Fall Boating in the South
Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2021 11:22 am
Yesterday was a perfect Fall day in Lower Alabama.
We launched our Sport 13 at high tide which was about noon. It's been a long time since we've had the 13 in the water and it was great fun running up and down the waterway for a couple of hours. The temperature was in the low 70’s with a breeze at about 4-MPH. The trailer dolly made hitching easy.
We ranged from the ramp eastward to Mobile Bay then to Wolf Bay in the West. We enjoyed meeting a large Dolphin pod feeding near Mobile Bay until they ranged farther West into the bay.
The performance of our little 1981-vintage boat continues to surprise me. The boat is powered by a Mercury 30-HP EFI FOURSTROKE engine. With two adults, 6-gallons of fuel, and safety gear it gets onto a flat plane from idle in three seconds. Top speed is over 26-MPH and cruise is about 17- or 18-MPH. The boat is difficult to keep on plane at less that 17-MPH.
The only unusual thing about our set up is the use of an adapter plate between the engine and transom tilting the engine up by about an inch.
On cool days I would like to be able to plane at 15-MPH without constantly making throttle adjustments. My wife is unhappy at more than 26-MPH, so that was our speed at a little less than WOT. I estimate the boat would make close to 30-MPH with minimal loading.
We launched our Sport 13 at high tide which was about noon. It's been a long time since we've had the 13 in the water and it was great fun running up and down the waterway for a couple of hours. The temperature was in the low 70’s with a breeze at about 4-MPH. The trailer dolly made hitching easy.
We ranged from the ramp eastward to Mobile Bay then to Wolf Bay in the West. We enjoyed meeting a large Dolphin pod feeding near Mobile Bay until they ranged farther West into the bay.
The performance of our little 1981-vintage boat continues to surprise me. The boat is powered by a Mercury 30-HP EFI FOURSTROKE engine. With two adults, 6-gallons of fuel, and safety gear it gets onto a flat plane from idle in three seconds. Top speed is over 26-MPH and cruise is about 17- or 18-MPH. The boat is difficult to keep on plane at less that 17-MPH.
The only unusual thing about our set up is the use of an adapter plate between the engine and transom tilting the engine up by about an inch.
On cool days I would like to be able to plane at 15-MPH without constantly making throttle adjustments. My wife is unhappy at more than 26-MPH, so that was our speed at a little less than WOT. I estimate the boat would make close to 30-MPH with minimal loading.