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Did my first boating / camping weekend trip as a boat owner. My new-to-me 2004 SAN 210, fittingly nicknamed "Snowmelt," took to the Rockies this weekend about 2.5 hours away from Denver.
Fast facts:
Towing. I just replaced a bearing buddy this week so was nervous about my bearings + if my 4Runner could get it done on a grueling mountain drive. Happy to report no issues.
Riding: Wasn't sure how the boat would perform at altitude with the Excalibur 330, but it did great! The surf tabs the 1st owner added are a massive X Factor for getting on plane with full ballast. Makes a huge difference. Everyone had fun, got great water conditions, tried some new tricks, and no (major) injuries.
Camping: Waterfront campsite was beautiful.
Gas usage: Didn't even use a full tank (which is 39 gallons) between two days of riding. It is blowing my mind how efficient the Excal 330 is with my high altitude Acme 1578 prop. Half was running full ballast (2k+) half was with beginners near empty. 5-6 people onboard.
What went wrong:
Transmission: I checked the ATF level for the first time since owning the boat and saw it was very low (barely hitting the dipstick). I added Dextron 6 (still can't find a straight answer on if it's better or Dex/Merc...). A little too much apparently, overfilled. First time planing out the boat felt like the prop was out of balance and made a faint squeaking noise (similar to engine belt squeak). I pulled back and we saw a little ATF had pushed out through what looks like a pressure release valve on the top of the transmission. Tried planing out again and all was back to normal. Anyone else had a similar experience?
Tach: First morning out the tach was bouncing around and wouldn't register until a few k rpm. Seems to pretty much be back to normal. Is this common?
Weather: Got unlucky with a few storms.
Fast facts:
- 220 miles towing round trip (including the grueling I-70 run over the continental divide at 11,000+ ft elevation)
- 7500 feet elevation
- Air temps: 40F (night)-75F degrees (day)
- Water temp: ~68F
- About 8-10 engine hours put on the boat (up to 823 total)
- 0 break downs
- 0 significant injuries
Towing. I just replaced a bearing buddy this week so was nervous about my bearings + if my 4Runner could get it done on a grueling mountain drive. Happy to report no issues.
Riding: Wasn't sure how the boat would perform at altitude with the Excalibur 330, but it did great! The surf tabs the 1st owner added are a massive X Factor for getting on plane with full ballast. Makes a huge difference. Everyone had fun, got great water conditions, tried some new tricks, and no (major) injuries.
Camping: Waterfront campsite was beautiful.
Gas usage: Didn't even use a full tank (which is 39 gallons) between two days of riding. It is blowing my mind how efficient the Excal 330 is with my high altitude Acme 1578 prop. Half was running full ballast (2k+) half was with beginners near empty. 5-6 people onboard.
What went wrong:
Transmission: I checked the ATF level for the first time since owning the boat and saw it was very low (barely hitting the dipstick). I added Dextron 6 (still can't find a straight answer on if it's better or Dex/Merc...). A little too much apparently, overfilled. First time planing out the boat felt like the prop was out of balance and made a faint squeaking noise (similar to engine belt squeak). I pulled back and we saw a little ATF had pushed out through what looks like a pressure release valve on the top of the transmission. Tried planing out again and all was back to normal. Anyone else had a similar experience?
Tach: First morning out the tach was bouncing around and wouldn't register until a few k rpm. Seems to pretty much be back to normal. Is this common?
Weather: Got unlucky with a few storms.
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