Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

[Wayne Johnson]

I'm looking at buying a 19' 1993 Bayliner Classic with a Mercruiser 3.0 I/O. Our son wants to take up wakeboarding (5'10", weighs about 190). Will this boat/engine be able to pull him out of the water? Ditto for waterskiing - can this boat handle it? thanks

 

[mdcan5]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

Deep water starts on a slalom ski will be tough for a beginner. The boat will be okay for casual skiing and boarding, but as your son's skills increase he will be wanting a more consistant pull. It is difficult to maintain a steady speed while pulling a wakeboarder with a boat like this. Hard cuts will tend to pull the boat off plane.

 

[Doug Durako]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

Wayne----in 25 years of skiing, I've found there is no substitute for horsepower. If you put a few people in that boat and try to pull me (6-3, 215) I'd be spitting and sputtering like a beached whale.<br /><br />Wakeboarding does not require as much power, but the trick is staying on plane at 20 or 22 mph.<br /><br />Can you test the boat before you buy? I would not purchase a boat without a test---throw some friends in and give it a run! Good luck!

 

[ross_larter]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

Hi,<br />I only have a Mariner 60hp o/b my 14' ski boat, it pulls me up on a wakeboard with ease (200+ pounds) with 3 people in the boat and kit, it pulls me fine at 20mph and will get to about 37mph if needed. I could not use it for mono sking, but i would never need to, as wakeboarding is much more fun ;-).<br /><br />Your Mercruiser 3.0 I/O will pull him out no problem on water ski or wakeboard. You guys in the US love your HP i've noticed, the most anybody has were I ski is about 130HP on a 19', and they pull 2 skiers with that.<br /><br />Cheers<br />Ross

 

[Doug Durako]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

Sorry, Ross---I need to run 38 in the slalom course and your rig won't do it. I've almost stopeed an 80 horse outboard dead in its tracks on a good, solid turn. Not to mention the tracking problems trying to slalom behind an outboard.<br /><br />Oh, we tried it for about 10 years until the 200 horse Evinrude we were running died a sudden death back in the 70s.<br /><br />As you said, wakeboarding is a different animal. You could pull me on a wakeboard behind a jon boat with 30 horsepower.<br /><br />One question---where do you put your observer when pulling skiiers? Do you have a seat on the navigation lights up on the bow?<br /><br />Just kidding---we do like our horsepower!

 

[dhammann]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

I'm with Ross. Back in the old days very few people had over 85hp and done just fine. But back then we were just interested in being with family and having fun and not making excuses for not being able to ski!.....it is a mindset today to have more power on everything...like a 42 inch lawnmower with a 25hp motor for cutting a third acre lot, takes just as long to cut the grass as 12hp...go figure?

 

[Doug Durako]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

Don't get me wrong---I enjoy a ride on the river in a paddlewheel powered by steam!<br /><br />But, remember, the question is about "waterskiing and wakeboarding."<br /><br />I think most manufacturers of I/Os put just enough power in the base models to wet the appetite---so they can sell you a new boat in two years.

 

[Juancho]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

Hey Wayne,<br /><br />I have a 1984 Bayliner 1950, (a.k.a 19’ classic) with a Volvo AQ125. I love the boat, but I dream of having a 4.3 V-6 everytime I go out. It is getting to the point where I don't even want to take my underpowered boat out anymore. Do yourself a favor and get a boat with at least a 4.3 V-6, especially if you plan on pulling skiers. There is no replacement for displacement.

 

[L Christopher]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

I agree with the more HP crowd. Excuse the detective work, but if your son is 5'10" 190lbs I am going to assume he is a teenager. Teenagers have friends of both the male and female variety. Just try leaving the house headed for the lake without a bunch of them in tow. I speak with experiance in this matter. It is nice a boat strong enough to pull skiers, tube, wakeboards, and kneeboards not to mention enough room so that the college girls are not left on shore.

 

[P.V.]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

Consider that even though you may only have a 4 cylinder, Mercury makes a 4 blade aluminum prop that is 1) fairly inexpensive and 2) gives good hole shot and 3) keeps the boat on plane at slower speeds than 3 blade props. You will lose top end speed but the alternitive is only more cubic inches OR a high 5 stainless prop. Try the boat pulling your son, before you buy it. 4 blades do a pretty good job for what you want.

 

[DJ]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

Wayne,<br /><br />IMHO, a 19' with a 3.0 is a recipe for disappointment.<br />True, it's 135 hp. but it's also twice the weight of an outboard-all in the stern.<br /><br />I've met many folks with a 3.0 that thought they could use just a bit more.

 

[oldblumerc]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

this topic may be old but i think it worth still discussing because me and one of my friends are just now having this argument. i have the 3.0 you speak of in an old tahiti i/o that my dad just handed down to me, he says i'll never be able to wakeboard behind it with sucess i say fooy to that when i was a kid i saw this little baby pull a 300lb woman out of the water ON A SINGLE SKI(granted we snapped 2 ropes in the process) and just this last weekend me and another friend were out on the delta and we saw a group of guys with a boat similar to mine getting huge air wakeboarding... <br /><br />...but thats just my 2 cents

 

[oldblumerc]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

i may try that 4 blade prop you guys are talking about. better hole shot with a quicker plane you say eeh...hmmm.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

I have a 16 ft with 3.O OMC Cobra 17" prop. It's a smaller and lighter boat for sure than your 19'. It came with a Stingray hydrofoil on it. It jumps out of the water with it installed....without it, the nose of the boat looks skyward for the first few seconds...Speed with a skier is about 30-32 miles an hour. The hydrofoil brings it to plane faster and gives the boat better control in the turns.

 

[tylerin]

Re: Waterskiing/Wakeboarding with Mercr 3.0

I learned how to ski on that exact boat when I was a kid. A friends dad had it. Now my friend has it and I still enjoy getting behind it. I weigh 210. The kind of 210 that sinks to the bottom. Wakeboarding it does fine. (Perfect) I have a 4.3 cobra and I can't pull my son out slow enough. He's 6'1" A buck thirty soaking wet. I love your boat Its a deep V Some ski's (ones with a very thin tail) are harder to get up on. Maybe because I learned on this boat I deep water start with my back foot out and slip it in later. I could never use a ski w/ two boots