TOPIC: 1961 Merc 800 FGS - new top speed

Hi, I raised the engine an inch and put on a small eared chopper, 22" pitch. Hit a top speed of 52.7mph at 5300 rpm.

Good water pressure throughout run, boat handles fine. Shot a couple videos for posterity.

Pete

Nice turn of speed! Looks much more stable, too. The engine is operating really close to its sweet spot, now.

The water isn't way far down on the L/U, I wonder if there may be a bit more speed to squeeze out of it by raising the transom height just a wee bit more.

Looks cold out there!

Peter,
Very cool videos!
Your boat looks magnificent!!
She sure runs out smooth!
doc

Looks great. Coming along well. At some point like you've mentioned you will appreciate a SS mid.

Good job,
Conrad

Hi Ed, Doc,

Thanks for the compliments! I'm surprised at how smooth she runs, too. Even though the boat has a padded bottom, the V is very shallow, on the order of 5 deg or so (from horizontal), it's almost a flat bottom boat. It doesn't chine walk at all, but I may not be going fast enough.

I'm curious to know just how much of the width of the transom area is in the water. Future plans!

Pete

Thanks Conrad,

The tweaking and finishing of a project like this never seems to end; I recently installed a kill switch, for example and am looking to install a tilt/trim gauge. I'm very satisfied with the performance now, but come next Winter, might need another project !

Pete

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the vids. Your boat looks and sounds so good. She is easy on the eyes and fast too.

Gene

Smart to get get a kill switch. I put mine on every run. I went out of my boat @ 55 mph when the steering failed about 5 years ago. I did not have a kill switch and I was thrown so quickly out of the boat I could not pull back on the throttle. The boat left me in the middle of the lake for close to a half hour until police and local fisherman found me. Could have been very bad for me and especially others in the way of a boat out of control. It still bothers me that I was un prepared. I just put my lifejacket on too. That boat became capable of 80 mph a year later, so safety became very important. I do a quick inspect of my steering connections every time I get in

That boat looks so stable. But weird things happen when you lest expect it.

You should be able to find a SS mid for that motor pretty easily if you choose that route. Keep up the great video's . That lake looks amazing.

Conrad

I believe you have found the ideal setup for the combo. Squeezing more speed could get expensive and labor intensive. If speed is your goal, you might want to consider adding a 60's or 70's true speed hull to the fleet. Allisons, Hydrostreams, Checkmates, Carlsons, etc. can still be found, and can be customized to give you speed thrills for many years. Not trying to diminish what you've done, which is awesome, just wouldn't want you to overdo a sweet ride. Exceeding 50mph with a 54 year old 80hp motor is more than awesome enough for bragging rights. Just something to consider.

Pete you aint ever gonna give up are ya! Looks and sounds great!

And YEP on a kill switch. Conrad said it best and "broke steering" scares the CHIT out me as my Flat Bottom, twin fins under motor torque fast one side would spit me out so damn fast be a millisecond! I just BOUGHT a new automatic activate water PFD. Very comfy and light don't even know its on ya. Thing is here the Sound water is at most 55 degrees summer, and hypothermia hits FAST. Good luck with the boat! Is that Cresent lake?

Conrad - I wired the kill switch a couple of weeks ago and learning of your story and Robby's, really makes me glad I did - and I'm really glad you guys are okay. Shout out to Joe Poole at Ferguson-Poole Marine for helping me with the switch!

Kerry, thanks for the compliments. I'm very, very satisfied with the performance now and there's not much more I can do easily and with little expense.

It dawned on me reading your post that I've got a 50+ year old motor pushing a boat 50+ mph - feels pretty good to join the 50/50 club! Thanks for pointing that out!

To be honest, my favorite part of taking the boat out could be the walk down to the ramp, after parking the trailer. Just watching it floating by the dock - the entire package matches the image I had pictured in my mind when I started building the boat. I hope that the video captured some of that, (wish I wouldn't have narrated the damn thing though, gotta learn to keep my mouth shut! )

Pete

Robby321 wrote:

Pete you aint ever gonna give up are ya! Looks and sounds great!

And YEP on a kill switch. Conrad said it best and "broke steering" scares the CHIT out me as my Flat Bottom, twin fins under motor torque fast one side would spit me out so damn fast be a millisecond! I just BOUGHT a new automatic activate water PFD. Very comfy and light don't even know its on ya. Thing is here the Sound water is at most 55 degrees summer, and hypothermia hits FAST. Good luck with the boat! Is that Cresent lake?

Hi Robby, stopped by and saw Doc today, what an amazing shop!!! Wow, I had no idea! I'd seen some photos you've posted, but I didn't realize the shear extent of COOL STUFF. Makes me want to build another boat just so I can put one of his motors on it - "build ... the ... boat ... around ... the ... motor" (what a great mantra)!!!

The videos were taken at Lake Sutherland, just a couple of miles East of Crescent on 101. Not busy this past Winter, but fishing season just started and the wake-surfers are awakening .

Be careful out in the Sound - Crescent is cold as well and can be lonely, that's why I've stuck to Sutherland for most of my "setting up", or learning, runs - more people around and a smaller lake. I bought an auto-inflating life vest too. Very comfortable, especially in a small cockpit.

Pete

Damn, we gotta get a get together at the Docs ALL AT ONE TIME! Ed MC was there few days back, now you, and I'll darken the door Tuesday!

What kind of camera did you use? More specifically, how do you get the speed info posted on the screen?

Eric

Hi Eric,

Camera is a Sony Action Cam -Sony's version of the Go Pro. It records GPS data, if that feature is enabled. The software will overlay the GPS data in the video if desired.

Pete