can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

[thebowhuntress]

I am looking at a 1987 22" bayliner trophy hardtop with a 140 hp i/o. What I need to know is will it pull my wife up on a kneeboard (she weighs 115 pounds) with me driving? With two passengers? And me (220 pounds)? What about tubing--would that be possible? I am very interested in this boat but someone told me we would not be able to ski on it, due to the hp and weight of the boat...

 

[Brewman61]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

Dunno, but to me a 22' with a 140 I/O is on the border of being under powered. Any chance you could take it for a test?
It's always possible to put on a lower pitch prop that you'd just use for pulling- but you'd have to be careful to not over rev the engine, and possibly put on a higher pitch for normal cruising.
Is that boat by a private seller, who you could discuss performance with, or at a boat dealer, who might not know how this particular boat runs?
But get a test drive if possible- it could save you some aggravation if this rig is truly under powered.

At one point in time, Bayliner had the tendency to list smaller motors on their boats to keep their advertised prices low. I think at one time they were advertising 18' fiberglass runabouts with 50 hp force O/B's. Sure the boat would move, but performance suffers- but they could advertise a very low price to attract attention.

 

[CV16]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

My dads boat is a 22' Silverline. It's a pretty heavy boat with 228 hp. With a load of people and a full tank of gas, it takes a while for it to get on plane. I'm gonna guess that the boat in question will pull a tube, but a row boat can also pull one. As to how much fun it'll be back there, only doing it will tell.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

Knee boards don't take much to get up, and don't need to be towed at much more than about 20-22 mph so if the boat will plane out and hold at 25 mph I'd bet you could do it no prob. A tube puts way more drag on the boat than a knee board will so that you would just have to try and see how it goes.

 

[CV16]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

I just looked at some pictures of that boat. I'd bet it has a hard time getting up on plane with 3 or 4 adults in it with fuel. I'd want to take it for a test run with 4 adults and a full tank of gas in it just to see how it goes. My dads 22' with a 228 Merc tops out at 32 mph. It takes a while to plane out with 4 adults and 66 gal of gas in it. I think that boat is under powered.

 

[SeanT]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

I bet you could.

I kneeboarded behind my dad's pontoon. It's a 23' princecraft with a 60HP Merc. He was the only one on it (yes I know, no spotter), and I think he just barely cracked 20mph.

It was more work than normal for me but we just wanted to see if I could do it, and I could!

By the way I weight 300lbs...

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

I you like doing watersports, I don't think you will be happy with that powerplant in a boat that size. My dad has a 140 hp engine in his '96 17.5 foot bayliner and it's fine. We kneeboard, tube, and ski with it just fine, but in a larger boat, it wouldn't do the trick. I have an '84 18 ft Wellcraft, and there's no way that 140hp would be enough to have any real fun with. My old '87 19ft Cheetah had a 170hp engine and it was okay, but I enjoy my 228 hp much more. If you plan to do water sports, get something that will be fun to do watersports with. In and I/O, I would look for something with the V6 4.3L engine or a V8. I've just heard a lot of people say that they just want something for mostly fishing and cruising, maybe able to do a little watersports, then they find out that they prefer watersports to fishing and cruising, and are stuck with an underpowered boat. Just my opinion.

 

[thebowhuntress]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

THANK YOU Everyone...we are going to test it out first....can it be beefed up with a different propeller?

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

Depends on what prop is on it now. You need to have a prop that allows the engine to run at a recommended RPM at wide open throttle. Don't know what the recommend WOT RPM is for that engine, but probably around 4200-4500. The lower the prop pitch, the higher the rmp and vice versa. You can go with a lower pitch prop than recommended, which will give you pulling power, but you then have to watch your rpms closely so you don't over rev your engine. When you test it out, take note of the prop pitch, then see what the rpms are at WOT. Fnd out what the recommended WOT RPM range is for that engine, then you will know if you can get away with a lower pitch prop. Hope that makes sense. Good luck and make sure you get what you want.

 

[BoomerSooner]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

22' with 140 HP? Would probably be fine to tube and kneeboard behind but I certainly wouldn't slalom behind it! I would wait for a shorter boat with same HP. My recommendation is if the boat footage starts with a 2, 190 HP 4.3L is MINIMUM...but that's just me.

 

[BostonDave]

16ft 85hp combo ?

16ft 85hp combo ?

ok so here it goes
I have a 16 foot bayliner capri with a 85hp motor on it. would I be able to tube behind it or would I need a larger motor??

Thanks
Dave

 

[rrkyle]

Re: 16ft 85hp combo ?

Re: 16ft 85hp combo ?

Probably. Just give it a try. Just about any boat with 50+ hp can pull. Unless its underpowered

Takes a little more for slalom skis and wakeboard for tubing and kneeboarding it doesnt take much.

My glasstream has a 70 hp and we are using it for kneeboarding until it sells so i can get a bowrider.

 

[BostonDave]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

cool thanks

 

[lonesouth]

Re: can 140 hp pull me up to kneeboard?

When I was in highschool, we would load the BW 13 sport with a 30 horse and go tubing all day. 1 guy on the tube, 2 in the boat. The guy on the tube was often enough to slip the stern on a hard turn. Is it that the whaler was just so light to get up to speed, or am I missing something else? It tops out at 28mph on the gps with 2 adults. Definitely not a powerboat by any means.