Re: How large should I go?
here in Maine, It is not illegal to overpower.<br /><br />a 200 where they say the max is 175.. I wouldnt think twice about it. Saftey rateings are always lower then actual ability, and thats a fact in this modern world of litigation.<br /><br />It is still the operaters responcibilty weather over or under powered, But we are only talking 25hp here there aint that much difference between a 175 and a 200, whats that 12 whole % more power? big woop.. weight on the transom would be my only concerm, but I dout the 200 is that much heaver. The only thing you will really notice is faster fuel consomption, there wont be that great a speed difference.<br /><br />Bottom line, you have to drive it. You are the one who has to inspect your boat, decide how much throttle to apply at any given moment. Everyone talks about this subject like the 200 will rip the transom off if you twich the wheel. Well, any motor could do that under the right circumstance. having the power dosent mean you must use it.<br /><br />This Opinion is based on personal experiance. I have been around boats for over 25 years. Bottom line here is what do you feel is safe? Look at all those mini speedboat racers, By definition, most of those boats are way overpowered, well over the 12% we are talking here. ( yeah yeah, I know what your thinking, I have sean those boats flip too, but that is driver error,,, pushing the envelope reguardless of condition,. I should think a Recreational boater isnt exactly the same thing. Any fool who races runs much more rish then any rec boater. I wouldnt run a 300 on it, but a 200,, No Problems.
