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Author Topic:   1997 Outrage 20

nasstyoutrage posted 08-30-2012 04:17 PM ET (US)
I currently run a 1997 Outrage 20 with 2007 Mercury OptiMax 175 and MIRAGEplus 18-pitch propeller. The power head was just replaced and is now 10-hours into the break-in period. WOT is 4,950-RPM and 42-MPH--too low on RPM. [I am] thinking of [changing the propeller to a] 17 or 16 [unclear, perhaps means a Mercury ENERTIA propeller]. Does anyone here have any recommendations? People tell me the MIRAGEpus has too much diameter for my boat; others say an [unclear, perhaps means Mercury ENERTIA] is a waste and will cause blowout on trim. I purchased this package in May 2012 and motor is mounted all the way down. Any owners out there with this hull and same or similar power? Please advise! Thanks
Commander Coo1 posted 08-30-2012 09:26 PM ET (US)
Nassty--as you know I run a 175 E-TEC on a 1997 Outrage 20. I am guessing the sweet spot of RPM on that motor is about 5,500. From what I read the motor's operating range is 5250 to 5750. So that means about 500-RPM more that you need. It looks like with 4,950-RPM and 42-MPH you are getting about 7% slip, which sounds pretty good. So if I were you, I would raise the motor four-holes up or all the way up. I have mine mounted as high as it will go which is four-holes up on my motor, but I believe the Mercury has five mounting holes. See what RPM you are at, then, because the motor is probably buried pretty badly now. I have not tried an ENERTIA but I would really like to, they seem to do very well on boats in this size range, especially the lower pitch models. I would be interested to see how an ENERTIA 18-pitch, MIRAGE 17-pitch, and a REVOLUTION4 17-pitch after raising the motor. Good luck! Also check out propgods.com
Tom W Clark posted 09-04-2012 10:13 AM ET (US)
I think the "people" that have offered you their advice do not know much about propellers. I think Commander Coo1's advice is good. Raise the motor and retest your 18" MIRAGEplus. Even if you switch to an Enertia, you will need the motor raised first and a test run with the existing prop to help you figure out which pitch to use.
The Mercury OptiMax 175 should never have been mounted all the way down on the transom. That is a big part of your problem. The factory mounted that motor one or two holes up on the transom and it can easily go higher with the right prop.
phatwhaler posted 09-04-2012 07:40 PM ET (US)
I think you'll see your porpoising diminish also by raising your motor. If you read my post in the post classic area you'll see that I think you need at leat a 17p with a 175 Optimax. Like I said in the other post, that boat should easily hit 45mph with the right setup.
I have the same boat with a t-top.
nasstyoutrage posted 09-05-2012 05:39 PM ET (US)
Guys, Thanks for the input. Well here is my saga. Two weeks ago, I picked up my boat at the Mercury dealer. I had the powerhead replaced, among other things, and this was a five-week ordeal. Needless to say, I was not too happy with the wait, being the peak of my boating season here in the northeast! I joined this forum and was amazed at the input and knowledge from my fellow Boston Whaler boat owners. Commander Cool has been very helpful, as we share the same hull and both have 175's, his an E-TEC and mine an OptiMax. Called propgods, had a 17p Enertia sent to me, and put it on over Labor Day weekend. My motor is mounted all the way down, this is how it was rigged when I bought it in May. With the 17p Enertia [the engine speed] picked up 600-RPM. I was trimmed out WOT at 5,650-RPM doing 45-MPH half, tank of fuel, two adults and a flat calm morning.
[Acceleration from a standing start] was great, and the propeller had serious bite and no blow out at all. I ran this thing all day long, loaded boat with four adults and four kids and tubed all day long.
On the way back to the marina after a great day on the water, motor died, and would not hold idle or run for more than 10 seconds. Pulled out boat on Tuesday morning, brought it back to my Mercury mechanic, and found out that I blew the compressor and damaged the fuel rail--not good. Luckily [the Mercury OptiMax is] still under warranty, though the compressor is back ordered and not expected to ship until September 20th. I spoke to the mechanic about raising the motor while it was there, he laughed and said"it's not a high performance boat, why would you raise it!"
My response was, "I want it raised , can you do it?" He is not willing to raise the motor and is a rather arrogant person. I will have it raised when all work is complete at another dealer. Having actually owned and driven a few high performance boats, I know what it takes to go fast. I can handle a trimmed out rig at 107-MPH and don't need this guy insulting me. Oh well!
phatwhaler posted 09-05-2012 08:54 PM ET (US)
One small problem you'll have raising the motor is the black trim across the transom. With the motor all the way down you clear the trim, with the motor up the transom bracket won't lay perfectly flat against the transom. You'll have to clearance this trim piece.
Commander Coo1 posted 09-06-2012 08:24 AM ET (US)
Yes, definitely raise it. Even if you do it yourself, all you need is wrenches to fit the mounting bolts, some below the waterline rated sealant, a block of wood and the boat on its trailer. oh, and a cutting instrument to remove the trim on the splash well.
Start by removing enough material of the transom trim to allow the motor to slide up. Remove the top 2 bolts and loosen the bottom 2 just enough so that the motor will be able to slide. lower the tongue of the trailer and place the wood block under the motor's skeg. when you raise the tongue it will slide the motor up. once the bolt holes are lined up, put the sealant on the top bolts and re-insert them and snug them up. remove the bottom mounting bolts and put sealant on them and reinsert and snug the bolts. Tighten the bolts to 40 ft/lbs (evinrude's recommendation) after running the boat, re-torque the bolts.
You can probably go to the 4th hole up easily. Doing this on my boat did not do any huge improvement to speed, but it made holeshot better because i had less bow rise, and it makes steering lighter while on plane. While at a fast cruse of 4000-4500 rpm (optimally trimmed), you should be able to see the anti ventilation plate above the water, with some splashing going over it. This is how mine is, and and I do not lose grip unless i am trimmed way out while turning hard in a following sea.
Sorry to hear that it was the compressor that blew on you. Good luck, keep us updated! That Enertia seemed to be a huge improvement, makes me really want to try one!
jimh posted 09-06-2012 09:14 AM ET (US)
It is truly unfortunate that after waiting five weeks for the new power head to be installed on your Mercury OptiMax outboard engine that on the first weekend of use the air compressor on the Mercury OptiMax failed and caused the engine to stop running for more than a few seconds. The failure of the OptiMax after such a short time of operating does not give one a good feeling. That the failed air compressor on the OptiMax will be replaced under warranty is to be expected. I take it that the air compressor was new and was replaced with the power head. Or was the air compressor the original air compressor and was not part of the power head replacement?
martyn1075 posted 09-06-2012 11:27 AM ET (US)
The compressors have been changed in 2003, 2005, 2008, and now the latest 2011 the year they offered a newer compressor style that was improved on the older models. If they replaced the power head I'm not so sure they would replace the compressor as well if it was in working order before. Bad!
Please make sure they put that newly designed compressor and not some old stock version from the previous batch. Its very important because they have addressed key issues on why the these things are dying pre maturely. The old part number I believe ends in a 55. The new compressor part no: 828123A23
Its not the compressor technology thats the problem it has to do more with the pulley tensioner and the rod that runs through the compressor that connects to the bearing. If it rubs at all it breaks down quickly and overheats the compressor in no time which then is time bomb waiting to go. It often does not give any warning at all and blows up causing metal particles to be shot into the fuel rails as well all injectors specifically the air injectors. Extremely hard on the power head. This is a very expensive fix.
Why some breakdown at 10 hours and others 500 or average about 700-1000 hours on the old part nobody knows other than I blame the chassis that connects to the separate belt assembly to be the problem. The new part has a bering at each end and is now produced in North America only! The idea behind the dual bearing is to add needed strength as the belt is spinning under a tremendous amount of force while being operated. It can't shift at all it must be tight smooth with no friction whatsoever. Moisture and lack of oil lubrication are other theories but Im not buying that so much. Its a design and assembly problem that needs to be correctly put together with precision every single one of them.
Martyn

nasstyoutrage posted 09-06-2012 10:11 PM ET (US)
Thank you again for the input! When powerhead was replaced, it was just the raw block. All the components from old powerhead were added back on it.
I called merc today, rep told me that all compressors are built to order, so makes me think that it will be the new version. I will have to get the serial # once it gets to dealer.
The optimax has been great when it performs, has that snap that is close to a carbed motor, which i love. Conversely, reliability is obviously an issue. I have owned this package a little over 4 months, and have replaced the cam follower(dealer broke when running on dyno), have a new exhaust tuner, new powerhead, soon will have new fuel rail, and new compressor. looks like i have a brand new motor, and here i am frustrated.

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Author	Topic: 1997 Outrage 20
nasstyoutrage	posted 08-30-2012 04:17 PM ET (US) I currently run a 1997 Outrage 20 with 2007 Mercury OptiMax 175 and MIRAGEplus 18-pitch propeller. The power head was just replaced and is now 10-hours into the break-in period. WOT is 4,950-RPM and 42-MPH--too low on RPM. [I am] thinking of [changing the propeller to a] 17 or 16 [unclear, perhaps means a Mercury ENERTIA propeller]. Does anyone here have any recommendations? People tell me the MIRAGEpus has too much diameter for my boat; others say an [unclear, perhaps means Mercury ENERTIA] is a waste and will cause blowout on trim. I purchased this package in May 2012 and motor is mounted all the way down. Any owners out there with this hull and same or similar power? Please advise! Thanks
Commander Coo1	posted 08-30-2012 09:26 PM ET (US) Nassty--as you know I run a 175 E-TEC on a 1997 Outrage 20. I am guessing the sweet spot of RPM on that motor is about 5,500. From what I read the motor's operating range is 5250 to 5750. So that means about 500-RPM more that you need. It looks like with 4,950-RPM and 42-MPH you are getting about 7% slip, which sounds pretty good. So if I were you, I would raise the motor four-holes up or all the way up. I have mine mounted as high as it will go which is four-holes up on my motor, but I believe the Mercury has five mounting holes. See what RPM you are at, then, because the motor is probably buried pretty badly now. I have not tried an ENERTIA but I would really like to, they seem to do very well on boats in this size range, especially the lower pitch models. I would be interested to see how an ENERTIA 18-pitch, MIRAGE 17-pitch, and a REVOLUTION4 17-pitch after raising the motor. Good luck! Also check out propgods.com
Tom W Clark	posted 09-04-2012 10:13 AM ET (US) I think the "people" that have offered you their advice do not know much about propellers. I think Commander Coo1's advice is good. Raise the motor and retest your 18" MIRAGEplus. Even if you switch to an Enertia, you will need the motor raised first and a test run with the existing prop to help you figure out which pitch to use. The Mercury OptiMax 175 should never have been mounted all the way down on the transom. That is a big part of your problem. The factory mounted that motor one or two holes up on the transom and it can easily go higher with the right prop.
phatwhaler	posted 09-04-2012 07:40 PM ET (US) I think you'll see your porpoising diminish also by raising your motor. If you read my post in the post classic area you'll see that I think you need at leat a 17p with a 175 Optimax. Like I said in the other post, that boat should easily hit 45mph with the right setup. I have the same boat with a t-top.
nasstyoutrage	posted 09-05-2012 05:39 PM ET (US) Guys, Thanks for the input. Well here is my saga. Two weeks ago, I picked up my boat at the Mercury dealer. I had the powerhead replaced, among other things, and this was a five-week ordeal. Needless to say, I was not too happy with the wait, being the peak of my boating season here in the northeast! I joined this forum and was amazed at the input and knowledge from my fellow Boston Whaler boat owners. Commander Cool has been very helpful, as we share the same hull and both have 175's, his an E-TEC and mine an OptiMax. Called propgods, had a 17p Enertia sent to me, and put it on over Labor Day weekend. My motor is mounted all the way down, this is how it was rigged when I bought it in May. With the 17p Enertia [the engine speed] picked up 600-RPM. I was trimmed out WOT at 5,650-RPM doing 45-MPH half, tank of fuel, two adults and a flat calm morning. [Acceleration from a standing start] was great, and the propeller had serious bite and no blow out at all. I ran this thing all day long, loaded boat with four adults and four kids and tubed all day long. On the way back to the marina after a great day on the water, motor died, and would not hold idle or run for more than 10 seconds. Pulled out boat on Tuesday morning, brought it back to my Mercury mechanic, and found out that I blew the compressor and damaged the fuel rail--not good. Luckily [the Mercury OptiMax is] still under warranty, though the compressor is back ordered and not expected to ship until September 20th. I spoke to the mechanic about raising the motor while it was there, he laughed and said"it's not a high performance boat, why would you raise it!" My response was, "I want it raised , can you do it?" He is not willing to raise the motor and is a rather arrogant person. I will have it raised when all work is complete at another dealer. Having actually owned and driven a few high performance boats, I know what it takes to go fast. I can handle a trimmed out rig at 107-MPH and don't need this guy insulting me. Oh well!
phatwhaler	posted 09-05-2012 08:54 PM ET (US) One small problem you'll have raising the motor is the black trim across the transom. With the motor all the way down you clear the trim, with the motor up the transom bracket won't lay perfectly flat against the transom. You'll have to clearance this trim piece.
Commander Coo1	posted 09-06-2012 08:24 AM ET (US) Yes, definitely raise it. Even if you do it yourself, all you need is wrenches to fit the mounting bolts, some below the waterline rated sealant, a block of wood and the boat on its trailer. oh, and a cutting instrument to remove the trim on the splash well. Start by removing enough material of the transom trim to allow the motor to slide up. Remove the top 2 bolts and loosen the bottom 2 just enough so that the motor will be able to slide. lower the tongue of the trailer and place the wood block under the motor's skeg. when you raise the tongue it will slide the motor up. once the bolt holes are lined up, put the sealant on the top bolts and re-insert them and snug them up. remove the bottom mounting bolts and put sealant on them and reinsert and snug the bolts. Tighten the bolts to 40 ft/lbs (evinrude's recommendation) after running the boat, re-torque the bolts. You can probably go to the 4th hole up easily. Doing this on my boat did not do any huge improvement to speed, but it made holeshot better because i had less bow rise, and it makes steering lighter while on plane. While at a fast cruse of 4000-4500 rpm (optimally trimmed), you should be able to see the anti ventilation plate above the water, with some splashing going over it. This is how mine is, and and I do not lose grip unless i am trimmed way out while turning hard in a following sea. Sorry to hear that it was the compressor that blew on you. Good luck, keep us updated! That Enertia seemed to be a huge improvement, makes me really want to try one!
jimh	posted 09-06-2012 09:14 AM ET (US) It is truly unfortunate that after waiting five weeks for the new power head to be installed on your Mercury OptiMax outboard engine that on the first weekend of use the air compressor on the Mercury OptiMax failed and caused the engine to stop running for more than a few seconds. The failure of the OptiMax after such a short time of operating does not give one a good feeling. That the failed air compressor on the OptiMax will be replaced under warranty is to be expected. I take it that the air compressor was new and was replaced with the power head. Or was the air compressor the original air compressor and was not part of the power head replacement?
martyn1075	posted 09-06-2012 11:27 AM ET (US) The compressors have been changed in 2003, 2005, 2008, and now the latest 2011 the year they offered a newer compressor style that was improved on the older models. If they replaced the power head I'm not so sure they would replace the compressor as well if it was in working order before. Bad! Please make sure they put that newly designed compressor and not some old stock version from the previous batch. Its very important because they have addressed key issues on why the these things are dying pre maturely. The old part number I believe ends in a 55. The new compressor part no: 828123A23 Its not the compressor technology thats the problem it has to do more with the pulley tensioner and the rod that runs through the compressor that connects to the bearing. If it rubs at all it breaks down quickly and overheats the compressor in no time which then is time bomb waiting to go. It often does not give any warning at all and blows up causing metal particles to be shot into the fuel rails as well all injectors specifically the air injectors. Extremely hard on the power head. This is a very expensive fix. Why some breakdown at 10 hours and others 500 or average about 700-1000 hours on the old part nobody knows other than I blame the chassis that connects to the separate belt assembly to be the problem. The new part has a bering at each end and is now produced in North America only! The idea behind the dual bearing is to add needed strength as the belt is spinning under a tremendous amount of force while being operated. It can't shift at all it must be tight smooth with no friction whatsoever. Moisture and lack of oil lubrication are other theories but Im not buying that so much. Its a design and assembly problem that needs to be correctly put together with precision every single one of them. Martyn
nasstyoutrage	posted 09-06-2012 10:11 PM ET (US) Thank you again for the input! When powerhead was replaced, it was just the raw block. All the components from old powerhead were added back on it. I called merc today, rep told me that all compressors are built to order, so makes me think that it will be the new version. I will have to get the serial # once it gets to dealer. The optimax has been great when it performs, has that snap that is close to a carbed motor, which i love. Conversely, reliability is obviously an issue. I have owned this package a little over 4 months, and have replaced the cam follower(dealer broke when running on dyno), have a new exhaust tuner, new powerhead, soon will have new fuel rail, and new compressor. looks like i have a brand new motor, and here i am frustrated.