I have a 1992Evinrude 4 hp deluxe that I just bought for my Zodiac 260 FR. I'm having a real hard time getting the boat to plane out. Is there any way to realisticly sqeeze more power out of this little engine?
Thanks!
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The 4hp IS souped up! It started life as a 3hp back in the early 1950s and through refinements over the decades it became a 4hp. That's a 33% increase right there!! If you need more kick, sell the 4 and get something larger...
- Scott
Just sold a 84 4hp and a 12 aluminum rowboat. Last I saw them, I was in the slip sitting in da boat, and they (2 guys out fishing) came by on plane and cooking right along..brought a tear to my eye, as I have 2 50's 3hp that only wish they knew what planing is. Ya need for hp for the balloon boats
My little 93' 4hp johnson will plane me and do an honest 18 mph in my 1230 SeaNymph. Given that it's the lightest smoothest running 2 cyl, 4hp motor I've owned (out of 6-7) I'm thrilled with it. I currently also have a 1 cyl Merc 4 and Suzuki 4 that add reverse gear and significant weight gain but no more usable power. The little OMC is my favorite 4 hp ( and perfect if it had reverse). Inflatables are notorious for eating horse power if you want to get them on plane. My guess is your going to need at least 75-80% of the boats HP rating to get there.
I can get it on plane but I need to lay on the bow until it does. Then it takes off! I think I going to add a set of trim tabs on the zodiac. That will help it plane faster. I was hoping I could squeeze another hp out of it but it doesn't sound like thats going to happen. Has anyone out there used any of the inflatable trim tabs available?
I can get it on plane but I need to lay on the bow until it does. Then it takes off! I think I going to add a set of trim tabs on the zodiac. That will help it plane faster. I was hoping I could squeeze another hp out of it but it doesn't sound like thats going to happen. Has anyone out there used any of the inflatable trim tabs available?
Look, you are starting another post on the same subject on "Boat Topics" forum...we told you..MORE HP..go ahead and add MORE drag on that little pup with those useless foils.....later..good luck..(PS..double posting the same question does ya no good...)
I cant believe a 4hp will plane a boat! I sit in my 12' aluminum with a 5.5hp and it ploughs along like a fat sinking tug... of course I'm 6'5" and about 235lbs... that could be a small problem... I guess small folks will plane well! If I put my 10hp on it, it runs nicely
Look, you are starting another post on the same subject on "Boat Topics" forum...we told you..MORE HP..go ahead and add MORE drag on that little pup with those useless foils.....later..good luck..(PS..double posting the same question does ya no good...)
Scaaty,
First you should learn to read! My question on this post was "can i get more Power out of my 4 hp" The 6 and 8 hp use the same powerhead, I wasn't sure if I could upgrade a few components to make my engine a 6 or 8 hp. The casing and the lower unit on my motor are the same as the 6 and 8 hp models. Seeing that short of replacing the powerhead or outboard, I'm not going to get more power out of my motor. The second post was about a totally different topic. I was about trim tabs not more power. If I want to start 5 posts thats my problem! Two manufacture of trim tabs for my boat claim a 4 hp will power my boat fine! If you read my post I say that it plains "SLOW" . Which means trim tabs will help. I want people who have used these products to tell me if they work as discribed. I'm not interested in going 30 mph in a 8'6" boat. So i have no interest in putting a 15 hp motor on a boat rated for a 4 hp. Give me a break. So with that said if you have never used trim tabs on an inflatable then why did you click on my post? Sound to me like you need to get out on you boat away from your computer. Maybe then you'll under stand how trim tabs work.
Are you sure about that? It used to be possible to upgrade the old 5hp to 6 but not to 8. (I looked into upgrading my 6 to 8 but found it was not a realistic possibility.)
Sound to me like you need to get out on you boat away from your computer. Maybe then you'll under stand how trim tabs work.
You just picked a fight with one of the most knowledgable guys on here - ridicules.
Trim tabs won't help your situation. You need more power. Inflatables need more ponies to get on plane. I know from experience. At work, I maintain a fleet of 7 12' inflatables with various motors from 56 lbs electrics to 3.3-15 hp outboards. I'm impressed the 4 hp planes your inflatable at all.
The fella that gets his 4 hp to plane his 14' boat is lucky. I couldn't get a 15 hp to plane my 14.5' boat max rated for 28 hp with 2 +200 lbs guys on board. Either way, his 14' aluminium V hull is a lot different than your inflatable.
I'm not really trying to pick a fight with anyone! The purpose of a forum is to ask a question and get an answer or option on a topic. Seeing that everyone said that there was no way to get more power out of my 4 hp, I figured that I was going to explore another idea. New idea new post! Scaaty came at me like I was some idiot for starting a new post! Sorry but that is the right thing to do. I'm thankful to all the opinions people gave me, but not thankful to scaaty's sarcasim.
[quote=the godfather;1507802] Scaaty came at me like I was some quote]
Look..one more time..most old J/Rude knowledgeable people here has 50 years wrenching under the belt..I told ya once...Ballon boats don't plane well with 4hp..and ya AINT NEVER gonna get more out of it...but you are free to ignore my advice, as the others..whos knows, ya just might come up with something we have all tried..
Again, good luck...
Scaaty,
First you should learn to read! My question on this post was "can i get more Power out of my 4 hp" The 6 and 8 hp use the same powerhead, I wasn't sure if I could upgrade a few components to make my engine a 6 or 8 hp. The casing and the lower unit on my motor are the same as the 6 and 8 hp models. Seeing that short of replacing the powerhead or outboard, I'm not going to get more power out of my motor. The second post was about a totally different topic. I was about trim tabs not more power. If I want to start 5 posts thats my problem! Two manufacture of trim tabs for my boat claim a 4 hp will power my boat fine! If you read my post I say that it plains "SLOW" . Which means trim tabs will help. I want people who have used these products to tell me if they work as discribed. I'm not interested in going 30 mph in a 8'6" boat. So i have no interest in putting a 15 hp motor on a boat rated for a 4 hp. Give me a break. So with that said if you have never used trim tabs on an inflatable then why did you click on my post? Sound to me like you need to get out on you boat away from your computer. Maybe then you'll under stand how trim tabs work.
MY BOAT?..which one?...4. .25 foot barge to a Flatbottom Drag boat, and 5 old Johnsons sitting, pickled, in my storage shed..)..what motor? (just got done doing 9 lower units with the oil thing..ALL mine....and all runners on the boats I use yearly...and at it for 50 years..retired (at 44 by the way), so "the computer" thing helps A LOT more who get free knowledge...most (99% say thanks from us old salts.. ).
Have fun, welcome to Iboats, where you are free to voice an opinion...and that was my last to you..
PS...47 years saddle time scooters..still own 3 harleys and dirtbikes. Aint a wizard I never meet...until today..one more to the list..
WAIT A MINUTE!!!!
A Chitown hardhead with 6 post here?
44 years tearing up the "Chain" back there..started Crooked Lake with my dad in the 50's (left 94..west Burbs..raised by the Mob...all us "children grew up fast with there guidance", plus Nam at 18 helped the rest of the way....). Aint a bar on the Chain I wasn't tossed out of...no lakefront I aint banned from....most Lakefront has me in the presence at one time or another...banned from Wisconsin from soaking people at the bridges, soaking them with a XS150 surface prop roostertail..(ya know Bobby Switzer?...Switzercraft boats..Crystal Lake on the fox river now, shop was in McHenry..good friend)....also sledded (snowmobile) EVERY nook and cranny Chain and WI..raced dirtbikes on the ice at Mineola on Fox Lake 70's....
Tell ya what..send me 10 pounds of "Portillo's" beef, 10 Italian beef/sausage combo's, (Carm's OK..old friend..tell him extra sauce), ANY Chitown Pizza extra size with double sausage..3 at the least, and I'll BUY ya the needed horsepower...
Be well..(love those well fed old hardheads back there...)
Scaaty,
If you like Portello's beef sandwiches your alright with me! I'm sure you know what your talking about. I'm just trying to get all the advise on different topics I can before I either put a bigger powerhead on my 4hp chassis or just get a bigger motor all together! The problem with the bigger motor option is that I'm going to be able to insure it because it will be over the max. A bigger powerhead only I will know there is extra power under the hood. My post here is titled Evinrude 4hp ............., My new question was regarding trim tabs i see advertised as planing an inflatable with a 4hp.. One even has a video and the 9'6 inflatable takes right off with 4 hp. Using the tabs of course! So i created another post titled Trim tabs, because this was the answer I now was looking for. Thanks for your advise, but in the future don't give someone a hard time becasue they possibly have a different solution to the same problem and create a new post for that idea/question.
Problem Solved!
I just went out on the Zodiac and did a bit of tuning on the motor and now the boat planes off no problem with my 4 hp. I tried to take my GPS to see just how fast I'm going but the batteries were dead. Either way the boat planes fairly quick now. Thanks for all the advice!
Evinrude 4hp Deluxe, more power?
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