Laser bass boat

[creger]

I have a 1985 18' LTV that I'm bringing back from the grave. Putting new floor, new carpet, did all the wet sanding, compounding, buffing, ect. (brought the gelcoat back to life). I've put a 1989 150 Mariner "Magnum II" on it. My questions are:
1. How far from the pad does the center prop need to be?

2. Right now it has a 24 pitch (I think Lazer) prop on it. To get the most out of the motor and boat, what prop and pitch do you recommend?

3. What rpm's should this motor be turning? The boat I had the motor on before, was turning around 5400-5500 rpm's (wot and trimmed up), but the motor was sitting approximately 6 inches below pad on that boat (17.5' Randall Craft bass boat) which was probably to low.

Before the boat went to the graveyard last time, I just had an 85 hp mercury on it. I know that with that motor the boat did not perform nowhere near it's abilities. Just curious what I can expect with the 150 hp on it. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[boater]

if it is a LTV it does not have a pad. Are you running a low water pickup (nose cone ) on your lower unit ? I ran a 26 hoss triton on my laser it has been years so I dont remember the engine height,but it was high. I would start if it has a nose cone ,at about 1/4 inch below the sponsons and keep an eye on water preasure. raise it until water peasure starts dropping then lower it back down 1/4 " I got 75 MOPH out of mine with a xr2 150

[ally260]

Got ta differ with ya Boater, Its got a pad just like a regular V bottom. Thats why its refered to as having "trainin' wheels. Tha pad on tha ltv is somethin' ya can make a very benefical modification on if your real bored with time on ya hands.
How much offset and what gear case (plain jane, LPW) ya got?
That boat performs at its best with a 4 ta 6" JP, good lwp gear case, motor jacked up (determined by experimentin') with a semi-cleaver (yamaha drag) or cleaver type over tha hub prop. It doesn't really need somethin' that creates a lota bow lift. How close ta any of this stuff are ya now?

[zooker]

details details and more details...getting the best performance out of what you have is all in the details..

zooker

[1FASTLASER]

Hmmmmm I need to pay attention a little more didnt see this post till today. Ally sounds like you have had some experience with them botes. You definately know what to tell someone on getting close to there best performance on the LTV Laser's. All you stated is real dang close to what he needs to get the most outta his boat.

As far as RPM's on his motor I personally like to spin em as close to 6000 as possible but at the same time still have the prop pushing. Each and every boat is different on the final fine tuning.

Creger is your motor fresh???? What lower ya got on it?? I am assumiong stock lower. We need some more info to get you close to your desired speed.

[ally260]

Ya might say so 1fast. Not sayin' I'm old but my first hot rod was a 14' Yellow Jacket with a Merc500 and dock buster shifter. Next ta allison, laser's or my passion ..........................T

[creger]

Thanks guys for responding....I do have a 6" jack plate, however the lower unit is stock. 1Fastlaser, I have been runnin the motor the last 4 or 5 years on the other boat(the motor runs good), until about 4 weeks ago when the transom finally gave out and ripped across the top side of the transom on the other boat. That's when I decided to bring the Laser back to life. I figured it would be alot easier and cheaper doing that, than having someone rebuild the transom on the other boat. Anyway, the Laser is alot better boat I think. The hull is in perfect condition on the Laser.
I should have everything back together and the new carpet in before the end of the week. Anxious to get back on the water and seeing how the boat runs.
When I bolted the motor onto the Laser, right now to start out, it's sittin 3" below pad.

Again, thanks for the information and I will keep ya informed with more details and numbers as soon as I get her back on the water.

[1FASTLASER]

Damn Alley where you located at bud. Maybe we can hook up one of these days and do some lake running as soon as I finish my project.
Creger as Alley stated bolt here up,WATCH water pressure and starting jacking to the moon. Dont drop below 15psi. Watch for a drop in turns. If you are ok running staright and loose it in the turns drop 1/4" and try again. Also keep an eye on rpms. You been running a boat long enough that you should know when the prop quits pulling. Keep us informed.

[ally260]

Might do just that. Speakin' a projects, Here's some before pics of tha one I'm doin' now. My work ain't givin' me much time ta work on it much right now, but still peckin' at it..............T

[1FASTLASER]

Talk about gettin a woody LOL Man I wished I had a garage big enough to do my project like that. My garage is to small to spread out my work so to speak. What model is that one Ally. So did ya have fun when seperating the cap from the hull back at the splash well where for some reason they just poured in a mixture of milled fibers and resin right at the top. LOL I cussed more right there than I did when I was removing the floor and stringers. Hey if your gonna put some serious hp on her I have the pics of one that was done up with the addition of some knee braces which allowed the boat to actually handle 425+hp and never crack or even groan a little. Lemme know ifn ya wanna see them. Mine is the 1550 Magnum. Any info that you need or want gimme a holler. I have tons of info including the history of the Lasers right from the begininning on. Tell ya something else I have located one of the ORIGINAL molds.........thats right one of the original Smmerford molds for the Lasers. Trying like hell to get my hands on it to build one from the beginning. I just about got the guy talked into selling the mold.

[ally260]

Stringers or just like these (TRex) 'cept I'm puttin' end grain balsa in tha bottom between tha stringers in a V shape. Tha point of tha V starts 5' from tha back in tha center with each side goin' to tha back corners coverin' tha bottom. Doin' away with all tha foam. Laser used it (foam) more support than for floatation. Tryin' ta get rid of ANY flex in tha bottom that seems ta happen with a LOT of motor. Its a '79 2550. Tha pad is a tad bit narrower and tha boat is 17'3'' instead of tha 17'6''. Gonna try ta kept it under 500lbs. I'll keep ya up ta date if ya want, but its a slooooooooooooooooooow process (due ta my real job)...............T
One other thing I changed was tha center stringer goes all tha way to tha transom........

[ally260]

Hey Creger, Have ya had a chance ta do anything with your stuff yet?

T

[creger]

Ally, hoping to be done enough with mine to get it on the water by Thursday. Should finish up with the carpet Tuesday or Wednesday. If I get done by Tuesday, I can get it on the water Wednesday (yipeeee). I noticed your in Fort Worth. That makes us neighbors. I'm just west of Springtown (18-20 miles)

______________________________
Chris

[ally260]

Yep, thats like next door. Maybe when my schdule lets me stay in town for more tha a couple a days we can get together and tinker with what ya got on Lake Worth, Eagle Mt. or Lake Weatherford. Maybe even get ya tuned up for tha "RIVER".

I know Poolville. Lived in Springtown when it was tiny. Had a crowd of 17 in my H.S.grad class .................T

[1FASTLASER]

Of course Ally you gotta keep me posted. LOL or I will come to Texas andlook you up. J/K........LOL Creger hope you can get her dialed in bud. Lasers are so much fun and fairly easy to drive and as I stated before will put alot and I do mean ALOT of the big boys on the trailer and without near as much as some of them run. Thats the beauty of the Laser's. Again I wanna warn you tghe only draw back to the botes that I know of is there dislike of nose high high speed runs. They will get you WET at the very least or make your britches smell like chit. Learn what your rig likes and dislikes. They all have there quirks. With ally working with ya with some hands on I feel like he can and will get you running top notch and I dont know this fella at all, but hereing him talk and knowing who he has been in touch with (TRex) I am very sure he has all his duckies in a row.