is a 4.3 merc enough power?

[3hog]

is a 4.3 merc enough power in a 2003 19ft vip? pulling 1 or 2 wakeboarders.
does/can it sound good?

 

[3hog]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

????

 

[oops!]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

i love the 4.3 in a 19.

the newer boats are lighter..

however there are many that would disagree....they say you want a v8 at minimum.

test the boat and see if it meets your requirements.
one thing....if you go bigger you will never "wish" you had more power.....but you will pay at the gas docks.....its all a trade off

cheers
oops

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

I have a 4,3 185 HP 2 bbl in an 18 ft Thundercraft Openbow/fiberglass. Runnin a 21 in SS 3 blade.... Pops skiers right up If I put my 18 prop on It often yanks the rope out of hands... Does low to mid 50s on a good day FYI

 

[scooper77515]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

I have 4.3 VolvoPenta in 18.5' Glastron. It pulls HARD. I have only had it a week, but have wakeboarded behind a single 787 (110hp) jet engine in a seadoo for the past 3 years, and this is easily 3 times more powerful than that.

So, YES!

 

[642mx]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

Yep... a 4.3 is perfect for a 19 footer.

 

[3hog]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

thanks for the replies

 

[scooper77515]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

Just be sure that 4.3 is running well...

A cruddy running 4.3 could be...CRUD.

 

[Hansolo99]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

Does low to mid 50s on a good day FYI

WOW mid 50's? I have a 2002 4.3 190hp 195 Bayliner and with a 19p I hit about 43 and with the 21p I am hitting mid to high 40's of course that is with 2 adults, 2 kids and a German Shephard LOL! I had a V8 and I agree you can never have too much power. I opted for a V6 this time around just to be easy on the wallet when I bought it and at the pump. We wakeboard all day long and it is plenty of power for us. Take it out and test run it and see if it fits your needs.........

 

[scooper77515]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

Filled mine up on Thursday of last week. Took it out for a couple hours thursday, all day Saturday, another 3 hours on Sunday, still have 3/4 tank of gas

That is about as good as my old Seadoo boat. Glad I didn't get a gas guzzler.

 

[2000silvers2k]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

I have a 4.3 volvo penta with a 21p prop and it gets right up on plane and goes, tops out about 45 but has no problem getting there. I am sure the 4.3 will be no problem pulling the wake boarders but if you have the money why not go bigger, you will not regret it unless you dont have the wallet to fill the tank

 

[jkust]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

It's all about the weight and the correct prop. My 18 foot Chaparral is just under 2900 lb dry weight, then add the weight of 33 gallons of gas a couple hundred lbs of gear plus 4 passengers and you are at about 3800lbs. Also someone mentioned new boats are lighter and my boat was only discontinued 2 years ago. I am pushing the limits of what you see a carbed v6 push and I rarely have a complaint except for top speed which is 51.8 mph on gps but I do find myself pushing it quite often. If I could go back in time and opt for the 270hp optional v8, I would do it every day of the week however. My point is these v6's are actually suprisingly strong. When I think v6 in an suv, I think whimpy or a lot of tech to get any oomph out of it and then it is at high rpm's. For a simple tech, old school engine, I am satisfied but my next boat will be a V8 with MPI.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

I have a 4,3 185 HP 2 bbl in an 18 ft Thundercraft Openbow/fiberglass. Runnin a 21 in SS 3 blade.... Pops skiers right up If I put my 18 prop on It often yanks the rope out of hands... Does low to mid 50s on a good day FYI

Wow! I have a 4.3 in an 18' Larson. Mine does about 46 MPH with a 22 aluminum prop 3 blader. Of course I usually have 5 people in boat. I would love to open it up with just me cruising. I'll bet I would get 50. The gas consumption is awesome too. I go up and down the river twice which is about 30 miles there and back. I burn less than a quarter tank. I can probably go up and down river about 8 times and still not burn through an entire tank. This of course is just cruising, not tubing involved.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

Wow! I have a 4.3 in an 18' Larson. Mine does about 46 MPH with a 22 aluminum prop 3 blader. Of course I usually have 5 people in boat. I would love to open it up with just me cruising. I'll bet I would get 50. The gas consumption is awesome too. I go up and down the river twice which is about 30 miles there and back. I burn less than a quarter tank. I can probably go up and down river about 8 times and still not burn through an entire tank. This of course is just cruising, not tubing involved.

Yep like i said -on a good day Low to mid 50s A good day [for top speed] is All alone, not much fuel, no cooler, [min weight] low humidy, 2-3 ft of chop on the lake. My every day speed would be like yours, mid to hi 40s, with passengers and gear. Also I was looking at both my Lowerence GPS and Eagle depth finder for my speed readings. So I believe its fairley accurate. My boat speedo doesnt even move till I hit 10 mph... Maybe I will bring my camera and video/ utube my speedo readings ths wkend... I was trying to relay my Best Case Senerio........

 

[bruceb58]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

Yep like i said -on a good day Low to mid 50s A good day [for top speed] is All alone, not much fuel, no cooler, [min weight] low humidy, 2-3 ft of chop on the lake........

I want to see what it looks like going 50 MPH with 2-3 ft chop!

 

[QC]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

I'm thinking 2 - 3 inch chop . . .

One thing you guys need to do is spend some time looking at real test data. You'll find that a 4.3 is not necessarily more efficient than a V8, especially at the same speeds. I agree on the choice, but not because of fuel. All of these engines burn close to the same for the same output. i.e a 3.0, 4.3 or 5.7 putting out 100 bhp at cruise are all going to eat around the same amount of fuel, and 100 bhp is going to make the same boat go about the same speed with the exception of the extra weight. But hardly worth considering for your weekend budget. Probably it's less than $10 difference.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

I want to see what it looks like going 50 MPH with 2-3 ft chop!

LOL I c what your sayn That was a guesstamate- holdin my hand above the floor i would say i over guesstamated ! About half that would be more accurate. Thanks for makeing me aware. Weve done fast runnin with that kind of chop across Lake Mil laqs in Mn chasing walleys 20 mi across that lake.. You almost have to skim across the waves. I defenantly go alot faster skipping across the wavetops on a good chop then on smooth flat water. So much less drag. Happy Boatn! Film at 1100

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

I'm thinking 2 - 3 inch chop . . .

I would respectfully say a foot at least + MAYBE little bit more. for top speed. I may be out on some big water this weekend I will try to do a little research so I can be more accurate with my statements then just my guesstamates and frazzled memory Thank u !

 

[mpsyamaha]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

i have seen that to be true... in my old 16' flats boat my top gps speed was 39 on a 6-12" chop. on dead smooth water it would only hit 37.5mph or so. current offshore boat does 43 on smooth water and 46 on a 12-18" chop.

 

[QC]

Re: is a 4.3 merc enough power?

I was just messing with you and I agree, many boats are faster on a little chop, same basic idea as vented hulls.