Keeping a constant speed??

Whats up guys? I am new to this site and have to say some of the threads are awesome... can't wait to get on the water and try some new stuff with some of the techniques suggested on here. Ok, heres my question... I have a 97 Crownline I/O I know not the best for boarding but it does the trick and its my first boat. I was just wondering any techniques for keeping a constant speed. Do you trim up when getting on plane? Leave trim down? And whats the optimum speed for boarding I usually try and keep it about 21-23. Well thanks for any input after a few deployments there will be a Moomba sitting in my garage so wont have to worry about this but until then and advice would be welcome!!

First off thank you for doing what you do for our country.

I used to keep trim about 2/3- 3/4 down, but every boat is different so I would mess with the trim while at riding speed and see when the wake is rampy with as little whitewash as possible. Trim up will help holeshot, but lower it once the rider is up. They make the hydro-foil things (Stingray was the one I had) to put on the stern-drive which help plane and I thought helped control the wake a little more. Speed is right, but watch the wake to see and the RPM's may give you more detail than the speedometer.

when the boats on plane trim up, it'll make the wake nice and not washy

Joseph, I had a hard time keeping speed with my stock 3 blade prop, when I switched over to a 4 blade, it was much easier to keep speed. In my boat we plane, trim up 1/4 and the wake is fun

A-dub my pleasure!! Thats what one of my friends recommended was a hydro-foil, and isaac that is on my list of things to get is a michigan 4-blade 18X14... but thanks for the trim tip!! A friend tried to tell me that trim dosent matter but i thought that was kinda bogus seeing as how he's not really into boarding and trying to get air and through tricks as much as I am....

yeah trim the motor down to get up, then w=once youre at your desired speed put trim up in between 1/4 and 1/2. A big factor is how much weight is in your boat, or people. In my experience with more people you can have the trim at half way up, which makes a pretty lippy weake. As far as maintaining speed, watch the RPMs, i never even glance at the speedometer EVER, for our boat its about 3100 RPMs, 3200 with a boat load of passengers.

I always try and be on the throttle when a person is cutting out and let off just before they roll in. Keep only 2 or 3 fingers on the throttle as well so you can make minor adjustments to the speed to keep it the same.

Trim makes a huge difference...atleast it did on my old boat. As the above people stated, have the trim all the way down for the hole shot and trim up once going to clean the wake up for a better ramp. As much as speed is important I try and keep the boat at a speed where the wake is at it's best provided your not going to slow or fast for the rider. I can always tell by looking at the wake whether the boat is going to fast or slow.

Oh, and learn this right quick....No Power Turns!!!

Other then that grab your shred stick and shred the gnar!