I have a 1986 Alumacraft, it's 17 feet long,,my question is " how heavy of an outboard motor can I put on it and still keep my boat above water safely"??
They go by HP rating for the hull, not weight of outboard. However with the new 4 strokes being a heavier motor, that might need consideration when adding a newer motor on an older hull rated when lighter weight two stroke motors were the normal.
I dont think the op cares about specs......just wants to go fast.
I've been in boats my whole life but could never afford to go fast. I could hit about 60mph in a way over powered Thundercraft that felt really fast. In recent years I got to experience 95mph with too much chine walk. Cured my need to go fast on the water.