Jason e Posted August 14, 2021 Report Share Posted August 14, 2021 I was just delivered my 2022 Pathfinder 2700 Open. I opted for the Yamaha 425 XTO which comes from the factory with a 21 pitch Yamaha XTO prop. Long story short the boat really struggles to plane with a medium load. Wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I have played with jackplate height, trim tabs down, etc. I'm not new to boating. I've never had a factory boat struggle so much to get on plane. It takes about 10 - 12 seconds to plane. Once on plane it flies. I do have the additional fuel cell and I had 3 people on board , but that's far from a heavy load. I didn't even have ice in the fish boxes. The engine sounds like to chewing up marbles when it tries to plane. As I use fuel over multi day trips it does plane easier and the grinding marbles sound goes away as the boat lightens up, leading me to think its a prop issue rather than an engine issue. Also it hits 58 mph at 5800 rpm with this load, which further makes me think it is not an engine issue (such as a fuel pump, or starving for fuel, etc) Since this boat is also offered with a 300hp engine I expected the 425 to hop on plane quickly, but this has not been my experience. Anyone experience this with their 27? What was the fix ? A 19p prop? How much weight habe you put on your 27 and how did it plane? Thank you for your assistance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurem Posted August 14, 2021 Report Share Posted August 14, 2021 If you are happy with the performance of the prop in all other aspects would it be possible to add ports the prop for a better holeshot? I am not sure if this works as well on 4 stroke engines as it does on 2 strokes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Posted August 15, 2021 Report Share Posted August 15, 2021 Jason, Congratulations on the 2700 ! Looks to be a spectacular boat ! The XTO’s sound so good, too. The hull is new, as are the XTO props so there are few options right now. You may be burning a hole in the water with all that power.. One thing to try is starting your jump by throttling up to 2500 or so.. Let the hull get moving pretty good. Advance the throttle gradually, keeping a good bite, then power it up onto plane. That's a long hull to get out of the water, so building some speed and getting the bow up first should help. Give this a try.. Mod Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason e Posted August 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2021 9 hours ago, Moderator said: Jason, Congratulations on the 2700 ! Looks to be a spectacular boat ! The XTO’s sound so good, too. The hull is new, as are the XTO props so there are few options right now. You may be burning a hole in the water with all that power.. One thing to try is starting your jump by throttling up to 2500 or so.. Let the hull get moving pretty good. Advance the throttle gradually, keeping a good bite, then power it up onto plane. That's a long hull to get out of the water, so building some speed and getting the bow up first should help. Give this a try.. Mod Marc Thank you for the reply. I had previously tried just as you suggested rolling into the throttle to assist the boat in gaining momentum. It still struggled. My local dealer was able to help me out by locating a 19" pitch XTO prop for testing. That's definitely the solution. We went from over a 8 second planing time to right at 6 seconds. The top speed dropped from 60 mph to 56 mph, which I'm ok with as I don't run around at 60 mph anyway. Also I'm not overly concerned with any negligible fuel usage difference, as it's just that. I can see why Pathfinder outfits all their 2700's with a 21" prop on the 425, however when that factory additional fuel cell is added in addition to having a factory trolling motor, you may want to rethink that, just a suggestion. Note*** If you're getting this boat with a 300, I absolutely would NOT add the front fuel cell or front factory cooler option. The factory cooler is nice as it's big, can hold a lot of ice etc, but it also adds a great deal of weight if you fill it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Posted August 15, 2021 Report Share Posted August 15, 2021 Great summary, Jason ! All new to us here, so please post some photos of the boat on the water !! Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason e Posted September 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2021 On 8/14/2021 at 6:22 PM, lurem said: If you are happy with the performance of the prop in all other aspects would it be possible to add ports the prop for a better holeshot? I am not sure if this works as well on 4 stroke engines as it does on 2 strokes. I considered this but being that those holes are permanent I'm hesitant. The dealer ordered a 20" pitch Yamaha 3 blade and I'm going to try the PT 4 blade 19" pitch. Both are on a 8 week back order. Shoukd have them in about 4 more weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oceanhunter Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 I have the same exact boy and I’m having the same exact issues . I’m thinking of going with a proper tech 4 blade. How were your other prop tests ? Did they fix the problem ???? I need help … Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason e Posted February 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2022 I also thought about the Powertech but in talking to Marcus it was designed to add additional blade surface area so the prop wouldn't blow out, which I guess has been an issue. I never experienced the prop cavitation, so that's why I decided to drop a pitch to a 3 blade 20 pitch. Let me know if youbteat the Power tech 4 blade. It's about 2k and I believe Ken at Propgods may have 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tender Posted February 22, 2022 Report Share Posted February 22, 2022 Ease into the throttle is the solution? Twin 225 Merc's would fix your planing issue and it wouldn't weigh any more.😛 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justforlaughs Posted August 20, 2022 Report Share Posted August 20, 2022 Jason, I have the same set up with 21" and same results. When you went to 19" what top RPM do you get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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