13 ft boston whaler

gulfcoastfisher1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Nov 1, 2005
Messages
39
i have a 13 foot whaler fitted with a 25 horse johnson and was wondering if it bad for the motor towing somebody wakeboarding or sking behind it
 

Richard Petersen

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 17, 2004
Messages
778
Re: 13 ft boston whaler

Without a tachometer OR a very experienced ear to judge the full throttle RPM's. You could shorten the engine life. You can usually try and pull tubers and skiers by changing prop pitches. Do you have a GOOD marina or a PROP SHOP nearby to try some props while towing?
 

b.gagnon

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 28, 2001
Messages
835
Re: 13 ft boston whaler

Get a tiny Tach.... They are about $40 and take a few min to install. With the right prop you could make this happen!
 

Steamboat

Seaman
Joined
May 10, 2004
Messages
74
Re: 13 ft boston whaler

Unless your towing a very small person and you keep the weight in the boat as light as possible, you may be able to tow someone on two skies. The wakeboard will be a challenge to not drowned the person while trying to pull them up. Also, the weight and shallow draft of the BW will allow the skiier/wakeboarder to pull the back of the boat around when doing tricks or cutting back on a turn. I use to run a 16' trihull with a 70 Johnson and I couldn't pull up a person on single ski but could get them up with two skies and then let them drop one and continue.
 

JB

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Mar 25, 2001
Messages
45,907
Re: 13 ft boston whaler

GCF. Whaler 13s have been towing skiers for 50 years.<br /><br />No worries.
 

cobra 3.0

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
Messages
1,797
Re: 13 ft boston whaler

Tubing ok. Skiing? Iffy. Depends on how heavy your skier is. A 100 lb kid, sure. I had A 30 hp Johnson and it did ok with a one person tube with one person sitting completely up front in the boat.
 

gulfcoastfisher1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Nov 1, 2005
Messages
39
Re: 13 ft boston whaler

i just dont want to break the motor is there and possibity of spinning the hub or puting to mcuh stress on the motor
 

68whaler

Seaman
Joined
Apr 22, 2006
Messages
67
Re: 13 ft boston whaler

I used to pull an experienced slalom skier with my 13' and a 40 rude - when he cut all the way to one side then dug hard to turn back in, the whaler almost stopped dead in the water. Had to hold on to keep from diving over the bow.
 

David Greer

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 7, 2006
Messages
219
Re: 13 ft boston whaler

I used my 13' with an 18hp growing up and for up to 14 year olds, OK, but not quality skiing. Now I have a 20 on it, speed prop, and we just tried pulling a 12 year old girl w/ two adults in the boat; it was sluggish. Overall you won't have good skiing/wakeboarding with the motor that small, but floatables will be OK, especially is it's the children using it.
 
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