1990 REVENGE 22 W-T Whaler Drive 225-HP

Optimizing the performance of Boston Whaler boats
jimh
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1990 REVENGE 22 W-T Whaler Drive 225-HP

Postby jimh » Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:51 am

Here is performance data for a 1990 Boston Whaler REVENGE 22 Walk-Through Whaler Drive boat powered with an 2010 production year E-TEC 225-HP engine turning a Mercury MIRAGEplus 17-pitch propeller with two persons aboard, 33-gallons of fuel, light gear, and with Flying Top up but in stowed position.

Air temperature and water temperature were both 69-degrees-F. Winds were light, less than 10-knots. Waves were less than one-half foot. Fuel was 90-octane pure gasoline, no ethanol. All distances below are in Statute miles, 5,280-feet.

—Best boat speed = 43.5-MPH upwind into small headseas

—Maximum engine speed = 5,700-RPM

—Best fuel economy on plane = 2.85-MPG around 26-MPH with careful tweaking of trim, and 2.7-MPG over speed range of 24 to 28-MPG very consistently. At full throttle fuel economy drops to about 2.1-MPG

—Best fuel economy off-plane = 10-MPG at about 800-RPM

Boat speed was measured as SOG with GPS receiver with WAAS augmentation.

Engine speed was measured by digital data from engine management module.

Fuel flow rate was from engine’s own data. MPG as calculated by navigation computer in Lowrance HDS-8.

Tests were done on Lake Michigan with no current effects presumed.

It has been several years since I collected data like this with the boat in a relatively light loading condition. I was pleased to see that with ten season of use and almost 500-hours on the engine, and with the hull now 28-years-old, there has been no decrease in any of the performance data. All the recent data is congruent with test data from ten years ago.

ASIDE: when running downwind and down sea in a gentle 1- to 2-foot sea, I was once again delighted with the classic Boston Whaler moderate V-hull ride—and sound, I could hear the hull runners trapping air and cushioning the hull’s downward motion as we ran over wave crests.

The reserve power and torque of the E-TEC engine that maintains the engine speed with no variation also helps to smooth the ride. And, of course, the Whaler Drive contributes significantly, too.