What top speed should my celebrity have?

[bill70]

I have a 1996 20' celebrity 200ss. It has a 4.3 mercruiser 4bbl carb. Asuming everything is running right, correct prop, etc. What should the top speed be in this boat? The boat weighs 2,875 pounds. How significant of a drop in speed would it have if there are 8 adults on the boat vs its top speed with one person?

 

[junior1113]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

If i had to guess i would say at least 40 with 1 person. another 7 people and all thier stuff is prob 1250 prob slow you down 4-5 mph prop needs to be in recomended wot rpm range

 

[QC]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

I think Junior's pretty close, but she may get close to 50 with a light load . . . Altitude?

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Thanks for the reply guys... I am on the east coast, I take it out to the Potomac river in DC, so elevation close to zero. I think i need a new prop but i wanted to get an idea of what the boat should be approximately capable off. I'm only going about 12 mph right now at 3,000 rpms. I don't know if the prop is so way off that it wont rev higher then 3k or if i got some other issue. Once i figure out what prop i got and make sure everything else is good Ill be able to diagnose better.

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

I forgot to mention, i have not taken it out with less than five adults on it. I will take it out with me and one other person this weekend and see if there is a difference, and also borrow another prop to see if things are different.

 

[QC]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Sounds like something is very wrong to me . . . To be of any real help we need the following info, and it needs to be accurate:

Pitch of both props
Model of both props (number of blades etc.)
Condition of both props
Material (Aluminum or Stainless)
RPM at wide open throttle (WOT), properly trimmed for max speed (this is the most important piece and has to be dead nuts)
Condition of engine (last tune up etc.)
Condition of drive (Does it have a Hydrofoil?)
Gear ratio of drive (assuming it's an Alpha and could be 1.62, 1.81, or 1.84:1)
Engine history (model, S/N would be awesome 4bbl could be 180 or 205 propshaft horsepower . . .)
Boat history (would like to know anything you can tell us, max speeds you have ever seen, max speed some other guy told you and is considered reasonably accurate)
Condition of boat (possibility of being waterlogged? Bottom condition? Is there an anvil, a cannon ball and a dead guy in the ski locker? Trim tabs?)
Your experience (Do you know how to trim properly etc.)
Speed (GPS)

Seems like a long list of stuff, but the more I think about it I think it is correct. Some will say all we need is accurate RPM, but like you said that assumes "everything is running right" and everything else has to be right too . . .

 

[45Auto]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Something is wrong with your boat. Post the stuff QC suggested. Stingray website tests

http://www.stingrayboats.com/produc...ort=Manuf&showstingray=&onetokeep=&tocompare=

show that a 1994 Celebrity with a 180HP 4.3L did 45 MPH. With 8 adults it should probably be in the mid-to-high 30's.

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

I just bought the boat and this past weekend was the second time i took it out. The guy i bought it from said he did about 40-45 mph. He also told me that he tried using a 4 fin prop and didnt like it so he switched back the prop thats on it now.

So this weekend I realized my fuel pump was bad, so i replaced it. There was about 1/8 of a tank of gas from last season still in it(which was a half tank before when i was getting 12mph). I filled it up with fresh gas, took it back out and slowly increased speed after messing with the trim. I eventually got it up to about 35 mph at 4200 rpm. I think the fuel pump was just really weak(it would still turn on and deliver gas to the carb), but after replacing it with the new one i could defiantly see that gas was getting to all 4 bbl on the carb. This time i only had 3 adults, and i also had the massive bench seat taken out so that i could get to the motor more easily. I think i shed at least 500 pounds since the last time i took it out. I had my uncle with me who has been boating for at least 20 years mess with the trim and everything, and he too got it up to about 35 mph. With the fresh gas the motor was so much more responsive with the throttle. The longer i had it running the better it got.

The numbers on my prop were J 14.25 x 21p, aluminum 3 fin. When i took it off i noticed the back end of it was bent inward on the lip portion that sits inside the outdrive housing. The second prop i tried was a stainless steel 3 fin in good condition, the only number i could see on it was 23. I did not notice a difference between the two props, but i think i may have switched back to my original prop before replacing the fuel pump.

I forgot to find out the gear ratio on my outdrive.

There are a significant amount of barnacles on the hull. The guy before had it in salt water all last season.

The spark plugs all looked good, but I will replace them. When i first got the boat, i reset the timing and replaced the starter. As far as a tune up i think it has not had one for at least a season or two.

Recommended max rpm for my motor is 4400-4800, so im getting 35 mph at 4200. I will replace the spark plugs, run through another tank of gas, change the oil and then see if i can get it up to 40. If not then i should consider replacing the prop to get it up to 4400-4800 range?

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Forgot to mention, boat never planed the first time i took it out. i have a fin on the outdrive. The second time i got it to plane, still takes a little while, acceleration is slow, but maybe not for how heavy the boat is.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

The barnacles on the hull can be a huge factor.
At least it sounds like your running the old gas out and its improving.
Does it have a fuel/water sep. filter?

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Yes is does have a water separator. I guess i need to give up a saturday and get all the barnacles off. The entire hull is covered with them, looks like i dragged it through mud from far away when its on the trailer.

 

[MikDee]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Get those barnacles off the hull! You can lose 10mph at least with a dirty bottom

Next, polish the bottom, unless you're using it in salt water, then just put antifouling bottom paint on it.

 

[180shabah]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Clean the hull and do a ful tune up, then re-test. You may be suprised.

If it struggles witht he 21" prop, DO NOT remount the 23"

 

[QC]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Yup, multiple issues for sure. They all need to be right for this to work. Bottom condition is HUGE. Keep going, we'll help you get her right.

Oh, the "fins" on the prop are called "blades" or even sometimes "ears", but most will prefer blades. How are you getting your speed number?

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Thanks for the help guys... I will post after i get everything cleaned up and see what mph i can achieve.

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

I'm getting the speed from the gauge on the boat. Can i use a regular tom tom car gps to get a more accurate speed?

 

[QC]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Yes ^^^^ as long as it has a signal, and you are not in any current, the readout should be accurate for MPH over the bottom.

 

[180shabah]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

You can take a two way average to minimize the effect of current.

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

This past weekend i took it out by myself and got 40 mph on the gauge and 36 mph on the gps top speed. I checked the spark plugs and 4 have normal wear and two looked like they needed to be replaced. Still need to do a complete tune up. The barnacles are not as bad as i remembered. Unfortunatly the boat is 2 hours away so i only get to work on it on the weekend, and i usually just take it out instead of trying to fix it lol.

 

[bill70]

Re: What top speed should my celebrity have?

Also by myself this weekend i was able to get her to 5800 rpms which is max for my motor. I had to ease up on the throttle sometimes cause it went as high as 6200. But despite the increase in rpms speed did not increase between 5800 and 6200.