New Bayliner Element-gctid810531

[Jlmoulto]

New owner of a 16' bayliner element with the 60hp standard merc 4 stroke. Having trouble getting the boat to plane with three people. Speedometer is showing around 15 km/hr. I did get it up to 30 with just two. Is this normal performance for this boat? Btw the boat and engine have less than an hour of running time on it.

[Download_Complete]

"Jlmoulto" post=810531 wrote:
New owner of a 16' bayliner element with the 60hp standard merc 4 stroke. Having trouble getting the boat to plane with three people. Speedometer is showing around 15 km/hr. I did get it up to 30 with just two. Is this normal performance for this boat? Btw the boat and engine have less than an hour of running time on it.

The 16 foot Element with the 60 hp is well known to have a marginal amount of power, but it should be able to plane with 3 people.

I would first tune the engine up. Then I would get the boat weighed at a weigh station - these boats are known for retaining water in the outer sponsons, where the bilge pump cannot reach. Finally, I would experiment with propellers - either go to a 4 blade prop, or get Smart Tabs installed. Plenty of information here on the forum if you do a search.

[seadoorider]

this is a new boat/motor? I'd certainly involve the dealer before I spent money on new props, smart tabs, whatever. Might be a rigging issue, kind of doubt the boat is full of water after less than an hour of use - if it is I'd probably ask for another boat, refund etc. Could also be that the motor is not running properly. Dealer should be able to diagnose any running issues.

Did you test drive the boat prior to purchase? I've never driven a 60hp element myself but was wondering if it had performed differently prior to this outing?

How much weight did you have on board? Not just people but stuff too, my big cooler get's pretty heavy for example. Also where is the weight on the boat? Other boats I have experienced with moderate power have had trouble getting on plane depending on weight distribution - too much aft for example.

[oakplank]

Go back to 2 people and see if your speed is back to 30 km/hr. If yes, the problem is with weight. If you can not get up to 30 km/hr a second time, the problem is more serious and I would head right over to my dealer.

[Jlmoulto]

So, I'll try to answer all questions so far.

Did I test drive boat? No. It was new and setup by the dealer and I had to drive 3,400 kms round trip to pick it up. Why? Live in Yellowknife, NT Canada. You can google it but we are slightly remote!!! It was winter at the time and, unfortunately, after buying it the only local Mercury Dealer went bankrupt. I took a chance I know but a new boat with warranty and I figured I'd be OK.

As for water, until it was put in the lake for the first time, the boat was shrink wrapped. There was no water to be seen in the boat anywhere.

As for weight, about 500 lbs for the three people, no gear other than a few ropes and safety gear, full tank of fuel. Daughter was in the front, I was at the helm, with wife across, but in rearward facing seat.

Managed to get a local dealer (Evinrude and Honda specialists) to look at it this morning. They took it to a lake, drove 100 ft from the wharf and turned around. Put the boat on the trailer, one look at the prop and said what the F**** is that. Apparently, the prop is a 9" (no idea what that means, but I'll be able to get more info when I look later) and described to me as something they would expect to see on a kicker. They tried a couple different pitch props and installed a new one (I'll get specs later as well). Two 250lb guys, boat is now running at 60 km/hr full out.

I'll research the forums more to see what some recommended props are but what should be standard on this motor from factory? It is not the bigfoot model btw.

[Guest]

Jimoulto, my nephew has the 16' with the bigfoot 65 hp. planing is an issue with him as well. the bigfoot has more torque but it appears it shows it's use for pulling someone behind it...I was disappointed with my 75hp with planing as well until I installed Smart tabs...It's almost miraculous the decreased time it takes to get out of the hole. I haven't changed my prop so I can't speak to that but the STabs do make a world of difference. Easy to install and need no maintenance. Worm

[pepperjack]

I would verify the rigging was done correctly from the remote to the outboard. Mine is at the dealer now with only 8 hours because something went wrong with our 2017 e16 with 75hp and we got stranded at a restaurant dock without being able to go into gear. Prop was not engaging and had to be SeaTowed back to the trailering point. Dealer called back after looking it over and they verified the remote was not allowing the boat to go into gear. Maybe yours was rigged by the same idiot as ours.

[Download_Complete]

Jesus. Where did you buy it from (location) if I can ask?

9 inch might mean diameter. I don't know what the standard prop should be, but OB powered Bayliners are usually rigged at the dealer, including props.

Sorry for your trouble.

[seadoorider]

I went ahead and googled Yellowknife, NT. I suspect the reason you cannot plane well is the water is frozen. Try again in a few more weeks.

All jokes aside, looks like a beautiful place, I'd love to see that part of the world sometime - I've only been to "southern" Canada

Prop seems woefully undersized for your boat, but I'm no expert. Will say I'd be tempted to take the boat to a local expert and have them inspect all the rigging since whoever rigged it out previously apparently either didn't know what they were doing or were flat incompetent which I guess is the same thing but I was meaning maybe unethical like.

[Pichy]

I had a similar issue with my element. The 60 hp bigfoot was very slow to plane off, if anyone was with me. I ended up replacing the prop with a Nemesis 13.8 x 11P after researching on this forum. That may not be right for your outboard, since it is not a bigfoot. But it made all the difference in plane off time. You should have a spare prop anyway just in case you damage one. See the following thread, and good luck! http://www.baylinerownersclub.org/in...on-for-element