Have 14 foot star craft boat with a 40 hpjohnson super sea horse motor.i do not know how to tell what year they are.can someone give me a clue as to what it is? thank you greg H
Fone man Thank you for your help.I wouldnt believe that it was that old.Maybe you can tell me what would be thelimit of motor size i can mount on it.or how to fix the tilt bracket. Thanks again Greg H
Mounted somewhere on your boat should be a plate that has the maxium capacity & maximum horsepower ratings. DO NOT exceed either of those!! Also, perhaps on the same plate or maybe stamped on the transom should be the hull identification number from which any Starcraft dealer should be able to identify the year/model/etc. of the boat.Walt
uh oh. Hi Walter, you were helping me out earlier with my new (OK old) 75 Glastron and 1150 Merc engine. You just mentioned not to exceed the maximum HP stamped on the boat. Well, taking into consideration I didn't think to look before hand, and the boat already had this 115hp merc on the back of it, what's your opinion of what I should do now knowing that the max HP rating for the boat was 90? I noticed that the previous owner had stored about 40lbs of bricks in the bow to counteract the weight. (I figured that out when i noticed the boat would plane right out of the hole). I've taken some out but left about 30lbs. I have asked my guy at the marina to keep an eye out for someone who wants to trade up (i'll take a 75 or 90) for my 115 because my lake is too small for it anyway, but in the meantime is there anything I should be aware of while running it? The transom is in great condition and shows now sign of wear or cracks.-Jeff
Jeff...Any boat's maximum horsepower rating is based on a number of factors, and each are equally important. JB & 12 Footer reminded me of this once when I responded to someone in here who asked what the harm would be if he exceeded the max hp rating of his boat. At that time, my only concern was the liability he'd create for himself by over powering his boat. Both JB & 12 Footer reminded me that boats are designed for a specific h.p. will not handle the same if overpowered. Therefore you become a risk to not only yourself, but everyone else on the creek with you.Another thing to remember is that U.S. mfg'd. outboards didn't begin rating the horsepower at the prop until the 1980's...instead h.p. was rated at the crankshaft. What this means is todays 100 h.p. is closely equivalent to yesterdays 115 h.p. It's important to remember this when hanging a newer engine on an older boat! You're wise to consider reducing your boats horsepower. I bet she'll still perform extremely well... Glastron's look like they're going 100 MPH sitting on the trailer!!Walt
Thanks Walter, one thing I noticed is a handling characteristic I can only describe as oversteer, and I thought it may have to do with being overpowered. If I go into a turn trimmed up a bit it will start to turn nicely, then if i just edge the steering wheel over one more fraction of an inch, the stern will drop, and the bow will rise and wildly turn sharply in the direction I'm turning. Kinda like catching an edge. I figured that maybe with the trim up the downward thrust of the prop just becomes too much for the hull to hold onto the water with. This is easily remedied of course by throttling down through turns.Ya, I'm pretty sure a smaller engine will still do quite nicely on my boat. One of the neighbours on the lake pulls himself out of the water on skiis with an old 75 on a 17' tempest. He's a 'stocky" fellow as well. Both me and my boat are much lighter than him!
I have gone over the boat numerous times and have not located the ID.plate that is usuallyfound on a boat. I would like the craft tomove quickly while being safe of course.I would like to upgrade to a 75-or-85 hpdoes this sound ok or not??
What type of hull design is it? if it is a deep V type hull, it will handle more safely than a flater hull. My boat is an early 60s 17 ft fiberglass runabout, and the hull is quite flat at the rear, transitioning to a V towards the front. When I am on plane, that flat part is the only thing in the water, and unless I slow down or make my turns gentle (the proper way to drive a boat anyway), the back will spin out, and I come right around. Quite unsettling. My hull is rated for 110, but I am only running an 85 horse motor, and it does just fine. There is a chart on Fiberglassics.com that takes the width of your transom in feet and multiplies it by the length of the boat in feet, and the chart tells you the max safe horsepower of the boat. The outboard manufacturers used this chart (don't know if they still do or not).
JASONJ THANKS FOR THE HELP WITH MY PROBLEM.MY BOAT IS A 14FT FIBERGLASS FLAT HULL ANDA V-SHAPE TOWARDS UP FRONT.I WILL TRY THE SITE YOU LISTED. ONCE AGAIN THANK U GREG H
Holy cow...85 hp on a 14 foot Starcraft? That sounds a bit overpowered to me. If the boat is near the same vintage as the engine...then it's likely 40 hp is near the max. rating.Walt
I checked that chart I mentioned, but since I didn't know the width of your stern, I guesstimated it based on usual 14 ft stern widths, and the max would be in the neighborhood of 60 to 70 hp. I'm leaning more towards the 60 horse rating. You may want to just make sure the motor you have is healthy and running good, it may suprise you with how well it does. Good luck with it....
TO ALL THAT REPLIED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT ON MY PROBLEM.AFTER READING YOUR COMMENTS I WILL STAYWITH THE ORIGINAL MOTOR FOR NOW!!I GUESS A GOOD GOING OVER ON THE MOTOR WILLIMPROVE ITS RUNABILITY. THANKS AGAIN GREG H
new boat owner no clue of age of boat & motor
johnson super sea horse motor.
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