2012 Hurricane 188 IO - 220 hp vs 270 hp? I need some advice on which one to buy

[mcnally]

I am looking to buy a new 2012 Hurricane 188 IO blue in color. I need to know which engine to get with the boat. We will be having 6 adults on the boat the majority of the time and my question is: Will the 220 hp engine be able to pull a 250 lbs slalom skier out of the water if we have the boat loaded up with 1000 -1100 lbs worth of people. Nobody can answer my question. The salesman dosen't know - and told me that not that many people ski that much anymore anyway - Nice answer. I called the factory and asked the same question and they would't commit to an answer either. The rep told me that if it was a problem I could have three people get out and then it wouldn't be an issure. Well guess what - that won't work as we will be trailering the boat to and from the lake. All either place will tell me it that the majority of the boats are sold with the 220hp but you can order the 270 hp. The factory and the dealer do not do test drives making the situation worse. I'm only concerned with this situation but apparently they are not. The salesman was good until it came to this horsepower question. They want me to make a purchase of this size without an answer - that's super weird.

Does anyone have any insite on the matter? I would like to have this behind me in two weeks. I am Located in the southwest part of Michigan

Thanks

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: 2012 Hurricane 188 IO - 220 hp vs 270 hp? I need some advice on which one to buy

mcnally.....I can help you. First I'm assuming you don't want the 270HP based on cost. If cost isn't the issue, I'd go with the larger engine. Simply because although its a larger engine, your cruising speed and 'typical' usage will be normally at lower RPMs so fuel consumption should be negligible.

However, that's not your question. I have a 2010 SS 188 OB. I run a 200HP OB on it. While I can't give you exact apples to apples comparison I can tell you with 3 large adults, I can easily pull a 150lb and a 200lb+ skier with no issues. I also have another friend with a FD228 with a 200HP OB. I've seen it loaded with 4 adults, 4-5 kids and pull a 200lb skier out of the water no issue.

If you're looking at 6 in the boat, plus a 250lb skier, it will be close. A few factors again will come into play here. First, total weight of the 6 adults (1100lbs max you've stated) Second, the prop on your boat. If you have a low pitch 3 blade prop, it will react much different than a 4 or 5 blade high pitched prop (which will reduce top end speed on your boat, but is more suited for watersports) Lastly, the skill of the skier. You most likely will not pop the skier out immediately so a novice skier may not do well in this experience versus a more experienced skier.

So the salesperson doesn't know because these factors will all come in to play. I think you 'SHOULD' be able to but if you go with the 220HP (still a decent engine) have it prop'd more suitable for watersports (but obviously a prop that still keeps your RPMs in the recommended range)

Last thing, which is a good rule of thumb. For boating, you want to size your engine accordingly. For 'normal' boating, your HP should be no less than 75% of the max rating (75% of 270HP is around 200HP) For watersports, I recommend the 85%+ (230HP+) Using these numbers, 270HP will guarantee it, 220HP will bring you close.

I hope this helps you making your decision but remember you can't easily add HP afterwards and you cannot 'overpower' a boat in this situation and simply need less throttle to get there.

 

[cjjjdeck]

Re: 2012 Hurricane 188 IO - 220 hp vs 270 hp? I need some advice on which one to buy

Apologies mcnally, a bit late for a reply on this, I know. Since I went through this procedure last year, I figured I'd share my experience.

NelsonQ's advice is right on the money, especially regarding the horsepower percentages. It seems outboards are more popular among Hurricane owners, so you don't hear much about I/O owners and subsequently drive options. I assume you?re talking about Volvo Penta I/O's. I have the Mercury/Mercruiser version of the 270HP (Mercury rates theirs as 260 HP with the GM based 5.0L MPI ECT engine/ Volvo rates it at 270 HP with the same GM based 5.0GXiCE, both models include catalysts) in my SD237 I/O (the standard engine is the 220 HP 4.3L V6). My boat is rated for 320 max HP. Instead of upping my motor to the 300 HP(+) versions, I decided to consider to spend the extra money to up the drive to the dual prop (Mercury version is the Bravo 3, Volvo version is the DuoProp). My boat is big (12 person rated) and heavy and I felt I would get better overall performance with the dual prop. I spoke with the Hurricane regional sales manager for my area and discussed what I was considering for the I/O combo and he agreed with decision (I think he was actually wearing his "helpful" hat instead of his "sales" hat). He told me upping the HP closer to the max wouldn't yield me much more due to the hull design of deck boats and I would get much more out of the dual prop drive. I couldn't be happier with the decision. My boat jumps out of the water and gets on plane very quickly, plus the bigger drive unit makes it perform like a sports car on the water and makes it more maneuverable at slower (docking) speeds. Skiers?...... Towables?...... no problem, it seems like they're hardly there. Top speed 45MPH with 22.5 pitch props. It also allows me to take advantage of a bit better fuel economy the 5.0L offers over the 5.7L since the dual props are more efficient than single props. You may want to double check how the extra weight of the 5.0L over the 4.3L engine factors in as well. I know your boat is smaller and lighter, but it sounds like you are planning to have a full load frequently, the dual prop option might be worth considering.

Good luck with the new boat, whatever your decision!