Underpowered or engine problem?

[vprgtsr001]

I bought a 94' Bayliner Capri 1500 last year. It came with a force 50hp motor. The motor sounds like its running perfectly, as in not firing on only one cylinder. Its a 16' fiberglass boat (runabout) for anyone thats not familiar with it. The maximum occupancy as stated on the plate is 4 people and 50hp motor. When i take the boat out with 4 people, avg of 150lb per person the boat can't get on plane. In fact it feels like its dragging. Anything less than 4 and she moves nice, althought at times its even a problem towing someone on a tube with only 2 on the boat and 1 on the tube. I would imagine if the boat is stamped for a max of 50hp it would at least move a bit faster/easier than it does. I was given the original sales slip when i bought the boat and it looks like it had the option for a 90hp motor. Some of my questions for people familiar with small boats like this are, does it sound like the motor is just underpowered for this boat, or should it be able to plane easily with 4 adults? Is it possible to put a bigger engine and have the plate changed? If im correct if you put an engine bigger than the plate says you can get in trouble with coastguard etc. Any suggestions/comments are appreciated!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

50HP on that boat with four folks will be a struggle. If the boat has a tach what RPM is the engine turning at wide open throttle and what speed do you see at that RPM? Perhaps a prop with less pitch would help get out of the hole but it may cost some top end. Actually, Bayliner marketed a number of entry level boats years ago that were marginally powered. During that period their engines were rated at the power head, not the prop like other manufacturers so they generally performed poorly compared to similar boats with the same HP from other manufacturers. You can't legally change the plate and install a bigger engine. Your insurance company will not like you for doing that. You can however install a newer engine (say a 50 Merc two-stroke). These are large displacement engines that would perform much better on that boat. But make sure your engine is tuned and performing as it should before swapping engines.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

While slow and under powered, these boats did perform a little better than that. If possible, check the foam in the hull, it may be soaked, you might be carrying around a few hundred pounds of water.

 

[slyshar3]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

How do you go about drying it if you find that it is soaked?

 

[roscoe]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

Remove and replace, usually involves removing the floor.<br />Once removed, you usually find that the transom and stringers are saturated and/or rotted.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

unfortunately bayliners are noted for this problem. was trying to find your dry weight of NADA-boats. the do not list a Capri 1500 1994. you really need to take your rig to a public scale and have it weighed. then subtract weight of trailer, motor, etc to get the weight of the hull. nada shows a 1600 CR at 1300lbs. recheck your numbers. weighing yur boat is the easiest way to tell if you are holding water.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

T-D, Are you sure that boat is supposed to weigh 1300#? That sounds like a lot for a 16' runabout. My 16' speedboat is 600#, and it weighs twice what my 16' winner did.<br />The performance of a 1300# boat (plus 200# motor) with 4 people (600#) and a 50HP motor will be lousy, IMHO.

 

[ratracer]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

What is the pitch of your prop? <br /><br />Is there a significant difference in trying to plane when, for example all 4 people are in the back vs. having 2 sitting up front? <br /><br />It could be that the original prop was replaced at some point with one with different pitch. If so, repropping might help. BUT, as the other guys are telling you, you need to make sure that the hull and motor are otherwise in good shape.<br /><br /><br />You can certainly pull a tube, and even a water skiier (if they aren't big) along with the driver + a spotter in the boat with a 50HP, but the motor is going to work hard at it even under ideal conditions.

 

[tommays]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

We had a 16 ft sportcraft with a 50 HP johny for years it had plenty of power NO rocket ship but it could move 4 people on plane<br /><br /><br /> so i would look for problems with weight or the motor<br /><br />tommays

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

Heck I had a 30 hp Johnson on a 16 ft boat and it easily planed with four people. Sounds like you need to pitch down with your prop and it should make a world of difference.<br /><br />To give you an idea, on the boat above, I had a 15" pitch prop that was a complete dog on that boat. I propped down to a 13" pitch...and WOW! The boat came alive with GUSTO! With two in the boat it pulled a single person tube real well.

 

[vprgtsr001]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

Well theres no tach on the boat, im sure its possible to get one and hook it up though. I dont have this boat insured, i got it real cheap because there was a soft spot in the floor and the engine wasnt running (turned out to be bad coil) and although illegal i really would like to put a 70hp on it, but i'll look into an engine with bigger displacement as i've always thought the power is summed down to the ##hp. About the foam, I cut out the entire floor and replaced it, i let the stringers dry for a week in the sun then i coated them again in fiberglass resin. Put down a new floor and glassed that off as well. The old foam in the parts of the boat that arnt supposed to hold water are dry and in good shape. <br /><br />I've never had the boat weighed but that sounds like a good idea. Since its been out of the water all winter i might do that before summer gets here, i could always contact bayliner and see if i can get specs on an old model. <br /><br />The prop pitch is a 12.5. I'm looking up prop sizes/pitches for a 50hp force as i write this.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

no i'm not sure his boat ia 1300lbs because i could not find a match for this boat. that's why i ask him to check his numbers. nada does not list a Capri 1500.

 

[vprgtsr001]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

seems like recommended pitches for this motor are 10,11.5,12.5,13.5 and 14.5. If it is the pitch i would hate to see how it runs with a 14.5 <br /><br />anyway, if i have 12.5, would it be worth it to try 10? I know i'd get more pulling power less top end speed, but does anyone know exactly how much of both?<br /><br /><br />edit: found dry weight of hull = 950lbs

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Underpowered or engine problem?

Just a word of caution. Putting a 70 HP engine on a boat rated for 50 HP will result in all your stuff going to someone else should you have an accident. Doesn't make any difference whether you are insured or not. Your insurance company will not cover you if you lied to them and any attorney would drool at the thought of a suit involving an over-powered vessel involved in a personal injury accident.