Sigh.
I'm having video editing software issues. So for now, I'll just summarize.
My neighbor buddy went with me to my favorite 450 acre lake early this afternoon, where we got the splash done. He captured some video from his own boat, as well as recording some inside my boat while under way.
The 1992 Merc XR6 150HP outboard performed perfectly (after my friend fixed the range of motion of the throttle controller that
somebody caused.
)
Top speed recorded was 50mph with just me in the boat, but I was quickly running out of lake, so had to slow down. I also need to get used to the tilt/trim on this engine. I believe that I could have increased tilt and subsequent speed even more. With my buddy in the boat, top speed recorded was 49mph.
The engine is absolutely
eager to go. It's free-breathing nature is readily apparent once the throttle is moved.
The boat itself is very stable, handling high speed and turns with aplomb. Walking back and forth across the boat while at rest or slow speed leads to negligible listing. Even with my buddy standing right next to me at the side, the boat didn't seem to lean over very much at all. Nice.
I had absolutely no gauges working. Not good.
Overall - it's clear that this is a project boat and that it needs a lot of work to be a full fledged fishing machine. And I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it to that point.
