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  Bottom paint speed penalty.

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Author Topic:   Bottom paint speed penalty.
DaveS posted 07-10-2008 11:10 PM ET (US)   Profile for DaveS   Send Email to DaveS  
I took my 17' Outrage out on the water for the first time this summer today. It was a beautiful day. Made several passes up and down the Delaware River and the engine (1991 120hp Johnson) ran like a champ, but I was only able to hit 39mph (GPS). The engine is mounted up one hole and it has a new 13" x 17' aluminum prop and was able to hit 5500 rpms. At that point, it started to porpoise, so I backed off a bit. I just couldn't get it passed 39 mph. The bottom paint is in bad shape but I thought I'd hit the low 40's with this setup. I was running with my younger son and myself in the boat with a full tank of gas. The engine itself is in great shape with good compression. Am I loosing that much because of the old bottom paint?

Thanks for the help.

Dave

Casco Bay Outrage posted 07-10-2008 11:41 PM ET (US)     Profile for Casco Bay Outrage  Send Email to Casco Bay Outrage     
Glad to read you finally are back among the fish and seaweed!
DaveS posted 07-10-2008 11:58 PM ET (US)     Profile for DaveS  Send Email to DaveS     
I was going to tell everyone of my "conquest!" Two really nice catfish, the biggest, about 10", but I didn't want to brag! :)
swist posted 07-11-2008 08:46 AM ET (US)     Profile for swist  Send Email to swist     
Not knowing what that hull would do without paint makes it hard to say what you are losing, but yes, most commonly-used bottom paints take some speed off the top end - waxed gelcoat is pretty slippery and you are taking that out of the picture.

There are some specialty paints which are supposed to give a slicker finish that may have less impact, but I have no eperience with them.

Tohsgib posted 07-11-2008 10:17 AM ET (US)     Profile for Tohsgib  Send Email to Tohsgib     
Bottom paint if smooth will not detract much if any speed. Bottom paint in poor condition can do horrendous things to your performance. Waxing a bare bottom is slower than not waxing...JUST FYI. The wax makes an airpocket and the little bubbles actually slow you down. I know what you are gonna say..sailboats do it...well it probably helps under 8 knots or so but at 40 it is impeding speed.
DaveS posted 07-11-2008 04:00 PM ET (US)     Profile for DaveS  Send Email to DaveS     
Thanks for the info. To follow up, the bottom paint is really kind of ratty, I can only imagine how many coats there are on this thing. I started using a pressure washer to remove some of the paint and it did an OK job. Nothing fancy but enough to see I've got my work cut out for me.

So, I guess I can conclude that my bottom paint is the culprit. I'm not upset I can't hit 45mph, I just wanted to see how much the bottom paint was costing me, speed wise.

Thanks again.

Dave

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