I have a friend that is sea testing a 17.5' Glastron bowrider w/ the Merc 3.0 ltr engine. He has a family of 4 and would like to be able to ski behind it. I told him that I thought he might be disappointed w/ the 3.0 with a load or trying to ski. My response was based on assumptions and not personal experience w/ the engine.

I told him I had a good source for real life experience with the engine. That source is boatingabc of course. Whats the general consensus on the 3.0 engine and its capabilities? I thought the price was a bit high for the boat too, but I will get to that after learning more about the engine. Thanks in advance for any input.

When I ordered our XS175, I upgraded to the(VPSX) 4.3. The dealer said I'd have a better resale value, and it would be more peppy. I'm glad I did. I have never been in a similar boat with a 3.0, but I think he may have a bit of a problem getting/keeping on plane at a lower speed. We don't ski behind it, but even pulling a tube at lower speeds, she plows alot of water off the bow. I put everyone in the bow except for the spotter when towing to help get on plane.

I think he would definitely do better with the 4.3L if he can get it,IMHO.

Thanks. Thats helpful info to consider. My biggest suggestion to him was to take his time and look for a while. He has a $8000 budget. I would think he could find an older 20 footer with a 5.0/5.7 in that price range.

Ok-- real world experience...

In comparing my 17.5 Bayliner with the 3.0 to my past fastest boats:

my 24' Reinell with twin V8's,
my 21' 460 Ford powered Kona jet boat,
my 17' Galaxy w/the Volvo 4-banger,
my 19' Marathon with a 5.7 OMC
my 21' Sea Ray with a 5.7 Merc

The Bayliner is faster than most of them, and is by FAR the fastest on-plane boat I've ever owned. The only boat faster on plane that I've ever driven is my friends twin-jet Yamaha...

I've had it fully loaded several times, and it has no problem planing out. Of course, that's with people up front, but with 5 adults and 3 kids, no problem. I even switched out the 19 prop for a 21.

Ah, but there is one caveat---aside from broken down boats, I haven't towed anything with it yet! (oddly enough, I've never had the right amount of equipment and people around at the same time to do any skiing or tubing) So I have no experience from that standpoint yet!

Lambert Laker will also tell you good things about his Bayliner as well, I'm sure...

I've seen the 3.0 in 20'ers. THAT'S a bit much for these motors, but for a 17-18 footer, they do very well.

And the bonus-- I'm seeing as high as 7 mpg out of mine cruising at around under 30 mph. That be some cheap boating!

I agree bigger is better when pulling an adult on a slalom; Glastron is a great boat, mine is an old weak 1973 18.5 ft with a Ford 5.0 litre V-8; it won't rip your arms off but will pull us up and run at 34MPH(GPS) with three near 200lb adults on board.
The newer Volvos and Mercs are powered by GM and you seem to get more horsepower from their 5.0 and even more efficiency with things like Vortec and port fuel injection; the disadvantage over the V-6's & IL 4's is gas mileage, but I'm sure it has to be better than mine!
Edit: One other thing to consider is our altitude is over 4000 ft so our performance may differ from yours.

I would opt for the Glastron GX180 with outboard power over 3.0/4.3/5.0/5.7L i/o.....

Better hole shot, more cockpit room, more top speed, much less weight so smaller wake. My highly biased opinion for what it's worth.

EASIER MAINTENANCE TOO!! That's the BEST part of outboards.

I had an 18' SeaRay with a 3.0 and it pulled fine. I think the question is more what you will pull. If you plan on tubing and wakeboarding then the 3.0 would be my choice. It weighs less so the boat gets on plane faster and the fuel mileage cannot be beat. I used to tow the kids on wild rides all day and only use 10 or 15 gallons over several hours.

If slalom skiing is your thing then I would opt for a bigger boat with a v-8. The smaller boats really get dragged around by a skier pulling hard and you definately need more power especially if they are heavier skiers.

As far as outboards go, the routine maintenance may be easier but the overall cost is much more expensive and the lifespan of the motor is also less, so it would not be my personal choice.

I would still have that boat since wakeboarding and tubing require minimal power and we do not ski, however boats under 20' tend to pound in moderate chop and we were tired of the rough ride. We also wanted a little more room.

I would not be afraid to buy a 17' boat with a 3.0. It's not a big boat and it's not a big motor. You'd probably see mid-40s for the top end, and skiing and stuff shouldn't be a problem. I've skied behind a bunch of boats and some have done better than others on the hole shot, but unless you're a pro skier, this won't affect the game at all. You just hold on until you can stand up. No big deal.

I used to ski behind a 17 or 18' (can't remember) Glastron with a 90hp outboard with no problem other than pulling the tail of the boat around some. Even pulled two of us out once or twice.

I had a Wellcraft 175SS with a 3.0 liter Volvo Penta for 3 years and put over 250 hours on it in that timeframe.
I ran with a 19 pitch aluminum prop all the time. I did put a whale tail on it to help a slower speeds. The 21 pitch was great for when it was only the Admiral and I. Real good on plane time as FR noted, good fuel economy as many noted. Very simple and reliable motor.
One note is the room in the boat itself. Be sure there is plenty for the typical day.
Depending on how much weight you will be carrying with you, bodies and gear, etc., you should be fine.
One other note is the freeboard in these boats. My boat did not sit very high in the water, some larger waves would come right over the bow. This is one of the main reasons we did not keep it. It was very much a smaller lake boat.
The sad thing is that I sometimes see tht old boat now, and it has been beaten to death, scraped, moldy, wet, uncovered...awful.

Thanks for the replys. I look forward to hearing how the sea trial went.