210 Dauntless Rigging for Water Skiing

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Tacky79
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 1:49 pm

210 Dauntless Rigging for Water Skiing

Postby Tacky79 » Sun Jun 23, 2019 2:56 pm

I found a nice 210 Dauntless with a T-top, but it has a Mercury 150-HP engine. With two adults, three kids, and a dog aboard, I'm concerned that we won't be able to adequately pull a skier.

Q: Would changing to a higher pitch and four-bladed propeller provide a solution if the boat [as presently rigged] cannot pull a skier?

I am assuming that the boat is on the lower end of the ideal power range because Whaler provided that boat with the option of a 200-HP engine.

Here's data from Whaler that I looked at:

190 Montauk, 150HP Merc (our current boat, that works fine for skiing):
Dry weight of boat: 2467 lbs
Weight during testing: 3042 lbs
Time to plane: 3.4 sec
Max speed: 48.0 mph
Note: no t-top for this testing

210 Dauntless, 150HP Merc:
Dry weight of boat: 3190 lbs
Weight during testing: 3811 lbs
Time to plane: 4.7 sec
Max speed at WOT: 43.5 mph
Note: boat did not have t-top for this testing.

210 Dauntless, 200HP Merc Verado:
Dry weight of boat: 3395 lbs
Weight during testing: 4032 lbs
Time to plane: 5.0 sec
Max speed at WOT: 45.3 mph
Note: boat did have t-top for this testing

That data implies that the T-top weighs about 200 lbs, and with that added weight, the higher-HP Verado is very close to the 150-HP Mercury. Too bad that Whaler doesn't have data for a 210 Dauntless with a 150-HP and a T-top.

Can some user chime in?
Last edited by Tacky79 on Tue Jun 25, 2019 12:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

kwik_wurk
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Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2015 3:23 pm

Re: Water skiing and "underpowered" 210 Dauntless

Postby kwik_wurk » Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:47 am

Have you ever skied behind a deeper-v boat like that, because that's going to throw a serious wake. Are you more worried about the deep water start, or top speed through a course?

If you're really worried about running 28 to 32-feet off on the course, a slow, dragging, deep-water start won't be your problem, but plowing through a monster wake will be.

In all, I would say a 210 T-top with a 150 is under-powered unless it's a lowest rating for a engine block that is used for higher power—say a block that makes 175 or 200-HP.

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Phil T
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Re: Water skiing and "underpowered" 210 Dauntless

Postby Phil T » Mon Jun 24, 2019 7:58 am

Factory performance tests should be taken lightly since they are often conducted in conditions that are not typical of the average owner. They include limited fuel, persons, personal belongings, safety gear and operating conditions that are far from typical.

If you do get the boat in question and want to pull a skier, you will most likely want a 3 bladed prop with lower pitch, rather than higher. The lower pitch will allow the engine to increase RPM's and subsequent speed faster.

Some four bladed prop brands, sized appropriately, could also improve acceleration over the factory supplied propeller.

Kwik - Are you sure the 210 Dauntless is a deep V? I think of the Dauntless as more of a shallow V compared to the Outrage series.
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jimh
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Re: 210 Dauntless Rigging for Water Skiing

Postby jimh » Mon Jun 24, 2019 9:13 am

To improve acceleration from a standing start with the load of a ski tow rope, reduce propeller pitch and increase blade area.

Mercury made a five blade propeller—High-Five model—that might be useful, if available in the right pitch.

The 150-HP VERADO engine will be the four-cylinder 1.7-liter model. The 200-HP model could be either a four- or six-cylinder model.

A six-cylinder 200-HP would have more displacement, more weight, much bigger size, and perhaps more pulling power for skiing.

A four-cylinder 200-HP would likely only give you the extra power at the very high end of engine speeds, above 5,500-RPM to maybe 6,400-RPM. Extra power at that engine speed range would probably not be of much use for water skiing.

Buy a boat with the right engine; re-powering will be very expensive.

Tacky79
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Re: 210 Dauntless Rigging for Water Skiing

Postby Tacky79 » Mon Jun 24, 2019 12:25 pm

This is the 3.0L non-Verado 150HP engine. I have this engine on my 190 Montauk, and it's great. Very torquey and some people think it's probably putting out 165 HP or so.

We are not serious competition skiers - just casual skiers when the conditions are right. I just want to be able to get a skier out of the water and have a decent top end for cruising.

Interesting chart showing the performance of both the 200 HP Verado and 150 HP non-verado on page three here. Note that the Verado had 200 more lbs on board for this test, but the 150 outperforms it:

https://www.bostonwhaler.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2017-PD-210-DAUNTLESS.pdf
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

Nikonov_94
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Re: 210 Dauntless Rigging for Water Skiing

Postby Nikonov_94 » Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:10 pm

[The 210 DAUNTLESS boat under discussion will] be enough for water skiing.

Since you are doing [water skiing] casually and not for competitions, won't [the 210 DAUNTLESS hull increase] the problem of the excessive wake?

An experienced skier can handle [excessive wake made by a 210 DAUNTLESS hull] but if you are not experienced sportsmen, [excessive wake] might be unpleasant—if not dangerous—for your skier.

Tacky79
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 1:49 pm

Re: 210 Dauntless Rigging for Water Skiing

Postby Tacky79 » Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:41 pm

I'm not sure the Dauntless will have an excessive wake, but I understand what you are saying. We are pretty athletic and snow ski quite a bit, so if it were to have a bigger wake than our Montauk, we'll just treat the wake as a liquid mogul.
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

jimh
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Re: 210 Dauntless Rigging for Water Skiing

Postby jimh » Sat Jun 29, 2019 8:20 am

If the primary purpose of the boat is for water skiing with a modest wake, get a Mastercraft inboard ski tow boat.

The notion that a Boston Whaler boat might not be the optimum boat for water skiing should be acknowledged from the outset. But I hardly think using a Boston Whaler boat for towing a water skier rises to the level of representing a danger to the water skier. If there were any reasonable basis for that to be true, I am sure Boston Whaler would explicitly state their boats must not be used to tow a water skier.

Let’s be realistic: people have used all models of Boston Whaler boats to pull recreational water skiers for 50-years. Now the 210 DAUNTLESS is a dangerous boat to use for water skiing? That’s news to me.