Makai owners - what RPM for surfing?
 

My Father in Law's group bought a new Makai this year to go with their timeshare houseboat on Lake Powell.

It looked beautiful inside and out.

When we got it on the water however, it seemed like it was just dragging...
Lots of power, but loud as hell.

On plane (not surfing, no ballast or plates deployed) (around 21-28 mph) RPMs would be around 4500 - sometimes 4900... just seemed really heavy... kinda weird...

That said - we took it out the next day to look for a beach spot for the houseboat (no ballast, a few little kids with me and my wife), and it threw a rod or something. We had cut out near the beach - at least 8 feet depth, to let the kids swim for a few mins. Then when I fired up the engine again, there was Big clank / bang sound on startup. I turned it off. Then turned on again, and it sounded like the starter blew.

Anyway - just curious as to what RPMs ya'll are seeing. I'm wondering if some of the other families that share the boat just destroyed it . (110hrs on the motor and brand new)... Wouldn't be surprised if they didn't do a proper break in on the engine...

If it threw a rod you would probably have oil in you bilge from a hole in your block. It defiantly wouldn't start back up.

Yes indeed.


Anyone with insight on the normal RPM range on a Makai at surfing speed, and around 21 mph? Thanks!

Surf is 3400 I believe.

It depends on your engine but regardless those RPM's are high. If you look at power curves on the motor you'll know where the sweet spot & no go spots are. My engine for example does fine surfing at 3400-3600. But if you look at the power curve on my engine it doesn't really even start to make the big power till 3500 RPM & surfing at 3700-4000 is perfectly fine. I don't do it cause it just sucks gas but there is where you really find your indicator.
The lesson for you is get the right prop next time

at this point, sounds like surfing RPMs are the least of your worries

This.....

Currently, the engine is not capable of 1rpm. You will need more than that to kick out a good surf wave.

If it has the 450 motor then it has a 1.76:1 transmission and it could be running like a 15x13 instead of the 15.5x16 or whatever the recommended prop is for that transmission ratio. That would result in turning a lot of RPM relative to your speed.