Why will my boat not take off good when im trying to pull a skier.?

Question

I have a 1994 Rinker 181 it has a 3.0L Mercruiser 4 cylinder, Alpha 1 Gen II Outdrive, stainless prop. I have only owned the boat for a month it seems to not have the power needed to pull a skier out of the water. The guy i bought the boat from claimed he had pulled two wakeboarders behind it. Does anyone know how to get more power out of it to aid for a better pull out of the water? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

The boat sounds like it ought to have the gumption to get out of the hole ok. I have a question for you, two actually.

1/ Has the prop been changed to a different pitch since you bought it or did the seller toss on a new prop for you when he sold it? That can make a huge difference.

2/ Are you sure you're trimmed out properly? How about people sitting up front? Those will do it too.

Answer 2

I've got an 83 Merc 3.0.  But we still use a 3' pylon to wake board.  The higher the rope the easier it seems to get out of the water.  I would think your boat should have enough get up and go regardless of what you use.  My last boat we attached the rope at the back, level with the boat.  It was a lot more difficult but you could still get up.  Is your skier falling forward?  The tripod I have was under $200.  It screws in and attaches with pins.  Cheap, easy fun.