190 Montauk Engine Mounting Height

Optimizing the performance of Boston Whaler boats
Tacky79
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 1:49 pm

190 Montauk Engine Mounting Height

Postby Tacky79 » Thu Jun 08, 2017 3:57 pm

Our 2017 190 Montauk with the 150 Mercury outboard engine came with the engine mounted in the lowest position. I'm curious if that's the best place. We hit 39-MPH [speed over ground from GNSS receiver] on our last outing. The lake was at 5700-feet elevation, there were three on board, about half-full tank of fuel, and a 70-lbs dog.

Also, I am looking for propellor advice. If it matters, we are at 5500-feet elevation (sometimes up to 9,000 feet) at our local lakes, but also annually will take the boat to Wisconsin and Lake Michigan. The dealer here in Colorado put on a 15-pitch propeller due to our altitude. I'm not sure I understand why.

[Did the dealer install a 15-pitch propeller] because we lose about 15-percent power at this altitude?

I'm told to buy a different propeller for our Wisconsin trip would be best

Does anyone have engine mounting height and prop advice for me? Thanks.
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

Jefecinco
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Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Jefecinco » Fri Jun 09, 2017 9:42 am

Tacky--our 190 Montauk with a 135 HP Verado at sea level does just under 50-MPH GPS lightly loaded. I don't know how a 150-HP normally aspirated engine performs at 5700 feet elevation, but expect you may do a little better with a little tweaking.

Is the propeller made of stainless steel?

Our propeller is a Mercury Enertia 16P and the engine is mounted at the lowest mounting position. The anti-ventilation plate is three to four-inches above the keel. When on-plane and trimmed out for optimum performance the anti-ventilation plate is clearly visible just above the water.

Trim is important to getting the best performance from your engine. Play around with it a little and see what happens. When setting trim I trim in fully before getting on plane at full throttle. Once on plane at around 4000 RPM begin to trim the engine out very incrementally. You'll notice the RPM increase as you trim out. Continue to trim out until the boat begins to porpoise (the bow begins to oscillate up and down). Then trim the engine in until the oscillation stops. Your engine trim will then be very close to optimum. Proper trim will also save a lot of fuel and make steering much easier.

If trimming fails to get your speed above 40-MPH consider the Enertia 16P propeller. Talk to your dealer about trying an Enetria 16P. As you just purchased the boat he should be willing to ensure you have the best propeller installed.

I don't quite understand why a different propeller would be a better choice in Wisconsin. Whatever performs well in Colorado should perform well anywhere. The engine computer will adjust for altitude just like in a car.
Butch

Tacky79
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Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Tacky79 » Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:36 am

Thanks Butch. I'll work on trim and do some testing this weekend. The lakes we've visited so far, are relatively small, so doing a "speed run" and making small changes means we run out of lake pretty quick!

We'll be up at 8200' this weekend on the boat, but it'll be a bigger lake, so we'll see what we can do. We lose about 35HP at this altitude, though. Ouch. We'll be focusing on trying to catch some big lake trout, but if they aren't biting, we'll work on trim!

Your Verado would be a great motor for here - forced induction helps keep most of the horsepower that we normally lose at altitude. Our thinner air means less O2 per volume of air sucked into the engine. Turbo/supercharging "fixes" this.

Interesting article about running at altitude and prop selection:

http://blog.boattrader.com/2012/03/high-altitude-boating-where-did-the-power-go.html
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

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Phil T
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Location: Was Maine. Temporarily Kentucky

Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Phil T » Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:40 am

I recall the factory mounting of Mercury Verado motors being at 1 or 2 holes up.

Top of Motor bracket

0 <--- bolt here - "all the way down"
0 <--- bolt here - "1 hole up"
0 <--- bolt here - "2 holes up"
0 <--- bolt here - "3 holes up"
0 <--- bolt here - "4 hole up"

Please verify.

Is the prop a 14.5 x 17 Enertia?

Download this Boston Whaler performance report pdf below. You should see 46-48 WOT running solo and lightly loaded.
http://bostonwhaler.com.s3.amazonaws.com/resources/190-Montauk-Performance-Data-2017.pdf
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
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Jefecinco
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Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Jefecinco » Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:11 pm

Phil,

Our 190 Montauk with 135 HP Verado is equipped with a Mercury Enertia propeller part number 48-898992 16P. It came from Boston Whaler with the engine mounted at the lowest mounting point, ie. all the way down. I don't know how to determine the propeller diameter from the part number.

Our performance is about the same as the linked performance report. Shortly after the Verado was considered broken in I speed tested the boat in a river both up and down river. I don't recall the exact numbers but I was trying to reach fifty MPH by very carefully adjusting the trim. High forties was the best I could do. We have been very pleased with the performance of our Montauk.

With Verados the more or less accepted measurement of optimum mounting height is the ability to see the anti-ventilation plate clearly while on plane properly trimmed with little to no water washing over it while the propeller is fully in the water. Verados on 190 Montauks are not often seen. The new 150 Mercury four stroke seems to be the choice of most buyers although the 150 and 200 HP Verados, I believe, are available.
Butch

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Phil T
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Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Phil T » Sat Jun 10, 2017 11:43 am

Butch -

My info was intended for Tacky. I am impressed on your WOT speed given the low mounting and less horsepower than the performance report.

Tacky -

I recall several threads in the archives discussing altitude and lower performance.
Here is one discussion that is typical for the topic. There are dozens that read mostly the same.
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/003293.html

Dropping down pitch is one remedy. With prop sizing not universal, it is wise to drop down in pitch for the same make/model.
If the Enertia you have is a 17, go with a 15 or 14. You should gain RPM's. Changing makes/models and size will be shooting in the dark.
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

Tacky79
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Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Tacky79 » Sat Jun 10, 2017 11:17 pm

We fished today at the 8200' altitude lake and with 5 guys on board, didn't get much above 32 mph. We had some wind an very light chop, though, so it wasn't a good scientific test. I'm looking forward to seeing how she does at sea level! It'll be a different boat.

(only one lake trout and one rainbow today, but a great time was had by all)
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

Jefecinco
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Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Jefecinco » Sun Jun 11, 2017 10:21 am

Guys,

The WOT speed achieved with our 190 was probably an unfair comparison as the boat was very lightly loaded with two men and perhaps a bit less than 1/2 fuel. Still, sometimes the boat can be just a wee bit scary at WOT trimmed out to the absolute maximum. I suspect the 135 Gen 2 Verado is conservatively rated. If I decide to keep the boat for a few more years I'll probably up the ECU with Simon Motorsports to a little over 200 HP. That should be exciting!
Butch

Tacky79
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 1:49 pm

Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Tacky79 » Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:56 am

We did some more data gathering at the (8200' altitude lake) yesterday.

Lightly loaded (me and my 13 year old son) achieved 39 mph with glassy conditions. Figuring that we are down about 39 HP due to altitude, that seems about right. We experimented with trim, but didn't spend a whole lot of time at WOT due to only having about 10 hours on the motor so far.

On a side note, we had various people join us over two days and I think we probably sold another boat for BW as my buddy had a million questions... all were "buying signals" about the boat. How long to launch? What options does it have? How much does it weigh with a trailer? Can you ski behind it?

I hope to get a nice commission check or t-shirt out of BW for my sales efforts!

A nice day on Lake Granby near Winter Park and not too far from Rocky Mountain National park. Water temp was 56 degrees, but 80 degree air temperatures and beautiful snow-capped peaks made for a great weekend.

[Author posted links to photographs, but they are now all dead links, and they have been deleted--jimh]
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

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Phil T
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Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Phil T » Mon Jun 12, 2017 4:22 pm

I gotta say the lack of any boaters and the snow capped mountains makes it surreal in my book.
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

Tacky79
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 1:49 pm

Re: 190 Montauk w/ 150HP Merc. engine mount height

Postby Tacky79 » Mon Jun 12, 2017 6:36 pm

It was a bit surreal! About 7,000 acre reservoir about 1:45 from our house. We'll go back, for sure.
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D