Opinons on top speed?

[stevenmurray1987]

Alright I just bought my first boat

1968 Shell Lake 15' fiberglass tri-hull. The interior is gutted minus two casting

decks on the front and back. This boat is used for fishing. The boat seems

pretty light made of thin fiberglass. I can lift it of the hitch without too much

problem. Anyways, I bought the boat with a 70's montgomery ward sea king,

only 7hp. Now I didn't expect to even plane out with this thing, but I thought

I would be moving a little faster. Truth is the engine has about the same

push as the little hand controlled trolling motor. What size engine would be

suitable for me? I would like to do 20mph if I could. Should I go with a 15 or

20hp?

Any opinions would be greatly appriciated!

 

[osborn159]

Re: Opinons on top speed?

what does the mfg/coast guard plate say w/ reguard to max hp??? if there is none i would take a stab and say youd be safe w/ a 25 maybe a 35 depends on a lot of things hull weight, type etc. doesnt sound like you want to break speed records so id probly top it out at a 25, look for the plate on the hull somewhere

 

[stevenmurray1987]

Re: Opinons on top speed?

Oh yeah she is rated for 40hp and 5 people.

 

[osborn159]

Re: Opinons on top speed?

dont exceed 40hp that was when the boat was in original configuration, and from pics it looks modified, probly used to have a steering station, 25-35hp would be real nice on this. good luck