IS 165HP ENOUGh???

Question

I have a 19ft 1987 wellcraft 192 classic. I just bought it from a friend and i have never been on it in water. It has a 165hp mercrusier inboard/outboard. I have a family of 6 will 165hp get us on the lake. my use of the boat would be tubing, wakebaording, crusing, and even fishing. mainly on a lake. Is 165hp strong enough for my activities. Is it fast?

Answer 1

As long as you don't try to overload it with passengers and gear, it should do what you want, no problem.

The 4 key things that affect how well a boat will perform in general are:

Gross weight of boat, including fuel and gear

Number of passengers and the weight of the passengers as a whole.  If you have 2 adults and 4 kids, that is not the same as 6 adults over 170 lbs.

Horsepower of engine and engine condition

Water conditions (smooth, choppy, open ocean)

I own a 16ft bowrider with a 140 HP 4 cylinder Mercrusier, and it does everything I need it to for 4 people.  Skiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding.  (I hate tubes, seems like you have to buy a replacement every 2 years.)

If you had your boat properly inspected and the engine checked out by a reliable Mercury service shop, you should have little worries about taking your boat out for a spin.  However, if you have not had it checked out by a certified Merc service shop, it would be a good idea to get this done 3 weeks ahead of time before you take it out on the lake.  There's nothing worse than getting stuck in the middle of the water by not having a checkup on a used boat bought recently.

Also, if this is your first time owning an inboard/outboard boat, spend a lot of time asking a lot of questions to the Merc techs when you go to pick up your boat after getting a checkup.  Find out what maintenance you can perform yourself, and what is best left to a Merc service shop.

Never run any marine engine without water flowing into its cooling system for any reason.

Finally, 4 things absolutely must be done each year when you use your inboard/outboard.  

#1.  Winterization must be done BEFORE getting close to 32 degrees Farhenheit either by a professional Merc shop or you will need a buy a service manual to do it yourself.  If this gets done wrong, its a $5,000 to $9,000 repair/replacement bill depending on the model and year of the engine.

#2.  Oil change.  On some boats, you can get a portable oil container inside the bilge and reach the drain plug.  Others might require using an oil pump to get the oil out of the dipstick since the bilge is hard to access.  When the oil starts to get very dark brown to blackish, its time to change.

#3.  At end of season, lower unit oil needs to be drained and inspected for water, and large or excessive metal shavings contained in the lower unit oil.  Then filled PROPERLY with lower unit oil if no water or large metal shavings found.

#4.  Dewinterization must be done to get the boat ready for operation in boating season.  The petcocks and exhaust manifold drain plugs must be installed, and check all critical areas before starting.  When it is started, sometimes the carb needs adjustment or other things may need resolved.

Answer 2

cruising and fishing is no prob but if you want some speed with alot of people and some power to get tubers and wakeboarders up you should aim upwards around 200hp or more.

Answer 3

Get out there and run her, and make your decision from there.

Tubing: yes.

Wakeboard: yes.

Fishing and cruising: yes.

Now the question will come if you have skiers, have you got enough to get them out of the hole without drowning them, and do they stop the boat every time they cut.

The good news: in my humble opinion that straight six is the most reliable engine MerCruiser ever built.

Have fun and best of luck.

Answer 4

In my opinion your boat seems a little underpowered.  I had a 1986 16 foot bluewater open bow with a Mercruiser 140 HP I/O that was fine for cruising with 4-5 people but a little underpowered when I tried to get wakeboarders up (might want less people in boat when you do).  I could get them up but it took a little dragging which can tire you out.  Tubing is a lot less drag, should be fine.  Cruising, fishing no problem.