Full throttle with my motor worries?

Once I saw all the good advice about trailer bearings I am sure someone may know the answer to this.

I have a ’89 60hp Evinrude on a 17′ tracker fish/ski. When I drive it I can reach about 34mph.

Now does running these motors at full throttle for a distance hurt them or are they made for the long haul at full? It’s a 2 stroke and my rpms are in the area of 5200. I always worry that at any time it could go. No reason for that the motor seems fine and when I have it looked at they say she looks good. I am a motor [censored] so any help with this would be appreciated.

ps. would changing my prop help me get more “significant” top end speed? No idea what I have now. My guess is whatever is standard off the sales floor. Would this change effect my motor in any way?

Lots of questions thanks for any help to any or all

Like all 2-stroke outboards, there is no problem operating them at full throttle for long periods. You will find however, if you back off the throttle just a bit from top end you will greatly increase your gas mileage.

Given the motor is an 89, make sure you always have a strong flow of water comming out of the “pee hole”. If it’s been more than 3-4 seasons of use since the impeller has been changed, it may be time.

34 MPH seems reasonable for top end on a 17 footer with a 60hp. With a lot of trial and error testing different props, you may gain 1-3 mph. Probably not worth the effort.

J.

Haywood,

I have a n ’89 60 H.P. Johnson with tons of hours on it. I’m sure it is basically the same motor as your Evinrude. I think the only real difference is the cover and paint.

Mine is on a Sea Nymph Fish-n-Ski, a little less streamlined than your Tracker I think, but proably similar weight. I run around the same speed, although with the standard aluminum prop I was a few miles an hour slower. I currently use a stainless prop, not sure the pitch, I bought it used. it gave me maybe 3-4 m.p.h.

Concerning the full throttle, I run mine 2-3 days a week quite often, and almost always full throttle. Never had a problem. I change lube every year and replace the water pump impeller at least every other year. gotta keep her cool and she give you LOTS of reliable service!

Good fishin!

Rooster

I have an 89 110 Evy on a 17 ft Crestliner Phantom…I’ve tried backing off the throttle to 3/4 many times on a 24 mi round trip…never seems to improve my gas mileage…never have figured that out because everyone recommends this method.

rvvrat,

There is a balance that needs to be met. Going down to 3/4 throttle may be too much. You want to keep the boat planned out. If you start plowing the water you will not gain any mileage and you actually are working the motor harder.

That Phantom is a heavy boat. I believe the max HP for that rig is 150HP. At 110 HP your a little under powered to start. Your optimum “Balance” may be wide open throttle or close to it. Most boats that are maxed out in horse power will see a significant gas milage improvement when backing off the throttle.

J.

Jon,

I hear ya but…the max hp is 120 and 3/4 (or so) throttle keeps me nicely planed out. Like I say, backing off the throttle just doesn’t increase the mileage for my particular setup.

Pete

rvvrrat,

It would be interesting to see what a “Flow Meter” would tell us. I suspect there is a small improvement in Gallons Per Hour.

It’s possible that you need some carb adjustments. Motor may be running too rich at WOT. However, if the motor is running great……the old saying “If it aint broke, don’t fix it” come into play.

J.