Adding tabs will never hurt (only help), but try it first - the 185/195/205 are VERY quick planing boats. Have you pulled skiers before (proper use of the throttle)?
 
I have the same boat and have been told that adding a 4-5 blade stainless prop will ease the trouble of staying on plane at lower speeds. This is key for many water sports such as wakeboarding. I will be adding one this spring
 
Hi Guys

I have a 185 sport and use it a lot for monoskiing. Both myself and my brother are 6 foot and weigh around 200lbs (we like to work out). As you can imagine this put a lot of strain on our 220mpi 4.3v6 with a three blade 23p prop and made it difficult to pop out of the hole. After some discussions we put a Mercury High 5 21p prop on and wow , what a difference it made. On two ski's you fly out, on one, it pulls you out soo much better (not sure if a 19p would have been ideal though). However the 21p High five gives great watersport pull and we have lost a minimal amount of top end. What you need to think about is what are you going to be spending most of your time doing. Top end is not important (I still get 47mph) but pull is. Cruising speed is really not affected. Hope this helps
 
J1mmy said:
Hi Guys

I have a 185 sport and use it a lot for monoskiing. Both myself and my brother are 6 foot and weigh around 200lbs (we like to work out). As you can imagine this put a lot of strain on our 220mpi 4.3v6 with a three blade 23p prop and made it difficult to pop out of the hole. After some discussions we put a Mercury High 5 21p prop on and wow , what a difference it made. On two ski's you fly out, on one, it pulls you out soo much better (not sure if a 19p would have been ideal though). However the 21p High five gives great watersport pull and we have lost a minimal amount of top end. What you need to think about is what are you going to be spending most of your time doing. Top end is not important (I still get 47mph) but pull is. Cruising speed is really not affected. Hope this helps
Click to expand...


I have to agree, I have the same engine in my 195 as described above and changed props to a merc high five....great for the water sports and very minimal loss of top end.

I have pulled two skiers/tubes with my 4.3mpi so I would venture to guess a 5.0 would do fine.
 
Interesting - Mech said "$85 repair or replace the prop" last fall, so this is useful info to me as we pick a new prop this spring.

Thanks!
 
As mentioned - to pull two skiers they need to be experienced. Not so much as a function of the boat, but to keep them from smacking eachother. One issue to consider is the pull on the hook-up. I personally wouldn't tow two - One is hard enough to look after.

The 220hp is more than enough power - keep in mind the tub displaces much more water than a ski will ever do. With kiddos the tow speed is so low it is a challenge to maintain speed without dropping off plane. With my crew I normally will tow around 12 to 15 mph and a 5 blade prop would help a lot. Top end is pretty much useless for us - really who runs at top speed and if so, why?
 
Thanks for the advice folks. I haven't pulled a skier up yet. Any advice here? I will also look into the prop - I have the stock prop - I have noticed you need to cruise at about 20 to 25mph to keep it on the plane, which sometimes is too fast for the my youngsters - lower palnning speed would be useful.

Cheers Gidders
 
How you pull a skier up depends on their experience.

For a veteran, idle to get the slack out of the line, then slam the throttle all the way, and when they pop up, smooth back the throttle to cruise speed, about 20-25MPH.

To teach a rookie, I would tow them for a bit and let them plow, so that they get used to the feeling of the pressure and learn to keep the skis out in front with tips up. Once they are stable in the water and ready, full throttle till they pop up (or let go) then ease off to cruise speed.
 
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+1 on the Mercury High 5 prop. I put one on my 185 to help with slalom ski starts and lower speed wakeboarding. It made a big difference. It's an expensive prop, but well worth it.
 
For me, I like to first put the engine just into gear (first click on the throttle). That will pull the skier slowly and allow them to get "set" better... Skiis at about a 45* angle, knees at 90*, waist at 90*, arms straight. Basically, stay leaning back with arms straight and let the boat pull them up. You can practice this in your living room (you don't need the skiis on) - have them assume the position on the floor with the ski handle in their hand... you be the boat and pull them up. Instruct them to NOT stand up right away - let the boat (you) pull them up.

As far as throttle advancing goes, I like to give a smooth, even pull. That means it'll take me about an honest 2 seconds to go from the first "click" to full out (although with kids you likely won't even need to go to full). Your boat planes out REALLY fast and that will help tremendously, too. Once the boat starts to get onto plane, smoothly back off the throttle - otherwise the boat will start to pick up speed real fast.

Keep the motor trimmed all the way down - unless you find that the boat is listing excessively while on plane - then try just a tap or two of up trim.

You should be able to keep your boat on plane at good speed - but it does require some experience and finesse with the throttle and how the boat responds to throttle input. Practice, practice, practice.

The High-5 will certainly help with the low speed planning. However, the Smart Tabs will have even a greater impact on that and they cost about 1/4 of the amount of the prop.

Oh, with older children and adults, they will be in charge of when to advance the throttle. Put it just into gear to get them "set" and then listen for them to tell you to "hit it" - they should not use "go" as it can sound like "no".
 
I use my 185 with the 4.3 to pull skiers no problem. Do yourself a favour and use the strong Aud to order in a prop from the US. I have a 19 in 4 blade and it is great and you still get a decent top end. I get low 40's (mph) but lose a bit because of altitude on home water. If you wallet runs to it go the high 5 - better again.

If you are just starting with skiing get an experienced driver to show you how to pull a skier out. Any one can tow a good skier but a beginner driver and beginner skier will just end in tears!

Cheers
 
I have close to the same boat and motor as the OP and like others have said, adding Smart Tabs or trim tabs will help a lot as will changing to a SS prop. I put Smart Tabs and a 4 blade 19p SS prop (Stiletto Bay Pro II) on the boat and now it pulls up even heavy slalom skiers very quickly.
 
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I'm running a 93 200BR with the 4.3LX and a quicksilver high five s/s 20 pitch and I've pulled two experienced skiers and up to three kneeboarders with no problems.
 
I finally settled on a High 5 19 pitch keeping the stock black max 21 as the spare. Took the boat for the first run with the High 5 and immediately noticed the difference. The boat leaps out of the hole accelarting to plane noticeable quicker. It also holds the plane at lower speeds. Tops speed seem also to have improved but could be weather conditions. WOT is 4400 for both props. I get 43 mph at 4400 rpm on the black max 2 adults 3 kiddies. I got 45 mph at 4400 before backing off at I reckon it had more in it. I also noticed it was porpoising a little less at low speeds. All in all a fair cost for the overall performance improvement. Now to explore the world of trim tabs!!
 
What is the minimum recommended horsepower on a 22' Sun Deck for pulling a 180 lb skier? We are a family of four: Dad (180lb), Mom (120 lb), and two girls (6 and 8) and are wondering if a 22' 260 HP is enough for us.
 
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