Water Sports With Pocket Cruiser

[four winns 214]

I'm considering the purchase of a Crownline 242CR. It has a carb Merc 5.7 with a Bravo 3 rated at 250HP. Part of the mission for this boat is to pull a water skier and a large tube (not at the same time). This is a fairly heavy, large boat and I realize that water sports is not its strong suit, but is that enough HP? Besides that issue, anybody got experience with this particular boat and want to share the pros/cons?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Water Sports With Pocket Cruiser

That boat will pull the skier, but you will likely need to have everyone in the bow, to get on plane. Also, the skier will face a large wake and possibly a slower speed than he wants. I like to pull salom skiers at 36MPH, and that boat may struggle to get to that speed. a tube will be easier, and could be some fun with the wake that boat puts out.

Heck, you may need to have everyone move to the bow anytime you want to get on plane with 6 or so passengers. A big block would be a lot better power option, on those heavy single-screw cruisers.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Water Sports With Pocket Cruiser

You'll be fine. My Carver midcabin is about the same size with a 5.7 and an alpha 1. Tubes are nothing to pull. Skiers (heavy ones) take a little patience with stock gears. I put 1:62 gears in and my hole shot greatly improved making skiers no problem. Changing gears was about the same price as a stainless prop (which I already had) and really woke my boat up. Didn't seem to hurt my top end at all and the throttle response is much better. Yea the wake is big but that's fun to me on a ski.

 

[CC245]

Re: Water Sports With Pocket Cruiser

You would probably be better off wakeboarding than skiing. Wakeboards pop up real quick and are towed at a lower speed than skiers (18-22 mph). Also the big wake behind that boat will be more fun on a wakeboard. A tube should be no problem. The Bravo 3 is a dual prop so it will have good bite starting out of the hole. That will help for any watersports you do.