Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

Tyler here,

I am thinking about getting yet another boat... it is a 1989 14ft Bayliner Capri with a 75 hp Johnson outboard. Does anybody own one of these or have experience with this motor pushing a boat this size? Could it pull a skier or wakeboarder or a tube? Any info would be appreciated as always! ~Tyler

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

Good news, bad news....

What kind of skiing are you talking about? What kind of wake board ride are you after? Are you talking about kids or teens/adults (weight)? Skilled or beginners? Many variables....

The good news: a 14 ft boat with a 75 hp should freakin' fly! And, yes there's plenty to pull a BEGINNER skier, wake boarder or tuber. Depending on weight and skill level you may get two years out of this rig.

The bad news: although you can pull them, it doesn't mean the ride will be enjoyable for either the rider or those in the boat. As they grow with the sport, they will need serious, steady power. An experienced slalom skier will definitely stop this rig in its tracks, as they cut hard side to side, traveling perpendicular to the travel of the boat. They will feel it on the rope as they start to sink and you will feel it in the boat as it is momentarily stalled and you will feel the transom pulled side to side. They will stress the transom in a big way. A wake boarder may be able to do the same, again traveling perpendicular to the path of the boat. Eventually they will want to cut hard and jump wakes, creating intermittent loads on the stern. The better they get, the more power will be required.

A beginner slalom skier or a skier on two skies could get an enjoyable ride until they get bored and want to grow with the sport.

A tuber may get an easier ride as they are just pulled along for the ride, they will not, themselves, be adding load to the boat like cutting back and forth; totally different from skiing.

A serious slalom skier or wake boarder requires huge outboard power (140 or more) or an inboard.

If you are talking about youngsters just starting out, this is a good rig to learn on, but it will cost you later as they will need the power and steadiness, consistency, of an inboard.

Hope this helps.
J

p.s., welcome to the forum! You will get better advice if you go the water skiing section. We're the wrench-heads, not necessarily the ones on the end of the rope...

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

I agree with JDusza. My first boat was a 15' with 75hp and while it could pull me out on 2 skis (I weighed about 180 at the time) that was pretty much its limit. My second boat was a 16' with 115 and it could pull two of us out on slaloms. I could cut hard and slow it down but that was all.

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

Thanks for the info guys... I am thinking about using this boat as a tube only now. I already have the 150 Cobra that should take care of all of my wakeboard needs. I am happy to hear that this 14 footer should fly. Thanks again for all the tips!

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

Good info above. A "power prop" can make a big difference in pulling power.

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

The 75 engine is a high port factory powerhead. Which means it makes it's hp at top end. As such, it's not as good out of the hole as a straight 70 with 56 cubic inches. Many of those 75's were the small 49 cubic inch block-which further hurts hole shot performance. You may be able to prop your way around the holeshot issue. Those 75's were strong on top end!

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

You can ski behind anything if its propped correctly, I know people who skied behind 15ft boats with 33hp and 40 hp's in the early 60's...

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

Faztbullet said:

You can ski behind anything if its propped correctly, I know people who skied behind 15ft boats with 33hp and 40 hp's in the early 60's...

Click to expand...

So true. The 40hp they have shown pulling 2 skiers.

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

Good point made on the power curve response of the Johnson by emdsapmgr. Used to be (when I was younger) that Johnson / Evinrude had more speed at the high end, but, at the same HP the Mercs had better power out of the hole.
Good point! Thank you.

Re: Will a 75 hp Johnson pull a wakeboarder or skier?

Faztbullet said:

You can ski behind anything if its propped correctly, I know people who skied behind 15ft boats with 33hp and 40 hp's in the early 60's...

Click to expand...

In those days, us "teenagers" didn't weigh too much and my 14' Glasspar with a 40hp Evi pulled two skiers easily. We would have each skier hold an extra rope, and then transfer two more skiers from other boats. It was quite a site on our lake - 4 skiers behind a 40hp motor!