Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

[gamespanker]

54 seems a little slow. I do not know anything about the prop, but I just bought it and I thought a 150 would push it to 60. btw, there were 3 guys in the boat and this was not GPS'd.

 

[JB]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

If the boat is a slug and the outboard is poorly rigged and operated it couldn't get to 54mph.

Must be doing good.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

What year is the motor? With some bass boat hulls that is just about right.

WAIT a minute. In your other posts you are having problems with the motor so, not knowing if the motor is in proper shape, last time it was tuned up or the last times the carbs were serviced :facepalm:

Absolutely impossible to give a correct answer

 

[nwcove]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

old outboard adage "to go faster....add lightness". try removing the boat from the equation, and see if makes any difference? ( as mentioned above, theres not enough info provided for anyone to even begin to try to offer any suggestions or confirm your top speed is par for the setup)

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

54 is in the ballpark. What's your WOT rpms? And don't rely on what a speedo is telling you, get a handheld gps.

 

[BonairII]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

All depends on how big the people are. Is an extra 5mph worth worrying about? Last time i checked, you can't catch fish at 54mph OR 60mph. Just saying.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

Actually if you are getting that kind of speed, I think you have just about max'd it out. Check with GPS and report back.

It takes a lot of power to improve top speed from 50MPH to 55MPH, and even more to hit 60MPH.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

If you don't have a gps how do you know you were going 54?

If you used the boats speedo they are notoriously inacurate, you could be going anyhwere from 45 to 60 but without a gps no way to tell exactly.

What is your WOT rpm, that is how you tell if it has the right prop, you are looking for a certain rpm range, the speed is what it is.

As someone else pointed out also, if your buddies are both 240 or bigger then that is alot of weight and weight kills speed and to get speed on water you need ALOT of power, and as Bob VT pointed out a foul running engine will kill speed faster than anything else so get that right first.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

You might get better info if you gave more info about your boat, your prop, and rpm's at WOT with just one person in the boat.

Some 18' bass boats are more aerodynamic than others. Some are heavier than others.

I have a friend that's a professional tournament fisherman. His 21' bass boat was no where as fast as it should have been. He had the Mercury factory mechanic checkout his engine, and it was okay. Then, he took the boat back to the boat manufacturer, and they went over the boat. They finally found the problem--450 lbs. of jelly worms in the front compartment. Now, the boat's running the low-mid 70's--what it's supposed to run.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

Just a minor point -- boats are aerodynamic to a point but it is "hydrodynamics" that make it a slug, cruiser, or go fast boat.

 

[nwcove]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

hydrodynamics? wasnt that a disco band from the 70's?

 

[luckynickles]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

if your getting 54 out of the boat with htree people in it sounds pretty damn good to me but go out by yourself with half tank of gas no equiptment see what oyu get tyhe lighter the better let us know robert

 

[gamespanker]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

Here is a little update.

My boat is the a Stratos 285 Pro, '88. The motor is a Johson 150...standard, not Faststrike. I weigh about 230, and I would guess the other 2 guys at 180 each. I dont know what the RPMs are running at but will check next time I take it out. I do not know what WOT means but I will google it.

I took the boat in to get buffed out from a local guy who does this kind of thing. $200 for a wet sand and buff and this think looks like a 2008 instead of a 1988. He looked at my prop and said I had something called cupping, and I had a couple decent knicks in it too. He said this was causing turbulance and bubbles and therefore slowing it down. So it seems I have something to put on my to-do list. We have a pro shop about an hour from my house I will take it to in the nest month or so. The guy said it would make a noticable difference.

Thanks for all the replys.

 

[nwcove]

Re: Does 54mph on an 18 foot bass boat seem slow for a 150 Johnson

wot= wide open throttle. that is a pretty good speed for 600lbs of people, + fuel+whatever gear was onboard. if i remember correctly, cupping is a mod done to the trailing edge of a props blades, to give the prop a bit more performance at top end running.