Nitro Z6 slow plane solved

[greg plunkett]

I just bought a 2011 z6 and i have been reading about the slow plane issue and i have an answer. first my prop is a laser2 22p and i think most z6's come stock with that prop and they come with 3 large plugs on the prop. with just me and my wife in the boat it got on plane great but with 3 people full tank of gas full live well i didnt think it was ever going to get on plane. so i did some reading on the pvs system and when i was at the forrest wood cup in hot springs i talked to the mercury dealer that was there. he told to remove just one of the plugs and leave the other 2 large plugs in. this is what i did. went to the lake after removing the plug with full tank of gas filled live wells. the difference was dramatic. it jump on plane very fast. the rmps's on launch was about 3500 which is right where you need um. also i could here the secound stage injection kick in on the motor. had no blow out , just raw power getting on plane. i was so dissapointed in my z6 before i did this now i love it . it sounds bad a$$ on launch now and will set you back in your seat. so all the talk about the slow plane and does the pvs system work , the answer is yes. with the 115 optimax it needs to turn a little rmps for the launch and removing just one plug and leaving the 2 other large plugs in was perfect for my boat. no more sluggish take off.

 

[Randy Klinger]

Greg,

I have a 591 (Z7) with a 150 Opti. I had to remove all but one medium PVS to get on plane quicker. Although I am still not where I want to be is was a real improvement over having all three plugs in. I agree the system PVS system does improve things.

Randy

 

[Bob Bourget2]

+1.....experiment!!!:blink:

 

[THOMMO59]

How do u actually remove these plugs and as I got no spares or instructions. Is there different sizes?

 

[greg plunkett]

I just pushed mine through to the inside of the prop. It comes out easy. The sizes are ( solid, small , medium , large ) It should say the size on the plug. Hope this helped

 

[THOMMO59]

Thanks mate, that is very helpful,

 

[THOMMO59]

I just tried the same, one totally removed and 2 large in and what a difference, stays lower and jumps up way quicker. Thanks for the tip. I took the prop off to remove the plug but didn't need to, they come out from the outside with a small screwdriver as a lever.

 

[Gary Hunter]

Just got a 2011 Z6 also. My water-test with dealer had Solid Pvs plugs. Picked up boat after two month wait, and prop had "big holers" in it. Hole shot is ok fully loaded, but I think I'll pull one big holer which will leave me with one wide-open and two big holer plugs. Just for giggles. That being said, I really like this boat. Options I got were: Hydraulic Steering, 75# TM, Elite 5 DSI in console, Mark-5x on bow, Port-side console, 20 amp Guest, an off-set pole for front seat (too close to footpedal otherwise), and a couple of other minor things. Only "problem" so far is all the water in bilge after a run down the lake. I pump out about 5 gallons with bilge pump after coming to a smooth, power-forward rest. (livewells plugged, plug in transom, cooler plugged, etc). I'm at a loss to find this problem. I've filled the bilge with water and I see nothing coming out!



Great boat all considered. Going on three months waiting for console but that's my fault for paying cash up front. ((idiot))

 

[THOMMO59]

Hey Gary,

Love mine too! I had small amounts of water in both of my front lockers but never enough in the hull for the bilge to pick up. There is several posts on here about this and some suggest it is coming in through the rub rails where the hull is not sealed correctly to the deck. Mine has a substantial amount of silicone on the underside of the rub rail and to pull this off and tighten the screws and reseal would be a major pain in the ass! I think my water was coming through the front dash from when I wash it and when a wave came over the front. I pulled it off to find 2 screws totally missed and no sealing at all. The wiring and carpet was wet under there so I fixed the screws and ran a silicone bead around it and looks good now. Also, there is a drain hole in the footpedal well that drains to the hull.

All I need to sort out now is how to stop the livewells automatically filling with 2 to 3 inches of water whenever the boat is stationary.

 

[Gary Hunter]

Hey Thommo,



Heck, I like this boat so much I can live with water in the bilge. I've only had it on the water six times and already I automatically flick on the bilge switch when I get to where I want to go. No problemo. Tomorrow I'm installing a PDT-WSU puck on the TM for the bow mounted Mark-5x and a SSC-2 to protect it. (I love this "insider-speak" .... reminds me of my days with NavSecGru).



Thanks for your reply, mate, but I don't think I'll be pulling any rub-rail off my new boat.

 

[THOMMO59]

Guys,

I just fitted a SE300 Hydrofoil to my new Z6 and after having the last 2 boats with Hydrofoils fitted, had medium expectations. How wrong was I !!!!



This is unbelievable the difference it makes to this boat. Its rips out of the hole, no wheelstand at all, does not drop when backing off any where near as much, loses no top speed at all and will plane ridiculously slow compared to without it. In fact I can trim 200 more RPM's now without cavitation which also helps with the right turn torque.



Anyone that owns a Z6 and wants to launch like a Z8, don't wait, fit an SE300 they are absolutely awsome on this boat. You will think you just put a 150hp on the back.

 

[Roy Cody]

On my Dual Console 901, after I put in a new hub, I started with 3 solid plugs. I drilled all holes at about 3/16 and kept drilling them out just a little each time until I got them to where I was happy with the hole shot.



RoyC