2008 FishHawk 1850 top end speed

[Musky_Madness]

My dad is looking at a 1850 Fishhawk and it has a 150 Yamaha 4 stroke on the back. What could we expect for a top end speed? What would be the optimal motor on the back? The dealer we are going through can do Merc, Yamaha, or Evinrude. Please respond with information supporting best motor type.

Thanks

[PerchJerker]

It's probably a 50 mph boat with the F150, maybe a couple ticks slower or faster. A lot depends on the prop and the motor mounting height.

The F150 is a rock solid motor, lots of guys have them and there are almost zero complaints or problems with them.

Personally I am a Merc fan and I think the Opti or Verado will be the fastest motors, but you're splitting hairs and only talking about a couple mph difference at the most. And the Opti and the E-Tec will be louder than the F150 or the Verado.

I don't think you need to worry about getting a bad motor in that group, they all seem to perform well. There's less history or experience with the Verado and the E-Tec than the F150 and the Opti.

Sounds like it will be a great rig!

[iffwalleyes]

I would say it should be close to the mid maybe upper 40 range. I have a 1775 Prov with a 140 4 Stroke and I crack 45 and that is it. Plenty fast for me. Yamaha are good motors though.

[setterguy]

I have the same motor on an alumacraft tournamnet sport 175 (17'11") and I get 47 gps speed with two guys and gear. This is without a stainless steel prop.

[Musky_Madness]

Do you like the F150 on it? Any problems? If you were to do it all over again, same choice?

[JohnD]

I had a 135 Optimax on my 1850, I could hit 48 gps, so I would guess that a 150 Optimax would put you somewhere between 50-52. That is a big boat, and a 150 is none too big, I would suggest an Optimax, a little more grunt than the 4 stroke.

[Northlander]

You should get right around 50 or within a couple mph on either side. I have a friend with that same rig and motor and he gets in the low 50's.

[bassNspear]

your all close, i looked at my books and its going to run about 45-51, depending on how much gas, people and gear you have in the boat. Its going to move fairly well

[Dan L]

My friend has a Yamaha F-150 and Crestliner 1850 Fishhawk and he gets 46.5 MPH with 2 guys and all of there gear. I have a Crestliner 1850 Fishhawk with a Suzuki df150 and I can hit 50 MPH with me and a light load. With 2 guys and gear and full of fuel I am at 45 MPH. I have heard of the Yamaha F-150 getting 50 MPH with 2 guys and gear using a 21" Yamaha prop.

[Musky_Madness]

Any information on engine types or major differences besides weight? Any mechanics on here with advice?

[marine_man]

I would say 45-50, depending on the load with a F150. With respect to motors it's hard to go wrong with any of the three you have mentioned. When you get up in the 150+ hp range I prefer a 2 stroke, but that's my preference.

I'm a big fan of Yamaha with Mercury a close second and Evinrude 3rd - not that there's anything wrong with an evinrude, again, just my preference.

marine_man

[setterguy]

I have only had the boat since last October so not very much first hand experience...however, I did do quite a bit of research and found that most everyone I talked to was happy with the performance and "non" maintenance of the Yamaha 150. Before I bought my boat I was looking at boats at Frankies and a guy there I think his name was Pete? who has been doing this a long time told me this.

Suzuki - best motor to troll down, if you are not going to get a kicker and like to troll this would be the best motor.

Opti - Best hole shot and top end speed, a little louder, and more fuel consumption.

Yami - Trolls down slower than the opti, not quite as slow as Suzuki, not quite as fast as Opti, a little faster than the Suzuki. Kind of a best of both worlds motor as he described it.

Now take this with a grain of salt, but he had no reason to lie to me, and granted some of this may be his opinion but from other s I've talked to it seems to make some sense.

I do love my motor, I came from a 115 Johnson 2 stroke that was a good motor but very loud. I actually tried to start the motor while it was running twice last year because I couldn't hear that it was on. That may take a little getting used to. Over all I couldn't be happier with my decision. I don't think you could make a bad choice right now with the options out there. Mercs, Yamahas, Suzukis and Etecs are all great motors and I wouldn't hesitate to put any of them on my rig.

[PerchJerker]

I've had the "pleasure" of talking to Pete before also. Nice guy. Also a sales guy. And I disagree with a few things he said.

A 150 Opti will troll down slower than a Yam or Suz. The Yam and Suz will idle smoother, because they are idling faster. That is what you get with big 4-strokes (like 150s) compared to big DFI motors (like 150s). The problem you will likely have trolling with any of those motors is a large prop with a big pitch that moves a lot of water, and even though the motors all idle great, the prop moves so much water the boat moves fast through the water. For example, the Opti on one end will have the fastest gear ratio and the smallest pitch prop, the Suz on the other end will have the slowest gear ratio and the largest pitch prop. Bottom line --- trolling speed will be similiar even though the Opti is idling slower.

Opti - I agree with louder and more hole shot, I don't agree with more fuel consumption than the 4-strokes. At some rpm ranges / speeds the Opti will be better than the 4-strokes at fuel consumption.

 Quote:

I don't think you could make a bad choice right now with the options out there. Mercs, Yamahas, Suzukis and Etecs are all great motors and I wouldn't hesitate to put any of them on my rig.

I agree with this completely, I don't think you can buy a bad 150 hp motor. I know this doesn't help you very much Musky_Madness, but I really think you're splitting hairs between the 150s. I'd say decide on if you want a DFI or 4-stroke, and then you've cut your decision from 4 motors to 2 motors. Like I said in my first post, the F150 is a great motor, there's lots of them out there and lots of guys love them. Good luck.

[Musky_Madness]

Thanks for all the opinions! I'm anxious to talk to him today to see what he's doing. He was drooling all night I think! The Crestliner book was sitting next to the computer and a lot of numbers around it.

[Ray Esboldt]

150 Optimax on an 1850 with a stainless prop (not sure on pitch) and two guys = 48 mph.

An Optimax should do better than the four strokes on fuel consumption. My 90hp Optimax does a fair amount better than by brother's 80hp Yamamha four stroke. And mine is on a bigger boat (1850 tiller).

[camdu7]

The F150 and opti are both solid motors with good histories. HAve you checked out the merc and yami websites? They have test data on them for some boats. I run a 150 opti on my 1850 tyee and with two guys loaded with gear and the kicker see about 47 (gps). I have seen 50(gps) with an empty boat on the big pond. I'm running a Laser II SS prop.

[menomax]

All you guys are right right on. If your looking for speed? The Mercury will run faster, but also run at a higher RPM than the Yamahas. I really like the yamahas, I've had 3 and they all run great.

Another thing to look at if your looking for a few more miles per hour, make sure the dealer preps it right. What bolt hole are you on? What is % of slip? How much trim do you need to give to max your RPMS? If you put the motor up one bolt hole up on the transom you gain 100 rpms. Put that motor up has high as you can, make sure you watch your water pressure gauge. Test props, pitches and styles. Some dealers will let you test them with out a charge. I bet if you set that rig up right, you could push 55-56mph at 6000rpms. Good luck and have fun. I believe getting there is half the fun!

[Musky_Madness]

That should be fun to play with! We are bringing the current rig in tomorrow to get a trade in value from the dealer and sounds like it's ready to go then! I'll be sure to ask about the rigging of the motor. Also, is a SS prop standard on a F150 or do they come with the aluminum prop?

[delcecchi]

I think the motors come with no prop. You get to buy whatever prop you want, although usually the dealer includes an aluminum prop in the package they quote.

[blarkey]

I have a 1750 fishhawk with a 115 yamaha 4 strock and I hit 42 mph I love the motor had it 3 seasons so far a have had zero problems plus the gas mileage gets better each year.

[marine_man]

 Originally Posted By: Musky_Madness

Also, is a SS prop standard on a F150 or do they come with the aluminum prop?

delcecchi is right here - the don't come with a prop, but typically due to cost it'll come with a aluminum prop.

Be sure to consider where you're planning on running your motor before deciding on stainless or not. Stainless will give you better performance since it's blades don't flex like aluminum, but if you hit something with the prop aluminum is a bit more forgiving than stainless.

marine_man

[Black_Bay]

If the boat already has the Yammi on it I'd stay with it. It's going to cost more money than it's worth to switch all the controls and hang a different motor. Anyway, as others have said, the Yammi is a very good motor.

[PerchJerker]

 Originally Posted By: menomax

The Mercury will run faster, but also run at a higher RPM than the Yamahas.

Actually, I think the Merc runs at lower rpms. I have a 175 Opti and the rpm range is 5250 to 5750, I usually run around 5500 to 5600 with a full load and higher with a light boat. I think the yam and suzuki 4-strokes run about 6000 rpms (if I remember correctly)?????

 Originally Posted By: menomax

Another thing to look at if your looking for a few more miles per hour, make sure the dealer preps it right. What bolt hole are you on? What is % of slip? How much trim do you need to give to max your RPMS? If you put the motor up one bolt hole up on the transom you gain 100 rpms. Put that motor up has high as you can, make sure you watch your water pressure gauge. Test props, pitches and styles. Some dealers will let you test them with out a charge. I bet if you set that rig up right, you could push 55-56mph at 6000rpms. Good luck and have fun. I believe getting there is half the fun!

I think 55-56 is too much to get with your boat and a 150 (unless you take all weight and gas out of the boat and try for speed only), but like menomax said....... if you like tinkering with this kind of stuff, and if your dealer or boat company will work you on it, you can definately tweak and maximize performance by testing different props and different motor mounting heights. Hopefully your dealer will get it set up right (or as close to right as possible in the shop) ---- then it's up to you on how much more you want to tweak. Raising your motor brings other things into play besides just water pressure, it can affect cavitation and planing ability at certain speeds, usually not for the better but you never know until you try. I spent two summers running different props at different mounting heights until I settled in on my set-up.

[Sutty]

I have an 1850 with a 135 opti and stainless prop. (almost the same as a 150, performance numbers are almost the same and is the same block same weight etc.) When I first got it and we were testing for the right prop we went 55 with no gear and only a half a tank of gas. Now fully loaded with another guy I can get fifty on a calm day high 40's no problem.

[menomax]

Work the dealer for the prop. I would think that you would be running a 17" to 19" pitch. Matching the max RPM's with top speed and balancing the hole shot will take some experimenting, but it is alot of fun.