First time boat owner. 03 weekender 245 w/ 454 b3

[Ron1204]

So after much time searching and trying to learn. Finally pulled the trigger on a 2003 weekender 245. It’s a pretty basic boat, I feel like. No off shore power. No ac, microwave or 110 outlets but it ran pretty good when I did the sea trial

The boat has a 454 on it but I don’t know much about this engine. How can I get more info on it? Hp/tq numbers. It cruises at high 20’s and at wot it is at 4K rpms hitting very low 30’s. Does this sound correct? I would think this size engine should rev higher and be hitting closer to 40-45. Could be wrong though. Previous owner said something about if I change the carburetor to 4 valve if would run higher rpms and faster. I’m not a mechanic and have no experience with that at all so idk. Seeing if I get info here on it. Another thing, I see that the engine runs very cool. Even at wot it runs at around 120 degrees. Is this correct? Unless my temp gauge is not working correctly. Anyways. Will try to post pics here. Looking forward to being an active member here and grabbing as much info as possible

 

[Maggieiscrazy]

Something is not right. My 240 sundancer weighs more than your boat and has a 5.0. It will do 43-44 mph on gps. You should be turning closer to 5000 rpm.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Something isn't making sense... a 454 wasn't available in 2003. The picture shows a "357" which was not a stock engine, either. That means it's a replacement engine - not necessarily a bad thing.

But... you should be able to get close to 5K RPM with a small block and your speed should definitely be better. Coud be propped wrong... could be a dirty bottom... could be damaged props... could be a mechanical issue. You'll have to check on some of these things.

Given it's a replacement engine, though, and the PO's comment about having to replace the carb... not making me feel very good about that PO. Why would he have settled with a engine setup that offered such drastically low performance when he probaby paid a pretty penny for it, you know?

Yes, 120 is way too cool. To start with, pull the t-stat and check it out... if it's there, at all.

 

[Ron1204]

Daze you’re correct. It’s a 357. The bottom of the boat has bottom paint but some of it has come off and it doesn’t look too uniform. I just can’t see bottom paint being the reason for such poor performance.

im not a mechanic and am not too handy with marine mechanical stuff. I will do my research a little to learn how to check on these issues or I’ll try to hire someone in the area. I wonder if my gauge just isn’t reading the temperature or what.

 

[Ron1204]

I’m sorry for the dumb question but by prop you mean propellor right ? The dual propellor of the bravo 3? If you mean that, that’s looks good to me. Doesn’t look damaged but I can take a pic and upload here if you want.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Bottom paint, itself, is not the reason. Even if it's flaking off or uneven it won't account for that much of a performance drop. But if there's growth on the bottom, it could be. Yes, prop = propeller.

Before you do too much messing around with things, or hiring someone... are you trimming up properly? When you go WOT, how far are you trimming up?

While possible, gauges rarely go bad in the way you're seeing.

 

[Ron1204]

For the trim tabs, it has the ones that supposedly self level the boat so I can’t manually control them. If by trimming up you mean raising the out drive, I don’t. I leave it all the way down all the time. Is this what you’re asking ?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yes, I was referring to the drive. You can turn off the Bennett ATC control that a previous owner installed, though. If you don't know how, just look in the manual (download it from their site, if you need to). I think if you just press a button to manually control it, it deactivates as well - then you can completely retract them. But it would be a good thing for you to read up on the various manuals about the systems of your boat.

But... back to the drive... you may get lucky and find that the entire problem you have is simply due to user error... which is good since it's easily fixable and is a $0 repair. After you figure out the tabs, go for a WOT run. Continue to raise the drive till your speed no longer increases or the prop starts to ventilate. The point right before that is your max speed and RPM. Do this with just you on board and a light load.

 

[Ron1204]

Daze thats some invaluable information . Thank you. I’m going to look into removing those smart trim controls. I don’t feel like they work that well anyways.

I still have the two trim tabs under the steering wheel. You think I should have all the connections necessary to just “deactivate” it ?

 

[Pirate Lady]

In addition, when i got my first boat dealer taught me to look behind, with drive down there is a noticeable spray when you get on plane. Raise the drive until spray is gone, usually a 2 or 3 count. Perfect trim, my trim gauge doesn’t work but the eyeball-spray method works every time.

 

[Pirate Lady]

PS may not work on some of these newer boats with massive swim platforms.

 

[Ron1204]

Good info I’ll def try that out too

 

[El Capitan]

That engine is the go-to replacement for the 454. It’s a 325hp. If purchased as repower they typically come w a 4-barrel Webber. The rpm range at wot if propped correctly is 4600-5000.

You should be in the 40’s for sure.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Actually, the ATC is a nice unit. But you can simply remove the fuse for it.

 

[Ron1204]

Do these trims look like they can still adjustable with the tabs ? Sorry for the dumb question, not too familiar with the different kinds

 

[Lazy Daze]

No, not dumb, at all. But... re-read post #8

 

[Ron1204]

Ok just did. Sorry I’m so new to this, it still doesn’t make sense lol.

so you’re saying that every trim tab is made to go up and down, correct? Mine for example, if working correctly, is it suppose to adjust itself depending on the tilt of the boat?? Last time I took it out, the boat was tilting pretty hard to the right it did not adjust itself very quickly. Is there a way to check if this system is even working ? How do I know I even have the smart trim tabs and the PO didn’t just give me a BS story and the fact is that they don’t even work?
Again I apologize for all the elementary and repetitive questions .

 

[Lazy Daze]

That's OK, no worries. I'll try to answer your questions, but go to Bennett's site - read up on how they work and such. Also look for info on the ATC and see if you have that on your dash. If you have it, it might just need to be calibrated.

Yes, tabs go up and down - either via the two rocker switches on your dash or with the addition of the ATC in "auto" mode. However you can always manually override the ATC.