Re: Wanting to upgrade motor on a pontoon boat
It wasn't my intention to suggest you were looking for a yes man, although I can understand why you would infer that from my previous comments. You asked specific questions regarding the potential ramifications of exceeding the manufacturer's specifications on your boat and we could have done a better job of addressing them, so please consider the following and accept that I am not flaming you.
1. Subjecting your barge's structure to greater weight and torque than it was designed for (especially that much more) will result in damage. Will your motor pod fall off the first time you let the hammer down? Probably not, but over time you'll discover things like cracked welds and loosened screws/bolts and likely other issues that don't come immediately to mind. Could the boat's structure be improved to accomodate the modification? Sure, but unless you possess a specialized knowledge of boat engineering (and you may) how will you know whether your improvements are sufficient? Regardless of what anyone may say or think the manufacturers have people on staff who run numbers and test hulls every day, and I promise they are qualified to determine what their products are capable of handling.
2. You asked what anomalies one might expect to result from exceeding spec. The first thing that comes to mind is the increased depth to which the back of the boat would be submerged. This would adversely impact handling because it would of course result in the front of the boat being higher than intended and the rear of the boat being lower than intended. The adverse reaction could be mitigated somewhat by the proper use of PT&T, but not enough to elminate the potential for flipping the boat. There would also be the decrease in weight capacity to be considered, and it wouldn't be a matter of simply subtracting the extra weight of the motor, because the weight would be hanging off the back of the boat. There again, an engineering background would be necessary to arrive at a number.
3. Before Henry Ford's "contraption" was mass produced and sold to the public it was engineered according to specifications that would make it safe for general public use. Sound familiar? Furthermore, comparing a Model T to a 24' party barge is as relevant as comparing a buckboard to a bowrider.
4. I have no problem with "trying something outside the known universe", but regardless of anyone's opinion an overpowered boat is dangerous and yes, irresponsible. That is a fact that is not debatable, inside or outside the known universe, which is why insurance companies will deny claims for accidents involving them and attorneys and LEOs will investigate said accidents every time.
As to your question of whether you are a d****d fool; only you can answer that.
