Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

[mrcool]

I'm looking at a 18 ft. runabout bowrider for just cruising local lakes...It has a 3.0 Mercruiser. What are your thoughts about the 3.0? will that be enough horses for that rig, how fast should I expect the boat to go? Thanks

 

[45Auto]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

It'll be great for cruising local lakes with a couple of people, probably disappointing compared to something with a 4.3L V6 if you are interested in any kind of watersports with several people in the boat. Expect a MAXIMUM speed in the low 30's. Only thing I didn't like about mine was that cruise speeds (mid-20's) are so close to max speed that it always felt like the equivalent of cruising down the freeway at 70 MPH in your car in second gear ....

 

[mrcool]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

It'll be great for cruising local lakes with a couple of people, probably disappointing compared to something with a 4.3L V6 if you are interested in any kind of watersports with several people in the boat. Expect a MAXIMUM speed in the low 30's. Only thing I didn't like about mine was that cruise speeds (mid-20's) are so close to max speed that it always felt like the equivalent of cruising down the freeway at 70 MPH in your car in second gear ....

That's What I was thinking, plus the boat is a 1994, and you can't tell how many hours are on it. With the high reving while cruising, will that be a lot of wear on that engine? It's a pretty light boat...94' Rinker V180. Great shape for $6000...does that sound right?

 

[rs1lollie]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

I have a 1990 18ft Maxum open bow with a 3.0l mercruiser 135hp and alpha 1 outdrive with a Mercury alpha 4 p/n 48-834854A45 (14x20) 4 blade prop and my max speed is 42 to 45 mhp at 4800 rpms full tank of fuel and 2 people in the boat. This Motor also sips the fuel, run all day long doing water sports and crusing and still have about 1/4 tank left from a 20gal tank.
I have read a lot of post and people say this motor is a bullet proof motor. This motor is very easy to work on and easy to winterize. This motor is a chevy base motor and parts are readily available.

 

[Tommyfmu]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

I'd have to agree with lollie. Two boats ago was our Dynasty 19' cuddy with the Merc 3.0Ltr, Alpha drive, and it was good on gas, just powerful enough to pull a skier up and out with 3 or 4 people in the boat, and as said, easy to work on and winterize.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

I have a 1990 18ft Maxum open bow with a 3.0l mercruiser 135hp and alpha 1 outdrive with a Mercury alpha 4 p/n 48-834854A45 (14x20) 4 blade prop and my max speed is 42 to 45 mhp at 4800 rpms full tank of fuel and 2 people in the boat.

Take what people claim with a grain of salt. Do your own research on Boattest.com, etc.

45 MPH at 4800 RPM with a 20" pitch prop works out to 2% prop slip. Theoretical max speed with 0 slip is 46 MPH. Just think, if you took out a couple of hundred pounds of gas and another couple of hundred pounds in the extra person and gear in the boat, you would be able to go faster than the prop could push you! Probably hard to find one of those magic boats like yours.

 

[rs1lollie]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Take what people claim with a grain of salt. Do your own research on Boattest.com, etc.

45 MPH at 4800 RPM with a 20" pitch prop works out to 2% prop slip. Theoretical max speed with 0 slip is 46 MPH. Just think, if you took out a couple of hundred pounds of gas and another couple of hundred pounds in the extra person and gear in the boat, you would be able to go faster than the prop could push you! Probably hard to find one of those magic boats like yours.

For what it is worth I got those numbers from my gps, my speedo was reading 49 to 50mph, maybe my tach is off but I dont think it is off by that much, got 45mph going with the wind/current. that is why I listed both speeds.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Our 1992 Sea Ray 170 (just shy of 17 feet) with the 3.0 ran just under 60 kph indicated flat out (37 mph), one-two people with half to 3/4 fuel. Motor was turning 5500 rpm.

The boat had a nice growl at WOT but I didn't run it that way much. Much more normal was 3600-3800 at about 40 kph (just shy of 25 mph) cruise.

These speeds are certainly very slow compared to sixes and eights but for our uses (would pull a slalom skier and tubers easily) it was fine and we enjoyed it hugely for over a decade.
You'll note though these numbers are for an I/O on the small side - less than 17 feet and my measurement source was the onboard speedo. I never did test it with GPS so you could knock off a couple mph for margin of error. There were no tides or currents to speak of where I took these measurements.

While the engine was an economical, super-reliable unit I probably wouldn't consider the 3.0 in anything over that length and I wouldn't buy any boat I didn't drive first to see how I felt about the performance.

While 45 is correct to take numbers posted by others with a grain of salt for my part I do try to pass along experiences and info as transparently as possible and have nothing to gain by exaggerating. Especially in our "little" iboats family where we're all pretty much out to help each other.

Good luck with your choice!

*edit - dang lollie - now I wish I had the boat back to try again. I'd love to have got the performance you did...

 

[RAT Attack]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Hey MRCOOL,
My brother's boat, and the boat I borrowed all last summer, was the '94 18' Rinker with the 3.0 mercruiser in it with an Alpha outdrive and turbo prop ( not sure pitch or stuff like that ). Here is my .02 on the boat. I think it was a good running boat. I had his max speed with 2 passengers on a smooth lake, GPS rated speed @ 43mph. I weigh 175lbs, and can get up on wakeboard and skiis with no problem with as many as 6 passengers aboard. However, while trying to teach some of my friends heavier than me ( 200lbs+ ) to wakeboard, it just didn't seem like it had enough azz to get them out of the water. If you are an experienced skiier or wakeborder, no problem, but a little hard for teaching and wish it had some more getty-up to help them get out of the water. I thought about buying his boat a couple months ago, but decided to get a cuddy cabin instead. I just bought a 19', '88 glassport cuddy with a 5.0, and have only had it on the lake for the test ride and it was a very chilly day. I can't be for certain with the comparisons on the 2, but his actually seems like it has a little more top end & hole shot power than mine. I will see, and know I have to do some work on mine before spring. I think he is trying to sell his right now for around $6,000, so it sounds like it is pretty much in line for what your looking at. His is in really good condition all around.
I hope this helps some with my prospective of the boat!

 

[xxxflhrci]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

I have a 17.5 with a 3.0. It will do 40 mph at 4600rpm with 2 people in it. I use a stainless 3 blade 19p prop.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Don't be surprised if your speedometer is 4 or 5 MPH fast .....

 

[642mx]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

I run with a couple 4 cylinder guys here locally.... none of them can top 40! Most are about 35-37 WOT with a 17/18 foot hull.

 

[Thunder_SS]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

My old boat was a Sea Ray 175 with a 3.0L in it. I was able to reach 46-48 by myself, but with 4 adults in it, she was barely able to get above 40 and took forever to get up on plane, forever. No way was I able to pull my brother-in-law skiing (235 lbs), just didn't have to power to get him up out of the water!! I have a 20 ft. with a 5.0L now, much happier...

My suggestion is look for a 18 ft. with a 4.3L, you will be happy in the long run...

 

[BeaufortTJustice]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

If you are really interested in the boat...take it for a water test. Most honest, well-meaning sellers will take you out on the water to show you how the boat runs, provided that their is liquid water in the lakes.

That being said, take it for a spin and see what it'll do. The performance of boats with the 3L's will vary greatly depending on hull design, weight distribution, prop, etc.

My 18' Stingray with VP 3.0L will do 45mph (GPS) with two adults and a half tank. 4 adults with full tank drops it to 42, though. I can get 6 mpg at 3000 rpm (~25 mph). My motor in a different hull might be a dog.

You'll never know for sure until you run it in the real world. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Great shape for $6000...does that sound right?

NO!! That sounds ridiculously high for a 15+ year old boat with the base motor. $3k maybe if it's immaculate.

 

[mrcool]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Well it's at a dealership in Wisconsin, all lakes have about 6" of ice, so no test run is available. If you would like to check out all the pics of it, you can find it at www.donsmarine.com go to "Used inventory" and click on the Rinker V180..let me know what you think

 

[Thunder_SS]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

Great shape for $6000...does that sound right?

NO!! That sounds ridiculously high for a 15+ year old boat with the base motor. $3k maybe if it's immaculate.

6000 sounds about right for that boat!! Here is a link for the marina that I traded my old boat. There are asking 6995, which on paper they ended up giving me around 5750 trade in value. I think you could buy my old boat for 6000 cash!!

http://www.maumarine.com/searchengi...1&type=AN&indid=1&sortCol=Length&sortDir=ASC&

 

[sebber83]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

I have a 18.5ft with a 4.3l and I would not go lower. We had days spent on the river with 6-7 and even 8 people, carrying 4 boards on the tower, cooler full of ice and pops and tank full of gas, plus gear for all those people and we never had trouble getting on plane or getting riders out of the water, but personnaly I would prefer a 5.0l, but then again, my mind set is that boating is not a cheap sport and I wont purchase a boat with fuel consumption in mind, I would rather have the power and speed than save a few bucks in gas! my 2 cents

 

[govols019]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

It'll be great for cruising local lakes with a couple of people, probably disappointing compared to something with a 4.3L V6 if you are interested in any kind of watersports with several people in the boat. Expect a MAXIMUM speed in the low 30's. Only thing I didn't like about mine was that cruise speeds (mid-20's) are so close to max speed that it always felt like the equivalent of cruising down the freeway at 70 MPH in your car in second gear ....

Something was either wrong with your motor or your boat was larger than 18ft. I have a Sea Ray 185 Sport with a 3.0 and my top speed is a GPS proven 38MPH.

From Boat Test.com:

2006 Sea Ray 185 Sport

Test Power: 1 x 135-hp MerCruiser 3L
RPM MPH Knots
800 3.9 3.3
1000 4.6 4.0
1500 6.6 5.7
2000 8.0 6.9
2500 12.0 10.4
3000 20.8 18.0
3500 26.6 23.1
4000 31.0 27.0
4500 36.5 31.7
4750 39.0 33.9



From Boating Life.com

Sea Ray 175
* Vital Stats Length: 17'6"
* Beam: 7'
* Dry Weight: 2,100 lb.
* Seating/Weight Capacity: 7/900 lb.
* Fuel Capacity: 21 gal.
* Max HP: 135
* MSRP: (test boat w/ MerCruiser 3.0): $23,490
* NMMA certified: Yes

* Test Drive
* Test Engine: MerCruiser 3.0 Alpha
* Test Prop: 19-pitch aluminum
* Test Load: People (190 lb.); Fuel (21 gal.)
* Top Speed: 42.6 mph @ 5,000 rpm
* Time to Plane: 3.3 sec.
* Time to 30 mph: 8.5 sec.
* Minimum Planing Speed: 17.5 mph @ 2,600 rpm

From Boating Life.com

Stingray 185LX

* Vital Stats Length Overall: 18'5"
* Beam: 85"
* Dry Weight: 2,219 lb.
* People/Weight Capacity: 7/1,070 lb.
* Fuel Capacity: 21 gal.
* Maximum HP: 150
* MSRP (w/Volvo-Penta 3.0L GXi): $20,742
* NMMA Certified: Yes

* Test Drive Test Engine: Volvo-Penta 3.0L GXi
* Test Prop: 21-Inch Stainless Steel
* Test Load: People (225 lb.); Fuel (8 gal.)
* Top Speed: 49.9 mph @ 5,000 rpm
* Time to Plane: 3 sec.
* Time to 30 MPH: 7.0 sec


Saying that a 3.0 will only push a 18ft boat to a maximum top speed of the low 30's is just false information.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Boat with a 3.0 Mercruser?

NO!! That sounds ridiculously high for a 15+ year old boat with the base motor. $3k maybe if it's immaculate.

I agree..... just because a dealer can get it doesn't mean it's a good buy

NADA says $2000-$2300 retail .... private party would be less.... shows brand new list price as 11,000..... of course accesories and options would add some