top speed with hurricane boats

omar174

Some of you are getting some serious top speed. My 2002 FD196 tops out at 32mph with a Honda Bf 115. With the current prop it only revs to 5000, 3 blade/13.25 diameter/17p. My owners manual says it can rev to 6000rpm. Can anyone suggest a prop that will make he motor spin to 6000 rpms?

Capt_Steve

@omar174 ... here's a good place to start marine.honda.com/outboards/accessories/propellers

MNDaveC

It would be good to know who is reporting their speed by GPS... I find my stock gauges to be a bit "generous" on reporting speed.

tone100

I can hit around 42 MPH on my SS188 with the Yamaha F150. This is with a boat full of people and fuel. That's GPS not speedo. The speedo claims almost 50.

With it empty I've gotten 47MPH on a smooth lake trimmed up with one person on it.

omar174

Capt_Steve said:

@omar174 ... here's a good place to start marine.honda.com/outboards/accessories/propellers

Thanks Capt. Any idea how fast should an FD196 go with a 115 Honda? 

nquirk

@omar174.  To add additional speed at the top end and increase your RPMs, you can most likely go to a 15P 3 blade prop sized for your engine.  Each change in pitch should equate to about 250-300 RPMs increased. 

Ideally, you can borrow/rent a 15P prop to test before you buy.  Realize that adding top end speed will also impact your performance on the lower end (hole shot, etc)

Again, this estimate is based on your calcs that the 17P is getting you 5000RPMs, and a top end of your engine is 6000RPMs. 

For change in speed, this will most likely push you into the 37-40 MPH range.

Remember, this is a guesstimate, and the actual performance will vary as I'm using generic calculations.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

Capt_Steve

@omar174 ... low-mid 30s sounds about right for your set-up. Are you finding the cruising sweet spot around 23-25 with your current configuration? 

omar174

Capt_Steve said:

@omar174 ... low-mid 30s sounds about right for your set-up. Are you finding the cruising sweet spot around 23-25 with your current configuration? 

She cruises nicely in the mid 20s. I wouldn't mind a few more miles per hour on the top end though. I'll try a 15 pitch like it was suggested by nquirk. I need a new prop anyways, the one I have on there is all beat up. 

omar174

nquirk said:

@omar174.  To add additional speed at the top end and increase your RPMs, you can most likely go to a 15P 3 blade prop sized for your engine.  Each change in pitch should equate to about 250-300 RPMs increased. 

Ideally, you can borrow/rent a 15P prop to test before you buy.  Realize that adding top end speed will also impact your performance on the lower end (hole shot, etc)

Again, this estimate is based on your calcs that the 17P is getting you 5000RPMs, and a top end of your engine is 6000RPMs. 

For change in speed, this will most likely push you into the 37-40 MPH range.

Remember, this is a guesstimate, and the actual performance will vary as I'm using generic calculations.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

Thanks! I'll try a 15 pitch. 

nquirk

@omar174, if you are high 20s as you last mentioned, not low 30s as your previous, Capt Steve's mid 30s is the more realistic expectation.

 

Let us know the results.

rdcastle

My 2001 GS 201 has a Yamaha 150 HP V-6 2 stroke and runs right at 40 mph at approx 4500 rpms. Since hitting a log at 40 mph doesn't appeal to me, I cruise nearly 80% of time with just me and the "wife-alarm" on board at 3200 rpm and 24 mph +/-. Good fuel economy and not terribly noisy but when we ride with neighbors and their 200 Suzuki 4 stroke I catch a lot of grief. It's so quiet that my neighbor has double started it a few times!!

fmc1942

I have a 05 226 FD with a 150 yamaha 4 blade 47 mph gps

 

tmills3202

I have seen 52 MPH on the GPS of my 2008 SD2000 with a Yamaha 200. The SD2000 has a different hull with a deeper V than the models I see mentioned here.

omar174

Update (FD 196/Honda 115 HP)

I was finally able to change out the prop. I went from a 17 pitch down to a 15. Before I made the change, I went out and did full throttle run so I could get a good comparison. With the 17, the motor was struggling to hit 5000 rpms and top speed was 29. With the 15, the motor revved to 5400 rpms and hit 31 mph. At the beginning of the season, the boat was hitting 32 mph at 5000 rpms. I attribute the loss of speed to marine growth on the bottom of the boat (I keep it in a salt water slip all summer). So I think with a clean hull this should be 34-35 mph boat.

fmc1942

My farah gauges are pretty accurate with the gps...