Is the Yamaha F115TXR Enough Engine?

[MinotBoater]

My wife and I are in the process of purchasing our first boat. We routinely rent a Hurricane 188 with a 175 HP motor and wonder if the F115 that comes with the SS188 under the "Amazing Boat Deals" program by Hurricane is enough motor for the boat?

We won't be doing any fishing and will likely have between 6-10 people on the boat (50% of those people being kids) at any one time. We do plan on doing a lot of water activities (tubing, skiing, etc). I just wonder if the 115 HP is enough.

Your thoughts and insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Is the Yamaha F115TXR Enough Engine?

MinotBoater....Welcome to iboats and the Hurricane forums. So let me give you some good advice from experience.

I previously had a Hurricane GS 170 and it was a 7 person boat, running a 115HP engine. Did everything I wanted it to (boat with 4 adults and a few kids, tubing, etc) Max rating for that boat was 135 HP.

Last year I bought the SS188. Max rating is 200HP, comes with an F115 standard in the amazing deals.

Rule of thumb is that for overall general use, you need to pair the engine at a minimum of 70% of the rated HP (in this case, 140HP or greater) In my opinion you should be looking at 135 minimum but more likely 150HP as your starting point. Realize that boats, unlike cars do not translate into more fuel costs.

By comparison, my old 2 stroke carbed 115HP burned 25% more fuel than my 2 stroke fuel injected 200HP while moving an extra 1000lbs of boat, plus more people. You tend to run in a lower RPM range with a large motor so you actually consume less fuel to achieve the same speed/performance.

115HP is fine with a few people in the boat and some watersports but if you plan to load that boat with people + watersports regularly you'll be very unhappy with the performance. In fact, I'd wager to guess that the engine would be labouring under load to accomplish it.

Lastly, for watersports, get a 4 blade (or 5 blade) prop for it. Give you better performance/grip in turns/cornering.

If you want more specifics on my 200HP on that boat or any questions on it, let me know. I'll be glad to give you some further feedback.