new 2005 crestliner sportfish 1850

[PeteA34]

I have a new 1850 sportfish that i purchased a few weeks ago and started the break in period on today. It has a 150hp merc optimax on it. I cruised around for about an hour or so today changing speeds like they recommended etc, but i am a little disappointed in the top end speed(about 44mph). the prop is a 14-1/2x19. I was expecting a little closer to 50mph. Does the electronic control on the motor limit the performance until the break in is complete?

[deepportage01]

my fishind budy has the same boat/motor combo he is runing at 45-47 mph. when you have it wide open what are your rpms? if they are under 5000 you might want to change props but i think you are in there as fare as top speed you might get a few more mph if you run a ss prop and trim up a little more.I am no pro at this but this is ware I would start.

[PeteA34]

I did play with the trim a little. RPM's are running just over 5000. I believe max is around 5700. I am considering a ss prop with a 21 pitch. Anyone in that category? Any thoughts?

[deepportage01]

if you havce 5700 rev.and your at 5100 I would move in pitch and go ss if your have 700 rpm to go you might get that thing over 50 mph. you do have the hp to run a 21 pitch so if you have the hp run it man.have fun.

[HaywardBound]

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I did play with the trim a little.

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How much are you trimming it up? Are you getting wet at WOT?

I've got a '97 1850 SportFish with a 115hp Johnson. I get about 40 mph (GPS) fully loaded.

I'm just wondering if you are trimming it up enough?

By the way, nice boat!

[Hooked On a Feeling]

I run the same boat with a merc 125 with a 19 pitch stainless and get 38 (gps) with just me in the boat. That's running near the top of rpm. If your running 700 rpm's below your max rpm's, running a higher pitch prop is going to drop your rpm's even more.(For every 1" increase in pitch you will lose about 200-300 rpm's with a ss prop)

[Valv]

If you are at 5100rpm now a higher pitch will not solve your problem, it will make it worse since it will drop your rpms more.

Honestly I think a 1850 with a 150hp is fine at 44mph, you might want to learn to use your trim while at full speed (trim motor up) and you'll get more top speed.

Also a SS prop will help immensely, but still check your rpms.

...and also how are you reading speed ? By the speedometer on the dash ? Check it with a GPS.

[PierBridge]

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If you are at 5100rpm now a higher pitch will not solve your problem, it will make it worse since it will drop your rpms more.

Honestly I think a 1850 with a 150hp is fine at 44mph, you might want to learn to use your trim while at full speed (trim motor up) and you'll get more top speed.

Also a SS prop will help immensely, but still check your rpms.

...and also how are you reading speed ? By the speedometer on the dash ? Check it with a GPS.

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yep what he said.

Hole shot is going to be more important IMO.

[Fish Head]

Am I the only one here who is wondering why we are at wide open throttle within the first hour of operation?

[PeteA34]

I have trimmed it out until it starts to bounce, so I know I have utilized that the best I can. I am not too worried about it, 44 is fine with me, I just thought it would do more. As far as, running it full throttle during the break in, I didn't do it the 1st hour and there really is nothing wrong with it as long as you keep your RPM's under the limit and don't sustain the top end for more than a minute or so. That is quoted from my salesman and it even states in the owners manual that the most important thing is to vary the RPMS for the first 2 hours. The main question i had though was does the computer program for the motor limit the RPMS for the break in? I am wondering why my RPM's are that much below the limit. I figured it should top out closer to 5500.

[gunflint]

I'm certainly no expert when it comes to big outboards but it seems to me that I wouldn't worry about top end speed until that motor has 30 or 40 hours on it. Once it's broke in you might get a little more speed. I know that on the smaller outboards that I run, they seem to improve after 6 or 7 tanks of fuel have been run through them.

[bmc2b]

I have a Lund 1700 fisherman with a 140 johnson, get 42-44mph but can get up to 48 if I take off my trolling motor and its 2 batteries. How you have it rigged can make a difference.

[BDR]

I have a 97' 1850 sportfish with a 150 Johnson and I get about 42- 45mph off the gps.

I will clock top speed trimmed with a bit of a roostertail shooting up. Not drastically but noticable.

[AQUAJOE]

I run a 2000 Crestliner 1750 Fish Hawk with a 90hp Evinrude and it tops at 44mph.

[PeteA34]

Overall I am estatic about this boat. I love it. It is a huge upgrade from my older 16 ft sea nymph. It had a 50hp evinrude on it and ran well, but I was tired of getting bounced around and wet on the bigger lakes. Thanks for all your inputs.

[marine_man]

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I have trimmed it out until it starts to bounce, so I know I have utilized that the best I can

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It sounds to me like you've got it trimmed out as far as you can and are running at or very close to the maximum performance trim wise.

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The main question i had though was does the computer program for the motor limit the RPMS for the break in?

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I'm fairly certain that the computer does not limit your RPM's during the break in period... it does monitor them, and your dealer can hook their computer up to it and get a distribution of the RPM's you ran, and for how long, as well as a host of other things.

Mercury shows your max RPM @ WOT to be 5750... so that's what I'd shoot for... but it seems really odd to me that you're only getting 5,000 RPM at WOT, fully trimmed out with a 19 inch prop... you'd almost have to drop to a 15 pitch prop to get the RPM's up where they're supposed to be... which seems like a pretty small prop to me for your rig... a 19 seems about right to me...

I'd wait until you've got the full break in period completed before you worry about propping... the 19 should be real close to sufficient. Adding a stainless prop at the same pitch will likely further lower your RPM's since most stainless props are cupped more, to give you a better bite in the water.

marine_man

[DuckStupid]

I have a 2002 1850 with a 150 merc XR6 on the back ... I get right around 50 with it (GPS) with just me in the boat and can hold 44-45 pretty easy with a full load. I have a 19 aluminum prop.

[wisconsinfish]

Another thing that can influence the speed is the height that the motor is mounted on the hull of the boat. That's why jack plates are so popular on bass boats.

[eyepatrol]

I know this is a totally different boat, but my previous Warrior had a 150 Optimax and I recall the dealer telling me the computer in the Opti limits the engine to a maximum rpm of around 5500. Trimming the motor up certainly made a big difference in speed, as it lifted the boat out of the water more and created less drag/resistance from the water. Trimmed in I'd get 43 - 45; trimmed out (up) I'd get 50 - 52 with a fully loaded boat. Also, from what I noticed, it took a few summers before the engine performed to it's maximum potential. By the 5th year I had the boat, I was running close to 55-56mph by myself and stripped down boat.

Oddly enough, I got more speed out of my 3-blade aluminum prop than I did with my 5-blade stainless steel! Don't know why, but that ss prop was junk in my opinion. The ss prop didn't reverse worth a darn either.

Just thought I'd chime in.