is my boat underpowered

[James Keller]

I got my Winner bass boat running great..... I filled up the fuel tank, put all four batteries in, put all of my gear on , we got in it and headed across the water..... It was all it could do to go 30 mph....I weigh 250 my friend weigh 250!! It's powered by a 115 Johnson. I think the boat is underpowered.... What do you think?????

 

[Bosunsmate]

Four batteries.. why the need for four?
Whats the prop spec?
And how much gear?
30mph isnt too bad beats rowing

 

[Scott Danforth]

we would need a bit more information.

you currently have 500# of people, 120# of batteries, estimating 100# of gear. What is the capacity plate of the boat say for a limit?

did you have water in the livewell?

Have you ruled out wet foam?

What is the RPM you were getting out of the boat? Was the 30mph on the speedometer or by GPS? which Prop ? (and all the other prop/speed related info questions http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...p-questions-and-topics/295058-read-this-first )

 

[steelespike]

The best way to evaluate your setup is a lightly loaded wot run.
Get us the prop size,usually under the prop nut. your wot rpm and gps speed.
Wouldn't hurt to have the year,size and dry weight and model of the Winner.

 

[V153]

I think the boat is underpowered.... What do you think?????

Well I think that, or it's waterlogged. How long/heavy is it?

 

[James Keller]

Ok... Thanks guys!! I will get you the info you need soon!!

 

[James Keller]

Four batteries.. why the need for four? Sorry I just have 3
Whats the prop spec? 13 3/8. X17
And how much gear? 100lbs
30mph isnt too bad beats rowing

lol!!

 

[James Keller]

Well I think that, or it's waterlogged. How long/heavy is it?

It is really really heavy!! High rpm is only 4200
It dry weight is 960 lbs
It's 17'6"
1984 115 Johnson
Wot rpm is 4200
Wot gps mph is 29mph
Prop is 13 3/8x17
How do you test it for water logged??

 

[James Keller]

The best way to evaluate your setup is a lightly loaded wot run.
Get us the prop size,usually under the prop nut. your wot rpm and gps speed.
Wouldn't hurt to have the year,size and dry weight and model of the Winner.

Prop size is 13 3/8x 17
Wot rpm is 4200
Wot gps mph is 29
1984 Johnson 115 hp
1984 17'6" winner 880 zz
Dry weigh without motor is 960lbs
The max hp rating is 150hp
It's takes forever to get to the 30 mph
The hole shot is embarrassing
How do you know if you have water logged foam????

 

[James Keller]

we would need a bit more information.

you currently have 500# of people, 120# of batteries, estimating 100# of gear. What is the capacity plate of the boat say for a limit?

did you have water in the livewell?

Have you ruled out wet foam?

What is the RPM you were getting out of the boat? Was the 30mph on the speedometer or by GPS? which Prop ? (and all the other prop/speed related info questions http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...p-questions-and-topics/295058-read-this-first )

No water in the live wells
Full tank of gas
3 batteries
Wot rpm is 4200
Prop size is 13 3/8x17
Wot gps mph is 30
How do you know if you have water logged foam????

 

[James Keller]

I do know we have had a bunch of rain and wind... A couple mornings I had to find the tarp in the neighbors yard and put it back on. Pulled the plugs and have stood there many times waiting for the water to drain....water logged????

 

[James Keller]

we would need a bit more information.

you currently have 500# of people, 120# of batteries, estimating 100# of gear. What is the capacity plate of the boat say for a limit?

did you have water in the livewell?

Have you ruled out wet foam?

What is the RPM you were getting out of the boat? Was the 30mph on the speedometer or by GPS? which Prop ? (and all the other prop/speed related info questions http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...p-questions-and-topics/295058-read-this-first )

The cap plate is missing so I went on line and it said 960 lbs
Wot gps is 30mph
Wot rpm is 4200
Prop is 13 3/8x17 stainless
No water is live wells
It takes forever to get out of the hole and forever to get the 30 mp
Water logged ?? I don't know how do you tell??

 

[MTboatguy]

Are there any soft spots in the floor? How does the transom look? any rotten looking areas? How old is the boat? I would bet, you probably have water logged foam in your boat, most of them over a few years old that has not been stored inside have small leaks which leads to water logged foam and soft wood in spots.

 

[jakedaawg]

Did the boat, with the same prop, ever spin up to faster RPM?

 

[steelespike]

Your 115 is capable of speeds over 40 on boats similar to yours.Some might make 50.
While wet foam will surely slow the hole shot I don't think it would knock off 10 mph.
Sometimes if you prop the bow up with the trailer and leave the plug out you may get a constant drip
indicating water in the foam.Very carefully use a hole saw for access to the foam in the rear 1/3 of the boat.
Note the attitude of the boat at rest it may be excessively low at the stern.
If those 4 batteries are at the stern it would pretty much illuminate the hole shot.
Is the bottom clean and smooth?Does the boat get up on there water and run on the rear 1/3 of the boat.
Does it lay down flat like it is glued to the water?
I suspect the motor. Might be down one cylinder Some times peopler don't realize they are down one cylinder but for the lack of power.
maybe the throttle doesn't open all the way Good idea to check the compression.

 

[Scott Danforth]

WOT should be much higher than 4200 RPM. You have something amiss there.. Weigh your boat empty. Compare the weight of hull, motor, and trailer to the Lister weight.

 

[James Keller]

Did the boat, with the same prop, ever spin up to faster RPM?

I just bought it so this is the best it has done....

 

[James Keller]

Your 115 is capable of speeds over 40 on boats similar to yours.Some might make 50.
While wet foam will surely slow the hole shot I don't think it would knock off 10 mph.
Sometimes if you prop the bow up with the trailer and leave the plug out you may get a constant drip
indicating water in the foam.Very carefully use a hole saw for access to the foam in the rear 1/3 of the boat.
Note the attitude of the boat at rest it may be excessively low at the stern.
If those 4 batteries are at the stern it would pretty much illuminate the hole shot.
Is the bottom clean and smooth?Does the boat get up on there water and run on the rear 1/3 of the boat.
Does it lay down flat like it is glued to the water?
I suspect the motor. Might be down one cylinder Some times peopler don't realize they are down one cylinder but for the lack of power.
maybe the throttle doesn't open all the way Good idea to check the compression.

The batteries are at the back of the boat.....it will get up and then lay down but only when I'm by my self and less than 1/2 tank of file..... I will check for spark on all four cylinders..... Thanks

 

[James Keller]

Your 115 is capable of speeds over 40 on boats similar to yours.Some might make 50.












While wet foam will surely slow the hole shot I don't think it would knock off 10 mph.
Sometimes if you prop the bow up with the trailer and leave the plug out you may get a constant drip
indicating water in the foam.Very carefully use a hole saw for access to the foam in the rear 1/3 of the boat.
Note the attitude of the boat at rest it may be excessively low at the stern.
If those 4 batteries are at the stern it would pretty much illuminate the hole shot.
Is the bottom clean and smooth?Does the boat get up on there water and run on the rear 1/3 of the boat.
Does it lay down flat like it is glued to the water?
I suspect the motor. Might be down one cylinder Some times peopler don't realize they are down one cylinder but for the lack of power.
maybe the throttle doesn't open all the way Good idea to check the compression.

Ok ..... I will recheck spark and compression... What should my wot rpm be at????

 

[jakedaawg]

Okay, so, what you need to do...lets not worry about a water logged boat just yet. Check compression 1st. These motors can have a ring failure occasionally. 2nd, check spark with an air gap tester set to 7/16". Just grounding a plug and seeing if it sparks tells you nothing, really. We want to determine if you have a sound motor. The steps to do these checks are in the FAQ's if you are unsure.

3rd, if possible talk to previous owner. Ask him if it ever reached higher RPM's. Ask him if he put a new prop on. Ask him if he put a new prop on because he wanted it to go faster. Many people think that you can just put a longer pitch prop on to gain speed but this is not really the case. I realize it may not be possible to get ahold of him. If you can reach him I would suggest killing him with kindness to get the real answer. He may have decided to re-prop his boat to gain speed, lost speed with his new $400 SS prop, and sold the boat. Lie if you have to to get the real answer. This does not matter if we find bad compression or missing spark.

4th, If you find good compression-all within 10% and over 100psi ( unless this is one of the low comp motors but I dont think so ), AND good bright blue snappy spark then we will worry about the prop, weight, length,water logging and such.