Hi Everyone,
I am new to boats and engines, but I took the plunge this last month and bought a Larson 16 foot 1996 open bow ski boat that seats 5 people. It has a 100 hp evinrude outboard motor. The guy I bought it from had bought it at auction and fixed the steering cable, but other than that knew nothing about the boat. The prop that it came with was in bad shape, so I have put on a new prop as well as replaced the hub system. It runs great, starts right up in the water and tops out at about 30mph with four adults in it.
The problem is that I am getting terrible gas mileage!! I am using the right mix of 50:1 and it is a 12 gallon tank. I am using a TC-w3 oil and 88 or higher octane gas.
The gas mileage is bad because tonite I had 4 adults in the boat and in 45 minutes of actual engine time (I timed it) running to one end of the lake and back at about 95% full throttle I used up 1/2 my tank (which I know was full when I started out).
What do I need to do to improve my gas mileage? What are the things that cause bad gas mileage on an outboard?
Lastly, I thought a new, clean prop would help, but I think it has worsened mileage. I switched from a 13x17 prop to a 13x19 which the boat repairman told me would add a couple extra miles an hour to my top end. Did this lead to a huge reduction in my gas mileage though?
Thanks for any help. I can tell from this site so far that we have some really knowledgeable people on this forum. I have already learned a lot about 2 stroke engines!
I am new to boats and engines, but I took the plunge this last month and bought a Larson 16 foot 1996 open bow ski boat that seats 5 people. It has a 100 hp evinrude outboard motor. The guy I bought it from had bought it at auction and fixed the steering cable, but other than that knew nothing about the boat. The prop that it came with was in bad shape, so I have put on a new prop as well as replaced the hub system. It runs great, starts right up in the water and tops out at about 30mph with four adults in it.
The problem is that I am getting terrible gas mileage!! I am using the right mix of 50:1 and it is a 12 gallon tank. I am using a TC-w3 oil and 88 or higher octane gas.
The gas mileage is bad because tonite I had 4 adults in the boat and in 45 minutes of actual engine time (I timed it) running to one end of the lake and back at about 95% full throttle I used up 1/2 my tank (which I know was full when I started out).
What do I need to do to improve my gas mileage? What are the things that cause bad gas mileage on an outboard?
Lastly, I thought a new, clean prop would help, but I think it has worsened mileage. I switched from a 13x17 prop to a 13x19 which the boat repairman told me would add a couple extra miles an hour to my top end. Did this lead to a huge reduction in my gas mileage though?
Thanks for any help. I can tell from this site so far that we have some really knowledgeable people on this forum. I have already learned a lot about 2 stroke engines!
