I have a 18 ft skeeter with a 150 vmax with a factory 23m prop. I'm running around 65 mph tournament load and would like to be in the low to mid 70's any suggestions would be great as to any tips or tricks any of you speed demons have done to your motors. I have been thinkin of having it bored out to a 175 or 200.... is that even possible ? And how much does it cost ? And what's the most you would bore it to prevent harm to the motor ? I'm truely clueless when comes to boat motors and would greatly appreciate your info.

If your running mid 60's with a 150 and full tourney load you are moving pretty darn good. I am not a professional but I would say mid 70's would be a huge stretch to reach. Most tournaments wont allow boats with HP mods.

If you're running 65 GPS with a 18' bug bote and a 150 VMax with a tourney load I'd say you're done. If you wanna go faster I doubt if that rig will offer any more. Do you know what your prop to pad measurement is ? What rpm range are topping at ? Sometimes you can pick up a little just by trimming your tackle down. I can easily take 30 lbs of plastic out of my boat and still have plenty to fish with. I've heard it said that for every 50 lbs comes a cost of 1 mph. Think about that. Seriously though it sounds like you're getting it all already.

am I the only one that wants to understand why people always try to make their boat go faster than what it currently runs? I am not trying to be rude, just simply curious. With the fuel prices, even if my boat was fast I would be running around at 4500 rpm!

http://yamaha-rebuild.com/Yamaha%20High%20Perf.htm

If you are running with a "Tournament load", that tells me you prolly fish tournaments. If so, I'm sure that you are familiar with the rules about your outboard not exceeding the coast gaurd ratings for your boat.

It's something to think about.

BTW, 65MPH with a loaded 18 ftr w/ a 150HP ain't gonna get much faster.

-Alton

That's extra fast for a 150 on a 18' boat. About the only way you will get 10 or 15 mph more if it's on the trailer and hooked up to your truck going down the highway!

if you want to go mid 70's, get a bigger boat with bigger motor. it will be cheaper in the long run.

Without motor modification, you probably could spin a 25 p and get 4-5 more mph but your hole shot is going to go way down hill. Also, you are going to put a lot more stress on your motor by it having to work harder to keep you up. I have a friend of mine that has a 195 zx with a 150 that will top out 70-72. I will tell you this, the hull is starting to get unstable at that speed. You can watch the nose of the boat starting to do small cirlces and wanting to chine walk. It runs great at 65, but when you get over that it changes attitudes. I say that to say this, be careful what you wish for, it may not end the way you want it to. For those speeds I would rather be in a 20 ft boat.

go fast in a bullet, fish stable in a skeeter.

Unless you put the motor on an Allison or something -- it doesn't get any faster then that. As a matter of fact, if you're getting 65 without any major engine modifications on a stock Skeeter, we maybe talking about a Guiness Book of World Records category.

Hey Ronnie, I fish out of a 21ft Bullet and I think it is pretty stable and can run 83-85 all day. I have been in a 20i and can tell you I would not own one after riding in it. That boat will beat your kidneys to death and I hear from others that it rides better than the FX. I am not bashing the fishing platform, it is nice, but I would rather be in my Bullet.

Yes the motor is completely stock and factory prop on my boat and 65 fully loaded is about normal for a skeeter zx 180 with a 150 I know a few other guys runnin the same boat and same speeds.... kinda wish someone has had exsperiences with boreing their motor out some ? Other than that guess ill be loosing the dual console , anchor, and a few other nick nacks. And for all those wanderin why we want to go faster well there is just no better feeling of being out in frnt in the shotgun start syle tournaments

Just be careful. Once you get the itch for more speed it can be as consuming as fishing. Don't ask me how I know.

the cheapest way to go faster, (so I've been told by some people that know) is to reduce your boats load. Carry only the necessities, gas weights about 7 1/2 pounds a gallon, cutting back 10 gallons is about 75 pounds less weight,...lots of ways to save some weight. good luck.