Thoughts on being underpowered?

[Numlaar]

Hey all,

So... I sunk my boat last weekend.... Its a 15'6" cheetah speedboat with a 115HP suzuki 2-stroke (way overpowered, and too much weight), hence the sinking... It was recovered and the motor is fine, but I am thinking I need a new (bigger) boat for the engine.

I have the opportunity to acquire a 1978 Arrow Glass Capri BR for free (sharp looking boat actually) . Heres the basic info:

1978 Capri BR
This outboard runabout is 18.25 feet long and weighs 1423 (pounds dry). This weight does not account for passengers, fuel, or gear. The beam of this craft is 88 inches. The max horsepower for this boat on our records is 165 hp .

I am wanting to put my 115Hp suzuki on the boat. The previous owner said he ran it with a 115HP merc, and thought that it had excellent performance, I am concerned because this seems to be a heavy boat, and thats 50HP less than max, however I do often see 17-19ft boats with 115hp's on them, so my question is:

1. Do you think I would be underpowered by too much if I stuck my suzuki on this boat?

I dont want the thing to be a barge... I would typically be running with 3-4 passengers... so maybe 6-800lbs additional weight max...

 

[Overkill82k5]

Re: Thoughts on being underpowered?

I think you will be fine. You may need to drop some pitch off your prop but that should be more than enough power to plane and move at a reasonable clip. You won't me setting any speed records, but you will get to where you're going...

 

[45Auto]

Re: Thoughts on being underpowered?

My 18' Bayliner with a 120 Force was about the same weight and dimensions and it was fine.

 

[2ndtry]

Re: Thoughts on being underpowered?

I see 115's on 2000# boats all the time, I don't think you will have any issues. Like Overkill said, you may have to drop the prop a bit and you'll get out the hole ok. Not sure what you are running now, but a 17" should still get you around 40 mph top end, a 15" ~35.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Thoughts on being underpowered?

115 on that boat should be fine - it'll definitely be better than it was on the 15'er - at least it should stay on top of the water anyway....