Took my z7 out for the first time today. My first impressions.

[Jim B]

I got out today and froze my butt off to get the first hour plus of the break in done. In that time i think i got a good feel for the boat and how it drives and handles. heres my thoughts.



Overall im pretty impressed with the boat. It feels very solid on the water when i hit some of the wakes i was making and such and its very stable at rest. It also turns great, compared to my 882 which kinda slid thru tight turns the Z7 carves like a knife. The way it turns reminds me a lot of my old champion, cut the wheel and it goes and now. The hyd steering really feels nice and im glad i went for that upgrade over cables.

Overall the boat drives great, and it feels very solid and tight. I havent been in rough water yet so the ride is TBD.



So far im very impressed with the 175 Pxo XS. That motor is an absolute beast. Currently the boat is setup with a 24 pitch tempest and i have a 6" plate. I havent measured the propshat height yet but it looks like its jacked up there pretty high. The wey its setup right now the holeshot is very quick, i never even gave it full thottle and it just jumped out of the hole and i have all my gear and put a half tank of fuel in the boat. The throtthe response is just impressive, after i got past the first hour i was able to open it up for a wuick burst and from 3500rpm to 6k it really pulls hard and planted me into the seat. It really pulled like a sports car and the boat got a ton of lift. For the short burst i rant it wide open i was going just under 66 on the gps and it was starting to chine walk like crazy so i shut it down. It still had more in it and i think it needs more prop, im sure if i stayed in it i would have hit the limiter easily. But since it was walking badly there was no way i was staying on it. For the first time i think ever i ran out of driver before i ran out of motor.

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

Good review Jim!



Suppose to be warmer this week, so it may not be so bad :lol:



Ya, I think you need a little more prop. Bob is putting the 24 Tempest Plus on mine, you should jump to a 25 or 26. With the chine like that, I'm glad I went with the 150



I'm picking mine up Thursday

 

[Larry Harp]

It's always a thrill to get your boat out for the first time. Here's a picture of me on my first day in my boat. Notice the down coat and no other boats on the lake on that raw February afternoon.

 

[Jim B]

I hear ya Harpo. It was exciting for sure to get the new boat out i was grinning from ear to ear. I went out alone since nobody was brave enough(or dumb enough depending on your prespective) to brave the cold and go with me this monring.



When i got on the water today is was somewhere ~34deg and when i got off the water in the afternoon maybe 45. Im used to that type of cold so while it was cold i did dress for it so it wasnt too bad. I had my layers on and my balaclava and goggles to keep my face from getting cold. I only got brain freeze twice in the morning so it wasnt too bad.



Here is the boat in the water at the ramp

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

AHHHHHHHHHHH.....Get a KeelShield on that rig or do you have one on and I can't see it?



TOXIC

 

[Brian Ingersoll]

I know you have experience with it, but my 882 had a bad walk to it until I lowered the engine one hole. I lowered rpm's, kept the speed, and got rid of the walk.

 

[Greg Duggan]

Looks good Jim, were did you find open water??? all of the lakes up are still frozen solid.

although i did hit the lake Saturday as well, i ran at 90mph for close to 3 miles before i ran out of ICE! last week of snowmobiling for me..Spent 2 day in Pittsburg NH and logged close to 200 miles. i hope the 60f weather starts the melt down up north. i still have snow in my yard.



GregD

 

[Aroldo Hernandez]

Awsome boat Gregg. Just take those stickers off your motor. It look's better with out them.

 

[Jim B]

LOL at Tox...



I dont have a keelshield yet.... I need to get on put on asap, I should have had the factory do it but i thought id save a buck and do it myself(stupid in hindsight). at least i beached it in nice soft sandm thats why i picked that lake to go to. Its one of the few places that has sand to beach at that i go to.



Greg, I went to Singeltary in Sutton yesterday, there is a lot of open water down here.

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

Woah, Singletary is way low

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

AHHHHHHHHHHH.....Get a KeelShield on that rig or do you have one on and I can't see it?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! The first thing I noticed was the boat beached like it was and wondered if there was a KeelShield on it or not!:lol:


It sure is a beautiful boat!



Uncle Billy

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Jim,



Email me and I can help you out on getting a KeelShield. I've made that offer to anybody here on this site that wants one. Pro Staff positions do come with "some" benefits. If you have any install questions, I can help out there also. Everybody should be using them!! I've seen some pretty amazing damage from sticks etc., hit just floating in the water. It is really necessary for those of you up North who's launch ramps are missing dock:huh:s. Cheap insurance.



TOXIC

 

[JP Heintzman]

Jim B.,



I don't believe you made a stupid/hindsight decision regarding the keelshield. For the factory install price ($350 - $400), you could get three of them! Plus, you can get one from TOXIC and it takes less than an hour to put one on, not hard at all. Shoot, for $400.00 an hour, I'll quit my job and install those all day long....ha ha ha. Great boat bro'.



JPH

 

[TRCM]

I did get the keelshiled form the factor.



I will say this, it is very long, as it extends from just below the bow eye all the way to the flat of the pad.

 

[TRCM]

2008 Z-7, 150 efi, no jackplate, 23P tempest



prop centerline is 3 1/2" below the pad

5400 rpm full tourney load & livewell, 5/8 tank of gas, 2 people

59 mph gps



holeshot is very sluggish with the above load, and even with just me in the boat, the holeshot is kinda slow, and definitely does a lot of plowing bow high before it gets on the pad.



What can we do to get a better holeshot and maybe a little more speed ? Can I do somethign different with the trim ?



Also, it seems to want to walk at ~ 57 mph, which I know is too slow, but it is just like a slow motion chinewalk.