Re: Top End ???
13 1/4 x 17 that he mentions up top won't fit any 50Hp short of a Bigfoot and I don't think they made those in the mid 80s. I'm also wondering if it's even a Mariner. Tracker was owned by OMC around then and they were fitted with Johnsons. When Brunswick bought them, they were typically fitted with Forces. In Either case, they were fitted by the factory with close to max Hp whatever the brand. Of course that doesn't mean somebody didn't hang something else on there somewhere along the way, or that some dealer didn't play Musical Motors to make a sale. And Brunswick probably did fit them with Mariners before they bought Force. That would be a Yamaha-made 2-cylinder Mariner? Or a 4-cylinder Mercury-made "Classic Fifty" (45Hp)? I suppose it could be a Merc-made triple, but I've only seen one. The 60 and 70 triples are far more common.<br /><br />I can't believe that motor is achieving anywhere near 5700 with a 15. The tach has to be on the wrong setting. It probably has a terrible holeshot and he may even need somebody to climb up to the bow to get it to plane off at all.<br /><br />So in answer to his first question, that 17 won't fit his motor. Believe it or not I believe he needs to drop pitch to achieve max RPMs and Max Hp. A lower pitch may just get more speed out of that boat because the closer you get to max RPM, the more power is produced. Regardless, I doubt a 50 would get a riveted 17' V much over 30mph in the best of configurations.
