1974 23 SF I/O Desirability

[Rhodnett]

Oldfielder,

I'm curious about your cruising speed of 32 MPH. I have a '74 23'SF with a '93 Mercruser 5.7 Alpha (4-bbl) and I'm lucky to get 20 kts at 3200 rpm. I seriously doubt if mine will hit 32 wide open. What RPM are you cruising at?

Thanks,

Rusty Hodnett

[oldfielder]

Funny you should ask-I installed a cheap navman this year and what a learning experience in efficiency.That 32 was at around 3200-3300, but since I've installed the meter-my best rpm is right around 3000-cruising about 28 in relatively calm seas. That's at a burn of about 10 gph, give or take .1 or .2. The chop on LI sound can change that in a hurry. I ran it at 4000/4001-a little short of wot, which is in the 4400-4800 range according to merc, and I was running just about 30 knots-I think it was 29.7. I/m guessing wot will take me to 37-38 mph.
I'll get you some exact #'s this weekend at 3200 for comparison's sake.
The motor is a carbed merc 5.7 which has been running for about four years of light use, which has change to heavy use since I got the boat
I know everyone here is big tab fans, but so far I'm very happy with t he planing capabilities(if I give it the juice it planes almost immediately) of this boat and since I usually fish with one or two guys on board-it's pretty easy to redistribute the weight.

[BillPutney]

I have a '78 i/o that I converted to bracketed o/b and the speed to plane/fuel cons./and overall performance is very satisfactory. 2 stroke Suzuki 225 2000 model,GPS 47.53 MPH max speed attained,

Normal cruie speed ,depending on conditions

[oldfielder]

Rusty-here are some numbers from this morning, which was relatively calm:
At 3000 RPM-27.8MPH-10.2 GPH
At 3200 RPM-30.1 MPH-12.0GPH
At 4000 RPM-36.1MPH-almost 19 GPH!
I'm liking that 3000 RPM cruise better and better all the time.
Doug