Max HP rating on my boat is 120. I am looking at motors on CL just to get a feel for what the market is and there are a couple 150HP motors out there for decent buys. Ideally I would like a 120HP but all I can find are 125 and 150HP's.

Has anyone ever exceeded the Max Hp? Is it just something you never do or is there any head room for a little extra HP if you take it easy?

Should be able to find a 115 I would think that would be easier than the 120

What size boat are you in now?

I'm in a 18-1/2 foot deep V which has a 175 HP rating. I have a 115 hp Optimax on it now and thinking about upgrading to a 150 4-stroke.

I am in a 17' - My boat is a Starcraft Bass V170. It an Aluminum V Hull. Looks very similar to a fiberglass boat of the same length - but its lighter.

I am in no hurry to find a motor but you know how it goes - when you arent really looking is when you find those deals that are too good to pass up.

Mine is 18' and overpowered by 65 more ponies than is recommended and I love it. It's fast gets out of the hole easy the only thing negative is feeding it. But other than that I wouldn't have it any other way! But I would be nervous about going too far with a tin boat...

I would not exceed the manufacturers HP limits for one reason:

I'm going to play devil's advocate here , in a worst case scenario.

Suppose you "knowingly" make this change and then a tragedy happens on the water and someone is killed and someone else sues. Suppose also that the people involved are longtime relationships. Is this something you are willing to take a risk with? Accidents do happen.

How many fish ya caught while runnin that 70 wide open it wont change with a 150.

You aren't really overpowering it a lot. I would do it and really not think a thing about it. The difference between the boat with a 120 and a 150 will be noticeable, but I cannot imagine that you are getting into an area of unsafe overpowering. Just remember, just because you have 150hp, you don't have to run it wide open all the time.

I think you may run ito structure and stress issues. Aluminum can be not so forgiving at times.

Have an accident with an overated motor and watch your insurance company not pay the claim!!

How wide is your boat reason I ask is my 19 ft 8ft wide Alum. deckboat is just rated fir a 120. 120 on a 17 ft tinboat just sounds like a lot to me

I have no intention to overpower my boat. The only reason I asked is because it is entirely possible that I find a great deal on a motor that is overpowered for my boats max HP rating.

Opus my boat is at least 6' wide but I would have to put a tape on it to tell you exactly how wide it is.

Nor with a 25. The idea is going somewhere. Fishing is for when you stop going.

The bigger the motor and you spend less time stopped.




I have a 150 on my boat. Its an exception in that it does ok but the average for my boat is a 225 or so. That would make it a 90 plus mph boat so with a 70 mph boat I'm ok.
For you I'd try to get a 115 Merc. That would keep the weight down and make it easier to insure.

According to the above: Are you of the opinion that overpowering your boat and overpowering the boats max HP rating are two different things?

Yes I am as I dont know any different. I assumed that the max HP rating for the boat was the bench mark. Is there a differenc in over powering a boat vs. overe powering the max rated HP?