Page 2 of 2

Re: Power up advise

Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 4:33 am
by Brad750
Well I am going to swap them. My boat is 24' so it is over the 20'. I checked with the insurance again and they even sent an email stating I would be covered. I checked with a Conservation Officer who confirmed that Indiana (where I live) does not regulate what HP the boat should have. So I believe I am good to go. Since weather is already getting warm enough to boat I will put this off for a winter project. I am pulling the motor off of the bass boat this weekend to store in the garage.

Now that I think about the hype over the maximum HP rating on the plate....... Why do automobiles not have such a thing? I have personally seen a street legal Ford Pinto with a blown 383 stroker in it and a Ford 9" rear diff with huge tubbed tires in the back. If that guy hits someone can they sue just because he had too big of a motor? (rhetorical question) So why are we regulated so badly? I understand posting the structural ability of the transom but why not just post maximum weight?

Re: Power up advise

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 8:05 am
by JLester273
[quote="Brad750"]
Now that I think about the hype over the maximum HP rating on the plate....... Why do automobiles not have such a thing? I have personally seen a street legal Ford Pinto with a blown 383 stroker in it and a Ford 9" rear diff with huge tubbed tires in the back. If that guy hits someone can they sue just because he had too big of a motor? (rhetorical question) So why are we regulated so badly? I understand posting the structural ability of the transom but why not just post maximum weight?[/quote]

Personal belief on this is to much government. Think about our "Freedoms" we have today. We pay (taxes) only to pay for them to pass and enforce regulation after regulation.

Personally I don't care if you put a 4000 hp motor on your boat. What does it harm me. Or pretty much anyone else..... But you could hurt yourself... And with all the sue happy people in this country it gets worse everyday. Yes I know there is a small percentage of a chance that an overpowered boat could hurt someone else. But personally if someone is flying along on the lake...I give them a wide birth. I go on the side of safety over ego or pride that I should be able to go a certain way etc.

If people used some common sense (not so common anymore) then the world would be a better place to live. Instead we pass regulations to restrict only the people who choose to follow them.


I'm sure I should really delete the above text...but you got me going.... :lol3

Re: Power up advise

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 8:24 am
by Brad750
[quote="JLester273"]
I'm sure I should really delete the above text...but you got me going.... :lol3[/quote]

No worries man. I dont offend easily. Besides I agree with everything you said. I just made the statement regarding automobiles to spark conversation / thought anyway.

I think aside from the transom being able to hold the weight, the outboard regulation like this. Is 10Hp over max really an issue. Probably not. But the regulation isnt for that reason. Its to keep the guy that has a 150hp laying around and a 12ft john boat and decides to put them together and almost drown then try to sue the manufacturer for not telling him it couldnt be done. Stricktly my opinion of course.

Re: Power up advise

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 10:39 am
by JLester273
Yeah your probably right about the regulation. To many lawyers not enough common sense.

Anyway, I didn't mean to get off topic. Kinda....LOL

My boat is technically overpowered too. (Same Percentage over too) I have an 88 Flote-Bote that according to the original ad Harris sent me was rated to 70. I bought it with a 75 on it. I have not found a tag so this thread seems to explain why or that I don't need to worry about it. It has either been removed or never had one. I can't even find a place where it was really. I had no clue until I got the scan from harris last week so I doubt anyone else could find the spec either. I was more worried about weight and number of people I can have on board than the motor size.

BTW my boat did 17-18 mph with my family (7 people) on board. Pretty happy with that. Someday I'll redo the seats etc and probably lose some extra weight from the heavy wood bases etc. I'm loving how simple this thing is to work on for sure.