22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

pred02

Seaman
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Jul 17, 2008
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62
Ok,
I am just trying to manage expectations to see if a bigger engine should play a factor in our purchase. So if we were to get a 22-23ft cubby cruiser with an inboard Mercruiser 5.0 Alpha I 260hp on a 4200lb boat with how many people can the boat plane with a normal gear load? I mean with 6 or 7 people could we get a boat to plane and cruise at about 27-28 mph or is in not a realistic expectations?

Would something like a 23"ft fishing cuddy with a deep V hull and a 200hp outboard Yamaha do better?

If the boat cannot plane would a bigger engine (i.e. 250hp versus 200hp) give the extra umph when the boat is loaded?

Thanks!
 

dingbat

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Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

I'm running a 22' Walkaround with the 200HP outboard and a 4 blade Stainless prop. Roughly #4,500 sitting out the dock, low on fuel.

With the main fuel tank full (100 gallons) and 3 guys onboard I cruise at 26-27 kts. WOT, right around 35 kt. Time to plane, from idle, roughly 5 seconds.

With the aux fuel tank full as well (45 gallons) I still cruise at 26-27 kts. but my WOT drops down to around 31 kts. The time to plan is a little longer but still well under the 10 second mark.

FWIW: I'm happy with the performanc but when it comes time to re-power I'm bumping up to a 225 hp. The boat is rated at 285 HP
 

QC

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Mar 22, 2005
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Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

And the 260 5.0 MPI coupled with an Alpha 1 will be OK, Bravo 3 would make that a much better combo though.. It will plane with a full load and cruise where you want it although I would add helm adjustable trim tabs to confirm it.

Add 10% to Dingbat's speed numbers and you can see that your MPH cruise expectations are fairly reasonable. Neither will be a speed demon, but if you have stated your needs properly I think you'll be fine. Sea level?
 

pred02

Seaman
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Jul 17, 2008
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Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

Add 10% to Dingbat's speed numbers and you can see that your MPH cruise expectations are fairly reasonable. Neither will be a speed demon, but if you have stated your needs properly I think you'll be fine. Sea level?

Yes sea level. The boat is rated for 8 people so I presume 6-7 should be ok (people average about ~160lbs). Not too much stuff. We are buying it used so I am not sure how much leeway we have on the engine choice nonetheless once we find the boat of our liking I will confirm with the rest.

We also saw a Sea Ray 250 today, 26.5" big boat with also a Mercruiser 5.0L with Alpha 3. It was a much heavier boat (about ~6500lbs) I wonder how the engine can get that big boat to plane?

Thanks!
 

QC

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Mar 22, 2005
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Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

Mercruiser 5.0L with Alpha 3. It was a much heavier boat (about ~6500lbs) I wonder how the engine can get that big boat to plane
I am guessing Bravo 3. That package (MPI 260) is amazing even with heavier boats. I tested a Maxum 250 with that setup and it ran well. 38 MPH boat new, so it was probably at best 35 MPH probably more like 33 when you get her loaded up. But the dual propellers makes a huge difference with heavy boats and getting them on plane. That setup is stronger than an older carbed 350 easily.
 

ramster

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jun 19, 2005
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150
Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

With boats, HP is everything. There is no such thing as enough. A 5.0 and 4500# = wow this thing is a pig. Boats are a luxury, you don't want good enough, you want way more power than you need. Always go for the max HP recommended for the boat, then go from there. Not realistic to compare outboards, to IO's, the weight differance is huge HP being equal. But what you can do is build a 400+ cube small block that weighs no more than a 305, and makes big block torque. Find a boat with an engine that was not properly winterized and has a cracked block, get the boat cheap, and swap that 5.0 for a 383, or a 406, and then you'll have something too be proud of. All the small block chevy parts interchange, it's a direct bolt in. When I finally smoke my 5.0, I will definatly build a 383 W/ Aluminum heads to replace it. If you plan on having at least four people on board most of the time, set that baby up to run with eight at max rpm. It's a boat, you don't need it, you want it. If mine goes 55, yours better go 56. etc............
 

QC

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Mar 22, 2005
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Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

Yeah and I want a 525 and a crapper made of solid gold, but it's just not in the cards now is it baby . . . Austin Powers, well sorta . . .
 

ramster

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

I'm sorry I read this wrong, you already have an outboard, currently 200 hp bumping up when the time comes. If the max HP recommended is 285 then a nice shiny new Yamaha 350 HP should be just about perfect. Remember that plate on the back of the boat is just a suggestion.
 

pred02

Seaman
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Jul 17, 2008
Messages
62
Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

For a 23' 4000lbs Sea Ray 215/225 Weekender, is the 5.0L 220hp Alpha I engine a decent engine for a boat that size? What can I except for cruise and WOT?

Thanks!
 

QC

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Mar 22, 2005
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Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

No, IMHO, that would be less than acceptable with a large load. Biug difference between a 220 carbed 5.0 and it's MPI cousin as far as performance is concerned.
 

bad_boy

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Dec 5, 2008
Messages
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Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

For a 23' 4000lbs Sea Ray 215/225 Weekender, is the 5.0L 220hp Alpha I engine a decent engine for a boat that size? What can I except for cruise and WOT?

Thanks!

It depends what you are going to do with it, that boat will take some time to plane but it will do 40 MPH on the top end.
 

pred02

Seaman
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Jul 17, 2008
Messages
62
Re: 22 ft Cruiser: Plane Expecations (Max no of people)

It depends what you are going to do with it, that boat will take some time to plane but it will do 40 MPH on the top end.

Thank you for the feedback. We are also looking at the Sea Ray 240 Sundancer (which the fam likes more because of the cabin) which I believe hes a MerCruiser? 5.0L MPI Bravo? III Sterndrive (260 hp - 194 kW). I understand that the cruise on this would be somewhere in the 20-ies with the top probably in the lower 30ies.

What would be an average (cruise not WOT) fuel consumption for this boat / engine. I presume about 8-10GPH?

Also what is the maximum number of people the boat can take (with a light load) to still get on a plane?

Thanks!
 
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