Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

[south texas]

I have a 24' with a Johnson 50HP. I'm running about 10 knots at 4,000 RPM, with myself, wife , and 2 small kids (approx 400# total). Does that seem about right to you guys? The motor seems to top out around 5,000 at WOT, but doesn't increase the speed enough to justify the fuel consumption. Plus I hate to run WOT on the old dog! Motor was trimmed out as level as possible to get the max speed / min. RPM's.

Please let me know how this compares to your max speed with comparable motor / boat size.

Thanks!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

that sounds like you are on the low side of normal, big boat, little motor.

Pontoons are really inefficient moving through the water and it takes ALOT of power to get them really moving, I have driven toons with 200 horse outboards that only went 34mph and a 5.7 IO that went 42 with @ 300 horse.

Sounds like you are right in there as far as having the right prop on the boat, other than getting a smaller boat or a bigger motor not much you cna do but sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

[south texas]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

that sounds like you are on the low side of normal, big boat, little motor.

Pontoons are really inefficient moving through the water and it takes ALOT of power to get them really moving, I have driven toons with 200 horse outboards that only went 34mph and a 5.7 IO that went 42 with @ 300 horse.

Sounds like you are right in there as far as having the right prop on the boat, other than getting a smaller boat or a bigger motor not much you cna do but sit back and enjoy the ride.

That's what I'm thinking, but just wanted to be sure. The speed (or lack of) is fine, I'm all about cruising. My last boat topped out around 55MPH, so it's a different animal. At least in this one we have room to move around and I'm less likely to spill my drink!

 

[rentprop1]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

I have a 22 foot with a 60 bigfoot and the GPS says 19 mph at 4900 RPM thats close to WOT for me

 

[steelespike]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

There is a post above the fella is getting 17-18 gps with a 50 merc on a 24.
His also doesn't get much more above 4,500. He's doing really well yours seems a little slow.You could check that the throttle opens all the way.
Is your speed by gps?

 

[south texas]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

There is a post above the fella is getting 17-18 gps with a 50 merc on a 24.
His also doesn't get much more above 4,500. He's doing really well yours seems a little slow.You could check that the throttle opens all the way.
Is your speed by gps?

Hi Steelespike.. My speed was by GPS on the Gulf of Mexico.. I'm thinking that wind may be a factor when comparing our boats. It gets pretty windy out there! I'm heading to the Rio Grande this weekend and will test it again. I imagine I'll see an increase with the smoother water and less wind.

Thanks for bringing this post to my attention.

 

[hvachillbilly]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

hi i have a 21' suntracker with a 60 hp bigfoot and i can get about 15 knots with oem prop and i was wondering if i went to a 90 hp hiw much more speed i would get my boat is on lake mead 4 or 5 knots wold be a big difference

 

[south texas]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

UPDATE: Had the boat out on the Rio Grande this past weekend. Topped out at 13.2 knots GPS (15.19 MPH) @ WOT with 3 adults and 3 kids on boad, 18 gal of fuel, cooler, etc. So, based on other postings with similar boat / motor combos, I feel I'm right in the average range.

 

[south texas]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP UPDATE 2

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP UPDATE 2

UPDATE PART 2:

Had her out again this past weekend, this time with a total of 12 people on board. Obviously top speed was reduced due to weight, but moved along quite well. We ran at about 10 knots (11.5 mph) at 4500 RPMs (GPS speed).
The boat handled surprisingly well too.

Hopefully this info will help any guys with speed issues on the larger pontoons.

 

[mayorjones]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

Though I'm still working through some other issues (prop, cavitation, etc...), I'm wondering if someone can answer a question similar to other discussion here - if I take off with my motor all the way down (lowered), it runs at 5500 rpm WOT, but if I trim it up to what looks/sounds right, rpm's drop to about 5,000 without touching the throttle. Is this "normal"?

 

[south texas]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

Though I'm still working through some other issues (prop, cavitation, etc...), I'm wondering if someone can answer a question similar to other discussion here - if I take off with my motor all the way down (lowered), it runs at 5500 rpm WOT, but if I trim it up to what looks/sounds right, rpm's drop to about 5,000 without touching the throttle. Is this "normal"?

That's the trick.. Most speed/least rpms. You NEED to trim out the motor to achieve that. So, your situation is "normal".

 

[mayorjones]

Re: Max speed 24' w/ 50HP.

First time for everything. Thanks