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Author Topic:   Gettin' Smok'd

HuskerFan posted 04-22-2005 03:35 PM ET (US)
Im lookin at buying an older 13 or 15 foot legend whaler. and a lot of the boats ive been looking at have only 25 hp motors. and i know that is the minimum hp according to the whaler website but are they kind of underpowered with only 25 horsepower?
i dont need a speed demon or anything, but i dont wanna get smoked on the water though.
Buckda posted 04-22-2005 03:48 PM ET (US)
You will get smoked in a Classic 15' Sport with 25 HP.
You will be completely annhilated in a 150 Sport with 25 HP.
With a 13 foot classic, you should do marginally better with 25 HP -actually not too bad. You'll do less well with a 25 HP on a 130 Sport.
Use it as a bargaining tool to get the boat for less money, and then repower with a good, used 40 HP for the 13, or 70 HP for the 15.
Dave
Swellmonster posted 05-02-2005 10:22 PM ET (US)
Dave is right on!
where2 posted 05-03-2005 10:17 PM ET (US)
I can get smoked with a 70Hp Johnson on my 15' Sport, if I mess with the wrong boat, or find myself in the wrong sea state.
Case in point 15' Whaler vs. 31' Jupiter wearing twin 225hp engines, Smoked in whaler. (However, I didn't pay nearly what a 31' Jupiter costs, and gas fillups on my whaler don't resemble a car payment!)
Case in point 15' Whaler vs. 42' Hatteras in a 2' wind chop, Smoked in whaler, even following the Hatteras letting him slice the 2' chop and he was still walking away from me! (Couldn't keep the whaler firmly planted on the water)
Run what you can afford, and remember that the faster guy is just spending more to get from point A to point B!
jimh posted 05-03-2005 10:36 PM ET (US)
It seems clear that if one's concern is with "gettin' smok'd" then buying a boat with a 25-HP engine is not a good plan.
LHG posted 05-03-2005 11:13 PM ET (US)
With a 25 HP engine on 13 or 15, you could get your doors blown off by a pontoon boat full of retirees out for an afternoon cocktail cruise.
Freeport Alan posted 05-04-2005 07:54 AM ET (US)
The only thing that gets smoked on my whaler is the fish I catch, thats because I maxed out my HP with Mercury power he he
Buckda posted 05-04-2005 04:38 PM ET (US)
Where2 is right...these are 13 and 15 foot boats, after all.
The classic 15' Sport will run around 43-45 MPH with strong 70 HP motor. The Legend Sport 150 probably runs close to that with the same power, but I believe is rated for 60 (?), and probably hits 40 MPH.
Add anything over 1' of chop and you're slowing down quite a bit.
Out on Lake Michigan in my 15' with 70 HP motor coming back from South Haven on a nice, calm day with 1-2 foot chop, I was 'Smok'd' by a rather large cruiser who walked away from me as I bounced through the waves running hard at 34-36 MPH.
Any bass boats in your area? Unless you're LHG with 230 ponies on the back of your 18' Outrage, every single bass boat will probably smoke you no matter what you (legally) put on the back.
It's a Boston Whaler, not a Fountain.
60 HP or better on the 15' Sport will get you respectable speed that will fend off the snickers, but most bowriders and nearly all jetskis will still beat you in a flat out race.
Heck, I get smok'd by bowriders all the time in my 18' Outrage. As a Whaler owner, you just try not to grin too big when it's time for re-sale, or when the lake gets really nasty and the bilge pump has failed.
JL8Jeff posted 05-10-2005 02:28 PM ET (US)
My classic 13' with a 25 Suzuki(mid 80's) when trimmed out and with the right prop would fly. I got that boat in the air a few times when hitting a sudden wave swell from another boat that turned around in front of me(narrow area on the Delaware River). I'd almost be afraid to run a 40hp on that boat flat out based on what my 25 did. The shape of the older 13' Whaler does not lend itself to high speed runs without getting unstable. But with a 15' Whaler I would think you want a 50-70 hp motor. I've had my 13' Rage for about 6 years now so I forget what an outboard equipped boat feels like. But I go through less than 12" water all the time so the jet has it's advantages.
AZdave posted 05-15-2005 01:39 AM ET (US)
My 13 classic with a recent 30HP will lose races to all the bowling ball bass boats, and most of the PWC's. If run by a single operator of 150 lbs or less, I think it would keep up with lot of PWC's. Most of the time I don't want to run at max speed anyway because of chop and wakes. In my view, the real problem with smaller motors is getting on plane when towing skiers. Works great with kids, ok with a statistically average human, and not at all with us overachievers. Good luck, Dave

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Author	Topic: Gettin' Smok'd
HuskerFan	posted 04-22-2005 03:35 PM ET (US) Im lookin at buying an older 13 or 15 foot legend whaler. and a lot of the boats ive been looking at have only 25 hp motors. and i know that is the minimum hp according to the whaler website but are they kind of underpowered with only 25 horsepower? i dont need a speed demon or anything, but i dont wanna get smoked on the water though.
Buckda	posted 04-22-2005 03:48 PM ET (US) You will get smoked in a Classic 15' Sport with 25 HP. You will be completely annhilated in a 150 Sport with 25 HP. With a 13 foot classic, you should do marginally better with 25 HP -actually not too bad. You'll do less well with a 25 HP on a 130 Sport. Use it as a bargaining tool to get the boat for less money, and then repower with a good, used 40 HP for the 13, or 70 HP for the 15. Dave
Swellmonster	posted 05-02-2005 10:22 PM ET (US) Dave is right on!
where2	posted 05-03-2005 10:17 PM ET (US) I can get smoked with a 70Hp Johnson on my 15' Sport, if I mess with the wrong boat, or find myself in the wrong sea state. Case in point 15' Whaler vs. 31' Jupiter wearing twin 225hp engines, Smoked in whaler. (However, I didn't pay nearly what a 31' Jupiter costs, and gas fillups on my whaler don't resemble a car payment!) Case in point 15' Whaler vs. 42' Hatteras in a 2' wind chop, Smoked in whaler, even following the Hatteras letting him slice the 2' chop and he was still walking away from me! (Couldn't keep the whaler firmly planted on the water) Run what you can afford, and remember that the faster guy is just spending more to get from point A to point B!
jimh	posted 05-03-2005 10:36 PM ET (US) It seems clear that if one's concern is with "gettin' smok'd" then buying a boat with a 25-HP engine is not a good plan.
LHG	posted 05-03-2005 11:13 PM ET (US) With a 25 HP engine on 13 or 15, you could get your doors blown off by a pontoon boat full of retirees out for an afternoon cocktail cruise.
Freeport Alan	posted 05-04-2005 07:54 AM ET (US) The only thing that gets smoked on my whaler is the fish I catch, thats because I maxed out my HP with Mercury power he he
Buckda	posted 05-04-2005 04:38 PM ET (US) Where2 is right...these are 13 and 15 foot boats, after all. The classic 15' Sport will run around 43-45 MPH with strong 70 HP motor. The Legend Sport 150 probably runs close to that with the same power, but I believe is rated for 60 (?), and probably hits 40 MPH. Add anything over 1' of chop and you're slowing down quite a bit. Out on Lake Michigan in my 15' with 70 HP motor coming back from South Haven on a nice, calm day with 1-2 foot chop, I was 'Smok'd' by a rather large cruiser who walked away from me as I bounced through the waves running hard at 34-36 MPH. Any bass boats in your area? Unless you're LHG with 230 ponies on the back of your 18' Outrage, every single bass boat will probably smoke you no matter what you (legally) put on the back. It's a Boston Whaler, not a Fountain. 60 HP or better on the 15' Sport will get you respectable speed that will fend off the snickers, but most bowriders and nearly all jetskis will still beat you in a flat out race. Heck, I get smok'd by bowriders all the time in my 18' Outrage. As a Whaler owner, you just try not to grin too big when it's time for re-sale, or when the lake gets really nasty and the bilge pump has failed.
JL8Jeff	posted 05-10-2005 02:28 PM ET (US) My classic 13' with a 25 Suzuki(mid 80's) when trimmed out and with the right prop would fly. I got that boat in the air a few times when hitting a sudden wave swell from another boat that turned around in front of me(narrow area on the Delaware River). I'd almost be afraid to run a 40hp on that boat flat out based on what my 25 did. The shape of the older 13' Whaler does not lend itself to high speed runs without getting unstable. But with a 15' Whaler I would think you want a 50-70 hp motor. I've had my 13' Rage for about 6 years now so I forget what an outboard equipped boat feels like. But I go through less than 12" water all the time so the jet has it's advantages.
AZdave	posted 05-15-2005 01:39 AM ET (US) My 13 classic with a recent 30HP will lose races to all the bowling ball bass boats, and most of the PWC's. If run by a single operator of 150 lbs or less, I think it would keep up with lot of PWC's. Most of the time I don't want to run at max speed anyway because of chop and wakes. In my view, the real problem with smaller motors is getting on plane when towing skiers. Works great with kids, ok with a statistically average human, and not at all with us overachievers. Good luck, Dave