Boat Pushed...or Not. ???

[Bassn7]

I have removed the floor,seats and all hardware on a 18 1/2 foot fiberglass fish and ski refurb. project. I want to test it on the water for any leaks and make sure all pumps work. I want to put my small 9.8 Mercury on the boat just to move the boat around and inspect the boat and pumps. Will the boat move at all with the 10 horse on it?

 

[MTboatguy]

Yes, it will move just fine, it is not going to sit there and spin, it will not go real fast, but you might be able to get 10 MPH out of it, which should be enough to test for leaks and to see if the pumps are working.

 

[Pony]

Considering that would be a decent kicker motor for that rig, it will move just fine

 

[smokeonthewater]

I'd expect about 4-5 mph

 

[MTboatguy]

My 18 footer gets 9.73 MPH by the GPS with the 9.8 Mercury I have on it.

 

[UncleWillie]

It takes surprisingly little power to move slowly.
In the theoretical world, it takes 8 times the power to double the speed.
For example, whatever speed you get at 10hp would take ~80 hp to double it.
Which is why, in the real world, if 200hp delivers 40mph, you may very well make 10mph with your 10hp.
Just don't expect to get on plane.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if a 2.5hp suzuki can move a 37' sailboat over 4 miles, a 10 hp will move an 18' boat just fine. as others stated, it wont be up on plane, however it will move just fine.

 

[southkogs]

... just bear in mind it may be kind of a pig to steer if the wind kicks up at all.

 

[MTboatguy]

My 9.8 does not get on plane, but it does move the boat along if needed.