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Posts: 303
| How fast would a 115 take an aluminum boat 17ft long...lets asume it s a 17ft fish and ski...crestliner or lund... |
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Posts: 271
Location: davis,IL | 45-50 |
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Posts: 114
| just sold my 03 lund 1700 fisherman w/115 merc 2 stroke. About 40-41 was the best i ever got out of it. still plenty fast to get from spot to spot and pull the kids too |
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Posts: 190
Location: Savage, MN | I run a 17'6" crestliner fishhawk with a 115hp Yamaha four stroke. With two guys and gear best I can get is 43-44 on the gps. |
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Posts: 303
| The boat im looking at maxes at 135....is it worth the money to bump up to that.....muskie fishing, cruising, pulling a tube? |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | 2001 Alumacraft 175 Magnum CS with a 115 Mercury FourStroke ran 41-45 depending load.
Edited by TJ DeVoe 5/14/2012 8:24 PM
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Posts: 190
Location: Savage, MN | I would max it out if boat and/or budget will allow. Can always throttle down. |
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Posts: 833
| IMO the better the question is how fast it runs at the ideal fuel efficiency speed. I can max out my 1750 Fish Hawk with 115 ETECH HO at 41-45, which is ~5600 RPM, with speed depending on what is in the boat and conditions. However, I get far superior gas mileage at 4000-4200 RPM, which puts me at 31-32 MPH. |
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Posts: 1168
| On my 17ft Lund Mr. Pike with a 115 Evinrude Ficht I can sniff the low 50's with every bit of weight pulled out of it and a light fuel load. When I have my stuff in there I'm looking at low 40's. |
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Posts: 97
Location: Milwaukee, WI | Skyblaster - 5/13/2012 9:19 PM
I run a 17'6" crestliner fishhawk with a 115hp Yamaha four stroke. With two guys and gear best I can get is 43-44 on the gps.
Same for me, except I have a 115 Mercury 4 stroke. But for the purposes of getting bets gas efficiency, I usually run it at about 38mph. Gets me anywhere I need to be just fine.
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
If you are looking purely at speed, a 115 will be right around 43 - 45 as many have stated on here with a normal load. Lots of variables that can affect those numbers....
So...I would say a better question to ask yourself would be what specifically will be the conditions of use for the boat? Will it be weighted down with people and gear? Muskies only, or other species? What will be the typical bodies of water you are looking to be on?
All of these questions are items to consider when getting ready to put together a rig.
One of the big things to always consider....if you can afford it, go with the largest HP you can with the largest displacement. More displacement means more low-end torque...equating to much better out of the hole performance and acceleration. Weight really is not anything to worry about because the more weight in the rear, the further back the center of gravity of the boat which will allow the bow to trim up or down easier more with less trim angle used on the motor.
The 115 will do well as it is only 20hp below max. Get it propped right and it will do well...
Steve
Edited by VMS 5/24/2012 8:16 PM
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Posts: 5874
| If your max HP is 135HP, consider the Merc 135 Opti. Great motor. Boat will run 50 easy. I had that motor on my 1700 Angler SS. Awesome combination, and it was also great on fuel. Well, it was if I could keep it off WOT! |
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Posts: 20255
Location: oswego, il | The 115 will do fine the 135 would do better. You just have to ask yourself is the price difference worth it. Most 17ft boats come packaged with a 115. I was pricing a packaged boat and found myself 5 grand higher looking at different motors. If it is a used boat, dont bother inless you need a new motor. |
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| A Honda 135 should be on the short list.
TW |
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Posts: 676
Location: Wisconsin | I love my Etec 130....I have a 175CS and I get 47 with load. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Depends a lot on the type and size of prop too. A good stainless prop can sometimes get one a couple more MPH than an aluminum. Having the correct size prop (15,16,17, etc) so the motor runs at optimal rpms helps a lot too.
That said, going another 5 mph probably won't help catch many more fish. I caught just as many fish in my old 16 ft/48 hp boat as my current 17 ft with the 115. |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | I've fished out of a Crestliner 1850 Fishhawk with a 115 Hp Evinrude & we got up to 42 in a 1 foot chop with gear & 2 fat guys.
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Posts: 201
| My 1810 Predator with a 115 4 stroke will get around 43 with gear, full tank, and one other guy. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Are you all talking GPS, boat speedometer, or fish finder speed? My 1750 Crestliner with a 4 stroke 115 Yamaha will generally top out at the following:
- 45 mph on boat speedometer
- 48 mph fishfinder
- 40 mph GPS (actual)
Boat speedometers and fishfinders are rarely accurate and often read high. I fished with a guy who had a 150 Optimax on an 18 ft Lund. He said his boat did 52 mph. It did - according to his boat speedometer. My hand-held GPS indicated no more than 42 mph. It was a very nice boat to fish in. Just not as fast as he thought.
I don't think the fish care much how fast your boat goes.  |
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Posts: 201
| I use my GPS for speed readings. |
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| Hey!! I own a Tracker proguide v 175 WT Have the 115hp merc fourstroke on it. Depending on load it maxes 40-42mph |
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| GPS Speed  |
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Posts: 272
| My Alumacraft TourneyPro 175 (measures 17'11") with a 115 Yamaha will touch 40 on a good day, usually 38 and change with two guys and gear. Its alot of boat, though, when compared to most 17-footers. I think mine has a Yamaha SS 21 pitch 4-blade. Have heard that dropping a blade will get you more top end, and I'm sure I could pitch up and get a little more max speed. But why? Boat runs and handles great now. Trolls well, gets out of the water fine, etc.
I guess that's what I'd be more concerned about is getting your motor pitched and set up right.
One thing you might consider is the price of available motors. The 115 is an extremely popular motor across the brands. A few years back, a buddy was looking around for one and there wasn't exactly one on every boat yard. Used, that is. And they were really holding their value well. It was about then they really jacked the prices up on motors. I thought he said the marinas were knockin' on the door of new prices for used motors in good shape with low hours. And there just weren't many out there. Given the 115's popularity, you might find a Honda, as mentioned, or something else in the 115-135hp range cheaper. Maybe not. Just a thought.
On the whole top end thing.....the fastest I've ever been traveling when I caught a fish was ~5.5mph. Gotta think about needs vs cost vs what you gain by maxing out HP. An 80hp might suit you just fine, depending on where you're fishing and what you plan to do with it, the boat you find and how its weight is distributed and how the motor is set up.
I live in Green Bay, so 4-8++ mile runs are pretty routine. The guy who owned the boat before me, who bought it new, fished relatively small inland lakes, pretty much exclusively. Its rated for a 175, but it would have been several thousand more to go with that option, and I'm not sure you'd troll as easily. So then you're looking at a kicker for sure, which is another couple thousand for something decent and new.
I love my boat and how it's set up and how it works for me. Sure, I'd love a 175, but for what?? To gain 10-15ish mph on top end? What's that going to gain me? So I get somewhere on a long run 4 minutes sooner. So what.
JMHO
-Eric
Edited by muskie-addict 5/20/2012 10:30 PM
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| My '03 Lund Mr Pike 17 (17'2" x 92" beam, about 1200lb dry hull weight) with a merc 2-stroke 125 gets 43-46 mph GPS at WOT with 30 gallons of gas, 3 batteries , 2 guys and a decent fishing load. 4300rpm's and it just purrs along at about 35, and that's where I spend 99% of my time--the rest is just for weather. I heard people with the same rig and a 90hp claim 3-4mph slower, seems like you're splitting hairs between a 115 and maxing it out? Lots more 115's out there, maybe easier to find a good price on one or parts down the road? |
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