Finally to the point in our boat search that we're taking one for a spin.  Was supposed to be a couple of days ago, but winds gusting to the mid-30kts = nope, lol.  

While not a true "fishing boat," we're taking a 2016 Chaparral H2O Ski & Fish (I/O) for a ride on Monday.  The search for our first boat started out with sights set on Alumacraft/Lund/Lowe, etc. deep-V aluminum fishing boats.....that we could pull a tube behind.  That searched morphed into a more family-friendly fun boat.....that I can drop a line in the water from.

We're now down to this Chaparral, and possibly a 2017 Ranger 1850MS Reata.  I love that Ranger as it screams "fishing" more than "playing," but for my wife and two kids' sake, I think the Chap is what we'll end up with.  It has a basic MK trolling motor on it and a cheap Garmin FF.  I'm planning on putting a nicer trolling motor on it (iPilot, etc) and a decent FF as well- Lowrance HDS 7, 'Bird Helix 7, etc.  A plus for the Chap is it's ~$10k less than the Ranger.

Though a 2016, the Chap is new, so not expecting any issues.  We'd be buying from the dealer at the marina, and are planning to keep the boat there.  It will be in either a slip w/lift, or on-ground storage (inside).  The big thing is that we'll have them there and handy to help us as we learn.

As this will be our first boat, what should I look at during the test ride?  BTW, our family = me/wife/2 small kids.  We do have a lot of friends/family in the area, thus a big reason we're leaning to a more comfortable boat such as the Chaparral.  (Wanted a 21' H2O, but the dealer can't get one.)

Try and bring the family for the test so they can prop it right from the go or at least get it close.
Things will change after Ice chest and fuel/water etc. are added  Maybe you can ask to try a 3 and a 4 blade so you can see the difference
A mechanic will be along shortly. ........[on hold music]......................

Good idea, and thankfully, the crew will be in tow with me!  

The sales guy sent me an email just now...a photo from the driver's seat out on the water, lol.  Said it's the first time the boat has been in the water, and he's making sure everything runs well for Monday.  Sounds as if it's running great! 

Propguy is right. Make sure it runs at or very near the wide open throttle RPM when the boat is loaded. We had a dealer here

that would over prop the boats to make them go a little faster during demo rides. When the customer loaded the boat and

the summer temperatures came up the engine wouldn't get to the recommended WOT RPM range. These engines detonated

and destroyed themselves. That dealer replaced quite a few engines for that ass-hattery.

What engine/drive package is in the boat OP?

Interesting stuff, and stuff I know nothing about - thanks for mentioning it!  Is the WOT RPM posted anywhere to verify?  Not sure how I would know what figures to look for otherwise.

It has a 4.5 Mercruiser 200hp on it, I/O.  The sales guy took it out today (first time on the water) to make sure everything ran and functioned well.  He said it did awesome.

Here's a link to it:  Chaparral

WOT is in the manual, usually the I/O' mercs are 4200 to 4800  (I believe it is refer to the manual it's 3a.m. and I can't sleep}
I will put this here again as it's VERY important "NORMALLY LOADED"
as K said that type of stuff over propping running them light etc is for show and is terrible for the engine.
Look at it this way I ALWAYS prop my guys out at MAX  WOT...then if they put a heavier load on they can still get up on plane with less stress on the engine /Captain because the boat will plane off easier.
One way to look at it
Engine rating 200 hp@4200-4800
If your not able to get 4800 with the throttle shoved through the dashboard and trimmed up your not getting 200HP

BTW Nice ride sir.......................try a four blade ...do it do it

Wow, thanks for the great explanation! I'll check it out! 

Oh, it's got the "new" 4.5L engine in it. That has what's called "adaptive throttle" which means that when you go into turns

it will maintain RPM's instead of dropping off like a normal engine would with increased load. I haven't seen any of these engines in our marina yet

but make sure the sales guy knows about this feature and have him explain it to you.

Basically what it is, the engine uses about 80% of the throttle even if you have the throttle shoved all the way forward (WOT).

When more load is put on the engine, the computer opens the throttle more (past the 80%) to maintain RPM's.

It's a "fly by wire" system which I'm sure you are familiar with, so the throttle handle is just telling the computer to move the throttle

with a servo.

These engines are different to "prop" than a normal engine. Just so you are aware.

Happy boating!

Oh geeze. When will the boat builders wise up. I just looked at the pics of the boat and sure enough, they've buried the engine down in a little hole

with a tiny hatch.  God help you if you have to change the starter or spark plugs. They could have made the hatch full width and had a nice

open engine compartment but noooooo.
ETA - Mercruiser 4.5L info.
Link

Watch the video too.

Thanks for the info!  I'll check that stuff out in the morning.  Gotta hit the hay!




Secretly hoping some big reasons will pop up that will "force" me to tell the wife we NEED the Reata.   Mwuahahaha.... 

Ohhhhh
That may be why I had a Merc tech tell me Mercury now recommends  propping out to the lower #
my comment was that's great until the load increases and the boat won't get out of it's own way as a propguy I can't do it my DNA aint wired that way

How did the test ride go?

Shoot, sorry, completely forgot to post back!

It went really well and we had a blast!  Actually, it did get off to a slow start...  So the guy took it out on Friday to make sure everything was in working order in prep for the test (first time it was on water, may have mentioned that).  Well, we loaded up in the boat on Monday and another employee backed us and the trailer down into the water.  He fired up the engine, but......no trim!  The trim was completely dead in both directions.  He had a Mech come over to check it out and, after 10 mins or so, he discovered a loose ground.  Fixed it up and off we went.

The boat was a pleasure to drive.  The steering felt a little loose, but I don't have anything to compare it to.  It did handle well and had a really nice, smooth ride up on plane.  Since it's a brand new engine, we didn't run it hard.  We opened it up very, very briefly and it was running in the mid 40mph range.  That was with me (185), my wife and sales guy (probably 130 and 150), our two kids (~50 ea) and 1/2 tank of gas.  Most of the time we just cruised around at 3000rpm and made some turns to get a feel for it.

I was trying to remember what you guys had said to me about the props, but I couldn't recall anything in the moment as I was grinning too big.  

I did check to see that I could lean over into the water to wash my hands, grab a marker buoy, etc. as I was concerned the boat would sit too high in the water for those fishing-related things.  No problems there.  I'm still at a crossroads as far as electronics.  Not a lot of room on the dash.  I'd love to get a Humminbird Helix 9 or Lowrace HDS 9 (RAM mount, most likely) up there, but I need to get out with a tape measure beforehand...might need to go down to a 7".  

Also, the trolling motor.  It has a basic Motorguide on it right now.  It's only a 12V, 55# motor.  I'm going to want to up that to an iPilot or GPS unit depending on which fish finder brand I go with, and I'll want to up it to a 24V system and at least 80# motor.  However, I'm really not a pro with those things so I'm going to have to talk to their rigger pretty seriously before signing on that boat.

Anyway, the family and I loved it.  He also took us by "our" slip, or the one that opened up that we're #1 on the list for.  A perfect end spot, which will be a lot easier on me for docking while learning the ins and outs of boating.  

Next step is just waiting for the dealer manager to get back from his vacation, and then we'll talk numbers.  Barring something unforeseen, I think we'll end up buying it.