Sustained speed question in 185

[comsnark]

This conversation sounds familiar.

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26153&highlight=Wide+open+throttle&page=4

Note Playdate quoting the manual on page 4 of this thread.

So. . . running W.O.T. consistently will "increase service intervals". I interpet this to mean you do service more often? Service like, oil changes, drive maintenance, valve jobs . . . .

Marine engines tend to be based upon automotive engines. . .not aviation engines.

 

[hemi2nv]

To me it sounds like I need to go up to a 4 blade 19 pitch prop if I want to run 40 mph across the lake for a sustained period of time. With the 4 blade 18 pitch prop I have the boat will run about 36 mph at 3700 rpms loaded down with 5 people, gas, and gear. I guess I'll just play with different props to see what will still provide good hole shot and crusing speed.

 

[Firerooster]

A rebuild at 843 hours pretty much sums it up. Properly operated, these engines will go 3000 hours.

Yes I agree 843. Hours is not a whole lot of hours. And in reality it was not required to rebuild my motor yet. However given that I do run my boat on the upper end a lot....I chose to do the rebuild this year. While I was in there upgraded the valves, springs, roller rockers, etc. Nothing extreme just better then OEM stuff. IMO, maintenance is always cheaper. So I really tend to stay on top of it. Thus a rebuild at 843 rather then pushing it to failure. Would I have gotten 3000 hours outta my motor? Probably not.

I don't own a go fast boat, and I don't try to pretend I do. But we wakeboard a lot and we enter in poker runs and play around a lot. And that's why we have the boat for fun. And that's what we use it for. Doing 25 mph for the entire life of the boat just to avoid a rebuild is not our idea of fun. That being said we incur a little more maint costs. But obviously I am not the guy that buys a toy beats the piss out of it and sells the junk to some other sucker. I have owned my boat since 96. And plan on many more years of fun with it.

 

[Firerooster]

Lucky for me, my mechanic works on my fire truck and is a good friend of mine so labor costs are minimal as I work on not only my boat but others that come into his shop as well. And believe me I see a lot of boats that are run hard and not taken care of...