Like a kid waitin on Christmas
 

Well boys, true to my word, my Tohatsu will be here next week and they start building my AlWeld this week.
I decided to go with a 1552 after looking at a 1556, THE 56" bottom looks like a floating deckboat, it is huge. I have driven an Edge for the past 2 years, they have the straight sides, makes them look smaller than they actually are. The AlWeld with the flared sides looks huge compared to the Edge. The Edge is a great boat, but, I want something I can drive without having to be on the edge of my seat the whole time. Driving an Edge with 64hp on the back is not for the weak of mind, slow of hand, or beginners, I am quickly reverting back to all 3:eek:
Also decided to bite the bullet and get a torsion axle trailer from Gerald and Kyle. Had a torsion axle trailer years ago under a bay boat, loved it.
A big THANK YOU to Gerald, Kyle, Tohatsu, and AlWeld. I expect this to be the last rig I own:D
Can't wait to get it together and start testing in Lacassine, I'm having withdrawls already.
It is seldom that I test a rig I am so inclined to buy. When the Edge first came out, they were rockets, I knew I had to have one. The original design is still the fastest aluminum boat built. PERIOD! Not necessarily the most comfortable, but the fastest. I'm beginning to lean more towards comfort nowadays.
Time for a bit of comfort, hello AlWeld, time for some ease of operation, hello Tohatsu, old friend. Tohatsu was wonderful to me when I raced for them, best motor sponsors in the world, they have not changed personalities.
Thanks to Gerald and Kyle for making it all happen.
Danny

how long do you have to wait for yours to come in?

I can't wait to see the pictures of it once it's rigged out.

I made the switch to alweld couple months ago. I got the 18' performance tunnel. Love the room.

Not sure. The motor will be here next week. The boat????? The boat depends on what is in production before mine comes up.
D

Are you going to put the 50 ecu on the motor?

Don't need to:D
D

1748 War Eagle with new Tohatsu
 

Well, I just finished setting up a 1748 War Eagle with one of the new Tohatsu's. What a challenge. War Eagle is Arkansas boat talk for "SLOW BOAT". Guy has gun boxes, 3 batteries, enough junk to overhaul the space shuttle in the boat. I would be afraid to weigh it. Got it to run right at 40 with only me in the boat hitting on the rev limiter, actually 39.7, that's close enough to 40 for me. Added another 200+ pounder to the boat and it lost 1 mph and stayed off the limiter. Hole shot will throw you out the back of the boat. The owner uses it to guide in Arkansas, so he usually carries 3 other guys with him, he needed it propped to twist up loaded. The owner is happy, so I'm happy. That little motor has some guts to it.
I HATE BOATS LONGER THAN 15', THEY MAKE WORK VERY HARD!
Danny

D, do you know if the tldi engines have a wasted spark?

I do not know, sorry.
D

You setting up a TinyTach?

Thinking bout it

Set to 120.

Thanks

Anytime!

Danny, when you taking me fishing? ;)

I'm boatless for the first time in nearly 40 years:confused:
D

I have used tiny tachs for over 20 years now. I very seldom find one that is very far off. On my race motor back in the 90's, the tiny tack was within 10rpm of my analog tach, close enough for me. They have changed a bit since the 90's, but I still think they are fairly close. I can tell you that they will go bad. I have seen 2 of them cause an engine to drop a cylinder. Motor would run on 2 and intermittently kick in the third cylinder. It was the tiny tach shorting out inside the tach. 2 in 20 years is a pretty good average. That is one of the first thing I tell guys when they call and say their motor is missing, unhook the tiny tach and try it. But for the money and ease of installation, well worth it.
Danny

Thanks Danny!

Isn't the rev limiter on a motor typically higher than the "maximum recommended rpm" according to the factory? Is it safe to run a motor at those elevated RPM's, bumping the rev limiter, for an extended period of time?

I can't speak for all motors. The tohatsu I raced was a stock motor with a rev limiter set at 5800 rpm, we could tack weld the crankshafts to keep them from spinning out of time. Recommended rpm for that motor was 5600, I spun mine up to 7400 rpm for extended periods of time. I ran the Parker Marathon. It is 40 laps of a 4.1 mile course with 1 mandatory 10 minute pit stop. That is 164 miles with one stop at 7400 rpm. The motor would drop down to abut 6500 in the turns then right back to 7400 for the 2 mile straightaway. Ran that motor an entire season with zero failures. On a short course, I would turn up to 7600 by the end of the straights. Most of our races were 1 hour testing on Saturday, 10 lap qualifying heat on Saturday, testing for 1 hour Sunday morning, 30 or 40 laps of a 1 3/8 mile course.
The Merc I just sold was a beast. The original powerhead ran for 10 years. The data showed that I hit the 6250 rev limiter over 400 times. That motor was turning 6200 everywhere I went. After 10 years and 2400 hours, it burned a valve.
The little 2 cylinder OMC 40/50 motors ran a class called sst45. That motor as a fishing motor was recommended to turn 5600, as an sst45, they turned 7200 rpm. They ran the Parker Marathon right alongside me.
I look at the recommended rpm as just that, a recommendation, not a rule.
I have yet to find an outboard that made peak power and torque at the factory recommended rpm. Sure, it might make 50hp at 5600, then it might make 60+hp at 7200.
D

I have an Optimax 225. Recommended max RPM is 5750. I'm trying a new prop and can turn it 6,000-6,200 RPM. From what I can tell, I'm still not hitting the rev limiter. I was curious if I was hurting the motor turning it up like that. The motor is 10 years old.

No response?

QUOTE:
I can't speak for all motors. The tohatsu I raced was a stock motor with a rev limiter set at 5800 rpm, we could tack weld the crankshafts to keep them from spinning out of time. Recommended rpm for that motor was 5600, I spun mine up to 7400 rpm for extended periods of time. I ran the Parker Marathon. It is 40 laps of a 4.1 mile course with 1 mandatory 10 minute pit stop. That is 164 miles with one stop at 7400 rpm. The motor would drop down to abut 6500 in the turns then right back to 7400 for the 2 mile straightaway. Ran that motor an entire season with zero failures. On a short course, I would turn up to 7600 by the end of the straights. Most of our races were 1 hour testing on Saturday, 10 lap qualifying heat on Saturday, testing for 1 hour Sunday morning, 30 or 40 laps of a 1 3/8 mile course.
The Merc I just sold was a beast. The original powerhead ran for 10 years. The data showed that I hit the 6250 rev limiter over 400 times. That motor was turning 6200 everywhere I went. After 10 years and 2400 hours, it burned a valve.
The little 2 cylinder OMC 40/50 motors ran a class called sst45. That motor as a fishing motor was recommended to turn 5600, as an sst45, they turned 7200 rpm. They ran the Parker Marathon right alongside me.
I look at the recommended rpm as just that, a recommendation, not a rule.
I have yet to find an outboard that made peak power and torque at the factory recommended rpm. Sure, it might make 50hp at 5600, then it might make 60+hp at 7200.

Haha. I gotcha. I guess I was trying to get you to say it was ok lol. Is it possible that I'm turning up those kind of numbers without hitting the rev limiter or could my tach be wrong?

The tach could be off a bit, you'll know when you hit the rev limiter.

I had a 19' ProCraft, back when they were pad bottom bay boats, very fast hulls. I had a 200hp EFI Mariner/Mercury on it. The recommended rpm range was 5400-5600 rpm. I propped that motor to turn 6200 loaded, ran it for years until I sold it. Only problem I ever had was when it was 11 months old, the engine grenade, not a small problem:rotfl:. It stripped the nylon drive gear for the oil pump and all lubrication stopped. I was crossing Big Lake at 6200 rpm when a rod came through the side of the block. It was replaced under warranty and the complete oil system was removed. That failure had zero to do with rpm, the failure was caused by a lubrication part failure.
That old 2.0L V6 Mercury block is raced as an SST120. I built engines for a guy from Florida. His motors would turn 7200 rpm forever without fail. With good lubrication, proper jetting, sufficient cooling, they will run forever. And by good lubrication, we ran synthetic oils in the race motors simply because of the heat and rpm issue. The SST120 class is carbbed, so we played with jetting and timing, your EFI motor adjusts the air/fuel ratio and the ignition timing automatically. So you only have to worry about cooling and lubrication. That is why I would install a water pressure gauge and HAND mix the oil. I do not trust ANY oil injection systems.
D

Thanks. Great info. I do have a water pressure gauge. What kind of psi should I be pumping? Are those gauges pretty accurate/consistant?

Even if the gauge is wrong, as long as it is consistent, it gives you something to base the pressure on. I use a 0-30 pound air pressure gauge.
If I remember correctly, my 200 would pump right at 27 pounds at 6200 rpm. If your gauge shows 25 pounds, just watch for any drop in pressure. If you go along for months reading 25 pounds then it suddenly drops 2-3 pounds, time for a look. Could be a worn impeller, could be a scratched housing. On you boat, I would not run for long if it drops to 10 pounds or less. I would rather be safe than buying a new block.
D