Where did I leave off? OK...so, With the ski uncrated and water finally running through it's veins...it's go time! I took off from shore and cautiously blipped the throttle. You know that feeling of the first few minutes of run time on a new boat... that initial, first impression thing. Listening to the motor, feeling the drivetrain out. and the overall handling...Wow, or cow?
The motor had absolutely no bottom end. NADA. The power band felt like a light switch...On, or OFF.
Perhaps it just needed some break in time? Maybe the jetting was off? Propped too high? Something was way off.
This ski felt heavy, bulky, and cumbersome compared to my JS hull. It felt like a barge, actually. Straight line line stability was there. And, throwing it into some S turns...It felt stable enough. But, the pivot point for the pole was much farther back than, my 550. Too far back, kind of like the Kawi 650's setup, which made for an awkward, almost disconnected steering input sensation.
I made a few more passes, thinking that I could talk myself into liking this thing.
My friends were all back at the beach watching and waiting for me to return to give them my impressions. Actually, I was in a mild state of panic. Not only was the motor not performing, but my first impressions of the way the hull handled was not good.
I played around with the high and low speed screws on the dual 38's...but, that wasn't yielding any real results. I figured I would sort that out later, after breaking the motor in. My main concern was the realization quickly starting to sink in, that I had made a horrible mistake. A really expensive horrible mistake.