28HP too little for boat?

[Howard Allen]

Took my boat up to the lake for the first time and had some fun with it (despite the leaks). Now am feeling I should have gotten a larger motor. The boat is a 14' Aluminum closed front Starcraft. Problem is she seems slower than I expected. With 2 people in her the rooster tail is about 25' behind and she planes easily. With 4 people and the dog the tail is only about 5' behind and she is barely planing. I played with the motor trim a little and it got worse. I tried the high speed control and she seems to prefer nearly full lean, anything else and she starts stumbling badly and slows wwwaaayyy down. The other thing is that the motor (which is old (1963)) does not seem to rev up as high as other motors - is there any kind of throttle stop or rev limiter on these (Evinrude twin 28HP)? Compression is 110PSI in both cyclinders and she starts very well on the 2nd or 3rd pull. Thanks for any advice!!!!

 

[Walter]

Re: 28HP too little for boat?

Best performance when running lean makes me wonder what altitude you were boating at? Higher altitudes can effect your engine's performance significantly. Something else to consider...I know four people and a dog who have a combined weight of over 1/2 ton! That's a lot for any outboard to push around a lake!!

 

[Howard Allen]

Re: 28HP too little for boat?

HI Walter - thnks for reply. Lake is at 750' above sea level. Total tonnage of people in the boat was 600lb (including 45 lb basset hound) plus battery and 8 gallons of gas. I worry about running too lean because I lost my snowmobile engine that way, so I run it a little rich - slower but safer (I think). Any other ideas would be appreciated. Engine was tuned and has new coils, plugs, points, water impeller. LIke I said, runs and starts well. My only point of comparison is in my younger (1960's) days my Grandad had a 25HP Johnson on a 16' formed plywood boat which we could water ski off of easily or fill up with people and go like hell.

 

[Walter]

Re: 28HP too little for boat?

The fact that your engine had to be leaned out to run well makes me ask if there could be something amiss with the carburation. 750 ft. above sea level shouldn't require you to run lean... It sounds like your electrical system has been maintained well (new coils, plugs, points) but I think I'll step aside and let the folks who are much more informed than I take over from here... This is a great column...someone in the know will respond soon!