Speed loss and slight reduction in RPMs

[C_M_25]

Man, I've been active lately. I think this is pretty straightforward, honestly. Slipped my boat over a month ago, and I have a decent amount of growth on the toons now. The toons are not completely covered with gunk, but it is noticeable.

I've since noticed a reduction in speed. I used to get 23-26 mph by myself with my fishing gear, and it would drop to 21-23 mph with my wife and son on board. Motor rpms typically top out at 5300 rpms. Since I noticed the junk on the toons, my speed is down to 19 mph with the family, and I can maybe get 21 mph by myself. It just feels like the toon is dragging something. The max rpms are down to about 5050-5100. Seems like a logical solution that crud on the toons is the cause, but would you expect a reduction in motor rpms too? I don't suspect water in the toons as it doesn't really sit any lower in the water.

[BoatCop]

Yes. Marine growth on the bottom will give you lower speed, lower RPMs and greater fuel consumption.

[NonHyphenAmerican]

I put my toon in the slip in late March/early April.

By November when I pull it, it has a lot of growth and scum and goes 3-5 mph slower than the start of the year.

Starts over again the next spring.

Might buy a lift that is coming up for sale.

[Kramfam]

Get yourself some plastic pot scrubbers from Amazon and every 2-3 weeks hit a sandbar and scrap the growth off. Takes 5 minutes a side. I then use a grey 3M scotch pad on the rest of the toon. This is some of the best advice that was given to me on this site.

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-SCRAPERPK- ... ot+scraper

[C_M_25]

Thanks for the tip! Just got my lift installed the other day, so hopefully I don't have to deal with this anymore after I get them cleaned off. Sure would like to get more performance out of this thing. 5300 rpms seems low...