Boat Speed

Hello tinboaters, I'm upgrading from a 1989 mercury classic 50(45hp) to a 1997 mercury 60 hp 2 stroke. I run 32 top speed now. Think i will be able to hit 40? :lol: The boat is a mishear 17v aluminum. Basically a bass tracker. Thanks! Jack

Nope..... you will most likely hit 35-37 though. You are asking for a lot more speed with only 10 more hp. If my info is correct they both have the same gear ratio so you may be able to turn 1 maybe 2 pitch higher in props which will put you at around 35-37. This is all guessing though because I have no idea what prop you are running or plan to run and no RPM data. Merely a guess with the understanding that they both have a 1.64:1 GR and have similar RPM ranges. But that is a lot to expect from 10 more ponies.

Not even with a 10 year old newer motor?

Nope, that is unless your 50 classic was not running properly. Horsepower was rated the same in 89' as it was in 97'. Now if you were talking about a pre 85-86 merc versus a post 85-86 there would be a bigger difference because Merc started prop rating the HP on there motors around this time instead of rating them from the crank.

There is some famous saying that goes something like this "The faster you go, the harder it is to go faster!"

I am not saying you cannot hit 40mph without some effort or tweaking with your setup though. I think if you can.....it will take a little work. Because in theory with that motor's gear case 1.64:1 with a 15 pitch prop at 5500+ rpm with a conservative 15% slip ratio you can hit 40mph. The question is can you turn a 15 pitch with your setup at that high an RPM?