More horsepower, what can I get away with?

racer-x · Jun 14, 2008

My boat is rated for a maximum 110 hp, and it currently has a 90 hp.

I can get a great deal on a 140 Evinrude.... do I risk anything with the extra weight and power?
Can I distribute the extra load with a larger transom plate?

Anybody have experience with "overpowering" their boat?????

Thanks guys!!!

xxturbowesxx · Jun 14, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

its illegal and done generally only in the race crowd.. id advise to just stick with what you have..i doubt 30hp will make or break you but if the coast guard or law enforcement stop you you will be in for it..what kind of boat do you have? id ask why you need/want the extra power im sure keeping the motor you have and making some changes will get the results you want..

guy74 · Jun 14, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

Is it a good idea, probably not. Can it be done, yes, it's done all the time around here. I'd guess that close to 1/4 of the outboard boats around here are overpowered. If I was in your place I'd either work with the setup on the 90, or find a good 110 since there are alot of them out there and they are usually pretty reasonable (at least around here that is a hard size to market).

Benny1963 · Jun 14, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

depends on how the local water patrol is
its not legal, but there are a few boats out there overated
i have a 17 ft mckee with 175 v6 its rated at 140
but it was the only motor i had so i put it on and now i like the hp
but would like to go to a v4 loop charged and mod it

tashasdaddy · Jun 15, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

have an incident, the lawyers will have great fun, trying to take everything you own, and probably will win.

racer-x · Jun 15, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

I was thinking more of from a structural point of view, and weight of the motor going from a 3 to a 4 cylinder.
I will check into the legal issues, to see if it's truly an offence to overpower your boat..... in Canada that is.
Thanks for the responses!

Benny1963 · Jun 15, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

the weight will be and issue. transom condition and design will also matter
my boat is built like and boston wahler in design, with a shallow draft
and the transom is mint so the weight didnt hurt me ,the boat is super stable with the trim tabs, but again if you hurt or kill someone they will have afield day ,if you have a bass boat vhull type craft that is short and lightly built you will have problems the transom wont like it

SnappingTurtle · Jun 16, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

In Germany, just like with a car & tuning or modifying it, anything changed from stock on the boat, has to be added to your boat registration papers. Once it is in the papers, you are in the clear.

It is the process of getting it in the papers that is a small act of god.

If you have, from an engineering standpoint, modified your boat to safely handle the additional horsepower, they will approve it. If not, they won't. Thumbs Up, or Down.

If it is not in your boat registration, and you have an accident of any kind, you are on your own.

No insurance coverage what so ever. They will check everything, hoping to find something so they don't have to pay.

They won't even cover you if it was setting in the driveway and a tree falls on it, if they find something on the boat that is not in it's papers.

Race boats don't fall under these rules, with these you can do what you want, but you can only use these at sanctioned events. You can't just launch one and take off on public waters.

tashasdaddy · Jun 16, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

keep the motor you have, spend you energy, getting it set up to the optimum. correctly propped, engine height, trim. the water police, can actually "red tag" your boat, escort you to the ramp. and the boat cannot go back into the water , until the problem is solved, and inspected.

haskindm · Jun 16, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

What do you want us to say? You have the company that manufactures the boat's recommendation right there on the capacity plate. In most states installing an engine with higher horsepower than recommended on the capacity plate is illegal. Will you get caught? Who knows? Is there a "fudge factor" or safety margin built in? Probably, but who knows what it is? The manufacturer based their recommendation on the weight of the engine, the stress that it will place on the transom, the ability of the hull design to handle the speed that the horsepower will generate, etc. The point is you can install any size outboard on any boat that you want, but if you exceed the manufacturers recommendation you do so completely at your own risk, and at the risk of anyone that gets in your boat, and the risk of anyone that shares the body of water that you boat on. The opinion of us on this forum does not change that. If you want to do it, go for it. The risk and responsibility are yours. The "safe" thing is to stick with the capacity plate.

jay_merrill · Jun 16, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

I'm not so sure that it is, in fact, illegal in most places. That seems to be a common perception but I have been told by a senior member of the Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries here in Louisiana that it is not against any law.

The problem lies in the issue of liability. Doing anything with or to your boat that exceeds its design limitations is just asking to get sued.

haskindm · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

It depends on the state. If the state uses the NASBLA statndards (National Association of State Boating Law Administrators) this is the wording that they follow:
(2) No person shall operate any vessel described in subsection 2-1 when said vessel exceeds:
(a) The maximum weight capacity, or
(b) The maximum persons capacity, or
(c) The maximum horsepower, or
(d) The capacity limits as identified on the ?Capacity Label,? or by calculations provided in 33 C.F.R., Part 183, subparts C and D.

My understanding is that the majority of states adhere to the NASBLA guidelines (I know Maryland does).

KeyWestBoater · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

In Florida it is illegal to exceed the hp stated on the capacity plate. You can believe that the CG will see that big motor and stop you.

Kev144 · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

Probaby not a best idea. I have a good friend who has a speed boat, not sure on the make( its a 1996). It was rated for a 150HP yet he put on a 175hp Johnson GT. The thing went like a bat out of hell but now the transom has started to pull apart and is in need of a complete over haul. I would not recconmend it.

Bigprairie1 · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

Kind of begs the question what is the legal impact of upping the performance on your car/truck vs. your boat.
There are a lot of newer cars and trucks out there running performance tuners that are easily adding 50-100hp to the vehicle. I wonder what the insurance companies think of that and what the rollback on the user has been in case of an accident...if at all?

Whatever it is, it certainly isn't deterring the performance race.
I'm not sure, but I think some boats may have been rated (de-rated?) for a 'reasonable' power to keep the insurance hounds at bay? I noticed some 15-ish ft boats in the 70's running 150hp (rated?) motors. These boats hardly seem beefier than the boats coming out of the 80's/90's. So I wonder it it just a little bit of conservative thinking for insurance purposes by the manufacturer perhaps similar to what happened with the insurance industry desending on the muscle cars in the late 60's? I don't know...its an interesting possiblity tho?
You're talking a lot of hp difference here unlike some others who put a 175/200hp motor on a little boat doubling the capacity...these people are obviously asking for it.
You're going to have to use your judgement on this one I think.
Just my take
BP

guy74 · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

This also brings up the guy who has put a 140hp powerhead onto his 85hp midsection so he can run it on his boat that is rated for 85hp. Is that safe? Is it legal? It's like my boat is rated for 85hp, and I can't legally run even a 88hp motor since it's 3 hp over the rating. This is always an interesting topic, is it any more safe to take the motor that is at the top of the rating for the boat and modify it to produce more power, than to just hang the motor designed to produce that hp? The debate rages on.

jay_merrill · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

If Wildlife & Fisheries, the Coast Guard, or anyone else ever tried to enforce horsepower ratings in Louisiana, they would have to write tickets to about half the boat owners in the state. The boat/motor combinations that I see in the bayous and other waterways around here, are positively scary sometimes.

Personally, I've never understood the need for very hgh speeds in boats. For one thing, you miss an awful lot about your boating area when you are bombing around at 50 - 60 mph. I have found many places to fish, photograph or just enjoy, simply because most of my crusing time is at about 20 mph. If I really need to be somewhere at a particular time I may run faster, but I usually just leave earlier.

One other thing to think about is that some states (Florida & Louisiana are two of them), are considering posting speed limits on some waterways. So far, I have not seen any attempt to follow through on the idea, but it has been discussed simply because of the number of boating accidents in those states.

My advice is to stay with the rating for your boat. In the long run, you might just save yourself a lot of headaches.

SnappingTurtle · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

If it is a great deal, and you want the motor, buy it!

Then sell your boat & motor, and buy a hull made for the performance this motor delivers.

I don't know how the market looks in your neck of Canada, but from what I can see, these boats are a dime a dozen right now.

You'll be on the safe side, and you won't have to listen to people telling you are a danger to yourself and society in general.

Benny1963 · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

move to louisiana when you overate it as jay said half the boats on our water ways are customs , its really boils down to the law and the law in most states are that you do not exceed capacity ,but i fear pwcs that run 80 mph
and drunks in donzis more than i do the guy that has and extra 25 hp
me personaly am overated on my boat ,but it started because it was what i had .some of the boats out there cant handle what they are rated at
new ,i however am very cautious when i run my boat and by no
mean run it full out ,and am looking to build a looper in the 140 range that pushes the same horsepower that i am pushing now , but i will be legal lol.
responsibility is what it boils down to [dont do the crime if ya cant do the time ]i personaly fear hurting anyone on the water no mater what speed im at or what kind of horsepower i push ,not to mention personal harm

racer-x · Jun 17, 2008

Re: More horsepower, what can I get away with?

I am checking into the legalities of whether it is in fact illegal in Canada to overpower my boat.
I will also let the insurance company know what the descriptors are, as well as top speed (yes they ask that) of the new engine package.

I will post the results, and let you know the performance difference with the new engine.
I will also post what the law states, and what the insurance company states.

No sense in screwing around, and I will let you know how my transom likes the new power set up.

More horsepower, what can I get away with?

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