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Sea Legs Update(s)

Vikingstaff

Vikingstaff

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Okay...just picked up the boat this morning and got it dockside. 3rd year with the boat, but just had the Sea Legs added. Gas tank topped off. Me and my son Jacob. Very strong headwinds. Pushing into choppy conditions 6”-1’ waves.

We just drove it to the cottage as the conditions were messy, so this is NOT a true performance check and comparison....yet.

Boat:

- 2017 24’ SSBXP SPS 200 Mercury Verado Pro, 16p Enertia Prop
- Bad ass captain at the helm, with trusty son co-piloting beside me. :D

Performance/Comparison:

- Hit 38.7 mph on gps pretty easily. Didn’t try to mess with trim much, so maybe could have squeezed it into the 39 range.
- I just got up on plane, put the throttle down, and took notice of what I got to before easing off the throttle.
- In the past, I probably would have got up to 40-42 in similar wind and water conditions.
- My best WOT solo with a 1/2 tank of gas was like 43/44 mph on gps.
- Didn’t notice too much difference from the past in performance, but bad conditions to test in.
- I am thinking I might not lose much of any performance at WOT. Maybe 3 mph.

Future Reports

- It will be interesting to really test and compare performance at other times this summer.
- I am curious if I will notice any difference in hole shot, as top end looks to be minimal with a moderately light load.
- I am also curious to see how WOT ends up with a full load of people - even though WOT is almost never hit when boating with a large group for us.

I will do a couple of replies with initial pictures so people can see what they look like now, and how they look tucked up with the underskinning.
 
Pictures with the Sea Legs tucked up underneath the Tritoon.

Front:
E848F8FD-44D7-42D4-8EE6-E2ADC8810C29.jpeg

Rear View Up Close:
23D49A77-6BFC-4139-89C9-67E9E203C835.jpeg

Rear View:
5AB21FCC-C054-4B7C-AF33-8BA3E8B6DFB2.jpeg

Front View Up Close:
759129A3-9DF8-47B1-93B6-71799A345EDB.jpeg
 
Really appreciate the pics and performance report!! Those are substantially different than mine. They look taller and skinnier when tucked up and much cleaner. Here’s mine for comparison. The profile is substantially different even if I still had the underskin. Between you and Renegade34, I’m starting to talk myself into getting them on our next boat (whenever that happens).
upload_2019-6-20_19-9-8.jpeg
 
Right on! Glad to hear the maiden voyage with them went well! Really respectable numbers so far.
I see that you have it lifted to a nice height. I don’t know if they mentioned it to you or not but make sure that you lift it completely out of the water for overnight or if your gone for awhile. If you leave it partially in the water (or just an inch or 2 out) the waves can move it around a bit. I’ve never had mine budge, even in the worst storms, with it lifted completely out of the water.
 
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Renegade34 said:
Right on! Glad to hear the maiden voyage with them went well! Really respectable numbers so far.
I see that you have it lifted to a nice height. I don’t know if they mentioned it to you or not but make sure that you lift it completely out of the water for overnight or if your gone for awhile. If you leave it partially in the water (or just an inch or 2 out) the waves can move it around a bit. I’ve never had mine budge, even in the worst storms, with it lifted completely out of the water.
Click to expand...

The dealership didn’t say anything - really no advice or tutorial. Thanks for the confirmation that it looks like a good height. It seems like a foot or so is good for being above the waves, but low enough not to get any significant up-draft beneath the boat when windy.

Question for you: does your remote control have much of a range to it? Mine wouldn’t get the legs to engage or drop from the helm unless I was literally right next to where they mounted the control box/hydraulic lines near my battery. I am a bit shocked at the total lack of range with the remote and curious if that is normal or if perhaps I have a bad remote/receiver?
 
Something definitely isn’t right. I use it from the helm all the time. I can use mine from at least 10’-12’ away standing on the dock (maybe even further but I’ve never tried). I’d try a new battery in the remote first.
 
Same here. Have used it from 20’+ away, but typically from the dock while holding the boat in place until the legs touch.
 
Looks good and most importantly, I'm happy to see you and your family isn't going to miss out on a boating season!
 
Thanks for the feedback on the remote. I’ll have to try a new battery in it, and if that doesn’t help the situation, I’ll hand it back off to the dealership to resolve.
 
lakeliving said:
Looks good and most importantly, I'm happy to see you and your family isn't going to miss out on a boating season!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I’m excited too after thinking we’d have to scrap the 2019 season. So long as I have at least 2 deckhands, and calm water, then boating will be an option when we are at the cottage this year.
 
Vikingstaff said:
Thanks for the feedback on the remote. I’ll have to try a new battery in it, and if that doesn’t help the situation, I’ll hand it back off to the dealership to resolve.
Click to expand...
Assuming it’s still external, make sure your antenna wire for the controller in the pump compartment isn’t buried or coiled up. May not make a difference but it’s something to check.
 
Jeff, glad to see you took the plunge. How do they handle a mud bottom lake? Looks like unless it was firm underneath one (or more) legs could sink. I know I used a mushroom anchor that sticks to the mud on Lake Norman. Sometimes it sticks so hard from it being soft that I have a hard time pulling it up.

Also raising up just a little higher than what you think could be a good idea if there is a lot of wave action. I have heard of boats on Lake Norman that are on HydroHoist (open bottom lifts) being washed off the lift by big wakes.

Thanks for the pictures. I always wondered what they looked like.
 
PonTuna Salad said:
Jeff, glad to see you took the plunge. How do they handle a mud bottom lake? Looks like unless it was firm underneath one (or more) legs could sink. I know I used a mushroom anchor that sticks to the mud on Lake Norman. Sometimes it sticks so hard from it being soft that I have a hard time pulling it up.

Also raising up just a little higher than what you think could be a good idea if there is a lot of wave action. I have heard of boats on Lake Norman that are on HydroHoist (open bottom lifts) being washed off the lift by big wakes.

Thanks for the pictures. I always wondered what they looked like.
Click to expand...


I've been using Sea Legs (both 2 log and tritoon versions) for about 10 years on our lake which is probably 1/2 mud and 1/2 sand and I've never had any issues. If it was extremely mucky then you might run into some problems but if it's that mucky a traditional lift probably wouldn't be that great either I wouldn't think.
 
PonTuna Salad said:
Jeff, glad to see you took the plunge. How do they handle a mud bottom lake? Looks like unless it was firm underneath one (or more) legs could sink. I know I used a mushroom anchor that sticks to the mud on Lake Norman. Sometimes it sticks so hard from it being soft that I have a hard time pulling it up.

Also raising up just a little higher than what you think could be a good idea if there is a lot of wave action. I have heard of boats on Lake Norman that are on HydroHoist (open bottom lifts) being washed off the lift by big wakes.

Thanks for the pictures. I always wondered what they looked like.
Click to expand...

I’m on a very hard pack sand bottom on Houghton Lake in Michigan. Predominately a super firm and shallow lake. For our lake bottom, they work perfectly.

Not sure on a very mucky lake how they would be. They somewhere between 5,000-8,000 lbs. of hydraulic lift and retraction power, so using them wouldn’t be an issue. However, if super mucky, maybe settling poorly might be...?
 
DaveyJ said:
Assuming it’s still external, make sure your antenna wire for the controller in the pump compartment isn’t buried or coiled up. May not make a difference but it’s something to check.
Click to expand...

Trouble shot it. Either a bad battery or bad remote. I will switch battery when back up late next week. There is a Sea Legs app I downloaded to my phone that mimics the remote and connects Wi-Fi (not Bluetooth which seems odd) directly to the Sea Legs. With the app I could utilize them just fine. My guess is probably just a bad battery. However, if the battery change doesn’t work, dealer told me they will swap me out a new remote.
 
Performance test #2. Only changes in variables compared to test #1 above: calm water, and very little cross breeze. Weight, load, etc. all the same.

PROS: WOT topped out at 41.1 mph on the Simrad (40.7 in the picture below). In similar conditions previously I’d hit about 43.9-44.3. I feel GREAT about top end speed. With a light load I’m only looking at a loss of about 2.8-3.2 mph. It will be interesting to see what the WOT loss is when fully loaded.

CONS: Hole shot has certainly taken a hit with them on there. I have no quantifiable data on it, just feel it. My Mercury Verado Pro used to practical jump out of the water and on plane. It would then spring to WOT almost immediately on our S-series. Now it doesn’t.

PROS/CONS: More gradual acceleration from hole shot to WOT. It’s a very smooth power arc. Before it sprinted up to WOT like a little roadster. Now it gets up to speed more like a heavier SUV with a big motor in it. Son said he liked it a bit better, and my wife certainly will. Me, I’m greedy. I like great everything. :D

E7E96322-1C38-4202-AE4D-A75F1F5138F2.jpeg
 
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