Woolridge Classic 3 stage kodiak fuel injected 350 MPH/RPM?

[becker]

I just picked up a wooly classic w/ a Kodiak pump. I am comming from a sport jet background so this is all 'new'.
Couple questions for you smart guys:
1)Hole shot - what should I be expecting (i.e. 3 boat lenghts)?
2)What is best RPM to run from a fuel economy vs speed perspective?
3)WOT what should I be seeing speed wise - I have had the boat on the water for a couple hours and my max RPM was about 44K.

I 'think' my posi nozzle needs to be rotated 180 degrees as it looks to bepointed up slightly.

Looking to improve hole shot and hauling capability - not concerned with top end speed (as much).

[bmunsell]

I see you're not getting much for replies and it's probably because there so many variable involved that it's hard to say just what you should expect from your boat. I also have a wooly classic, but mine is the deeper V model and it has a 454 chevy in it so what I get out of my boat probably won't compare well with yours, especially in regards to RPM to run at and speeds.

Overall, I think you'll be really happy with the boat, my wooly classic is a very predictable boat and I find it easy to drive. Mine will initially carve into a turn very nicely and then slide or even spin if pushed further, but all in a very controllable manner. I usually cruise about 3500 or 3600 RPM which, on the Big Su gives me about 35 to 36 mph going down stream and 28 to 30 mph going up stream measured on the GPS. Fuel burn for me is around 12 GPH at those speeds. At WOT I'm running about 4100 RPM and 42 or 43 mph going downstream and I can't tell you what the fuel burn is, I'm afraid to look, probably close to 18 or 20 gph. I've got my jet all apart right now so I can't say if its pointed slightly up or down.

Hope this helps some. Enjoy the boat

[Glen Wooldridge]

I just picked up a wooly classic w/ a Kodiak pump. I am comming from a sport jet background so this is all 'new'.
Couple questions for you smart guys:
1)Hole shot - what should I be expecting (i.e. 3 boat lenghts)?
2)What is best RPM to run from a fuel economy vs speed perspective?
3)WOT what should I be seeing speed wise - I have had the boat on the water for a couple hours and my max RPM was about 44K.

I 'think' my posi nozzle needs to be rotated 180 degrees as it looks to bepointed up slightly.

Looking to improve hole shot and hauling capability - not concerned with top end speed (as much).

#1. Hole shot would be like all jet's subject to condition and pitch of impellers. The steeper the pitch the lower the top RPM,and the better the hole shot. (this makes more differance with a large load, a light boat should have a goob hole shot anyway.) There is a point were the RPM's are to low, with a 350 I like about 4200 top RPM. 3900 is about the lowest I would go.
#2. The best fuel economy is subject to the impellers again, should be in the low 3000 RPM range with a light boat.
#3. Top speed subject to weight would be in the 40's
#4. Nozzel up should be faster as long as you don't porpoise. Nozzel down quicker planning slower top speed. You can trim the boat to dial it in by tapping the bottom edge. Call me with any questions. Glen

[becker]

Glen,
Thanks for the response,
I will be tearing into the pump tomorrow night to see what kind of shape everything is in. During trial runs I did notice some porpoiseing at higher speeds. I have not run the boat since changing the nozzle.

What is your opinion -pro and con of running an 'overlap' or leadin impeller as the #1 impeller? I am getting lots of opinions. If the performance improvement is significant I would like to put one in, however don't want to spend $950.00 and notice minimal improvement.

[Glen Wooldridge]

Glen,
Thanks for the response,
I will be tearing into the pump tomorrow night to see what kind of shape everything is in. During trial runs I did notice some porpoiseing at higher speeds. I have not run the boat since changing the nozzle.

What is your opinion -pro and con of running an 'overlap' or leadin impeller as the #1 impeller? I am getting lots of opinions. If the performance improvement is significant I would like to put one in, however don't want to spend $950.00 and notice minimal improvement.

I like the overlap, it has more blade area which is less likely to slip, and seams quieter. Call me if you have trim question after you run it again. Glen

[Daved]

I have run a couple of pitch scenarios with my boat. It is a 20ft xtraplus with a 351 and a three stage. Your boat is likely a bit bigger, but the comparisons should be valid. I ran the factory suggested 3x19 pitch with the T3 nozzle (I don't remember the diameter). Good call on ditching the old T3. That ran alright I guess. I then put in 2x19 pitch and the last one 24 pitch (suggested by kodiak as an upgrade) with their posinozzle. I carried more weight on step and lowered my cruise RPM's. I put in an overlap, a 21 pitch and then the 24 pitch with a 94mm posi nozzle. I had a decrease in load carrying ability and decreased top end speed. I used the 19 overlap, then 2x19 regular impellers with a 94 nozzle and did OK on the Yukon. I freshened up the motor, went to back to the overlap, 21, 24 and opened up the nozzle to 100mm. I lost top end speed, but can carry all the weight I want and get on step, which is what I wanted. I gain some top end speed by using a 98mm insert instead of the 100mm.

I had a lot of questions when repitching my impellers. It seems to work out good for my boat, motor and the loads I carry.

Hole shot and load carrying ability seem to be on opposite sides of the curve, you improve one and lose the other to some extent it seems.

If you are good at math, look into torque curves. It made my head hurt.

Top end speed is nice, but your cruise speed is more important. You want to know when the secondaries open up on the carb (usually around 3600) and stay at 200-400 rpm below that in my experience. Most 350 marine engines have their optimum torque curve close the 3200 rpm if I remember right. I tried to load the boat to the gills, get on step and stay on step at 3400 RPM to determine my max load. My set up will put anything on step, so long as the boat floats (slight exaggeration). The most weight I want to put in the boat turned out to be 2 guys, all our gear and 240 gallons of gas. She was a pig, but cruised out of the secondaries and made her way to the nowitna without blowing up.

Have fun. Are you going to the riverboat gathering??

[ASUS-DAG]

What!!! No pictures?

[becker]

Dave,
Thanks,
as far as the picnic - won't be going - I'm up in fairbanks. After tonight I will have a better idea of which direction I am going to go - leaning on dropping some $$ and picking up an overlap, and then running the 'best' of the 3 impeller that I currently have. Pull the the one with the worst tolerances and get it rebuilt. My thinking is that the "when" I chew up the overlap, I can put in the rebuilt impeller so I am not looking at a significant amount of of non boating time. My sea trial so far have been minimal (two runs of 30 minutes). The Wooly I have is an engine forward design w/ two 40 gal belly tanks aft. It seems that I should be able to improve hole shot due to layout, during testing I was not blowing out the jet, but was not getting on step very quick (roughly 5-6 boat lengths). Motor is strong and low time (140 hrs), just trying to pick everyones brain as to what works and what does not..My cruise RPM's seemed high (35-36).

[Daved]

That seems high to me too for a 350. Personally, I had to adjust my concept of on step when I upgraded to my current boat. I was running an Alaskan and it felt a lot different on step than this boat does. The john boats are always on step it seems. Maybe, you are on step fine at lower RPM's than you think? Or, your impellers are all silly.

Running the Su this weekend north of Talkeetna for the first time. It will be good to see my set up perform vs just haul a heavy load. Happy boating

[becker]

So I tore into it last night with the help of someone who is smart on the 3 stage. Found some very minor dings and dressed the impellers. The current setup is a Overlap 19 followed by a 5 and a 4 furthest out. All were in very good shape.
We did note and correct the trailing edge of the hull as it was slightly "up" over most of the radius on the stern. I plan on making a jig and bending the lip down 1 or 2 16th's this weekend.
My question is a 19 overlap followed up w/ a 19 and 23 a decent set-up for hole shot and load? OR is this just something that varies depending on hull + motor combination?