'88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

[On a boat]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

I must admit that this is my first boat that I've had to worry about, the others were small boats with <10hp motors with no issues like this. Put them in the water and go. Obviously a mistake was made. I'm expecting my new steering cable next week so I'll have the chance to do a real test then. In the mean time I'll finish polishing up the electrical that's been cut so that I can have a working dash.

 

[riptorn]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

Ok. How does it sit in the water? How are the floors? Where do you store it in the winter? Does your trim work? Have you had the boat checked over.
It should go at least 35mph
I have a 85hp force and it seems to be sluggesh but she has the power to pull up a skier but no speed.
About 28-29mph. Don't know too much about Force motors but I do know not to advance the timing too much.

 

[bman1bpm]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

Never run it that fast out of the water. Since there is no load on the prop, it'll make the motor spin reallllllllllllllllllllllly fast. They call it a fly away motor haha. This is a good way to make it go boom! I don't even put mine in gear out of the water. Pull out your neutral warm up and just run it that way in fast idle if you're starting it up at home. Any luck with the fuel system work?

 

[On a boat]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

Yeah, now I know. Don't run it on muffs except for neutral.

My steering cable is due tomorrow or Wednesday, should be doing a test run Thursday to see how things are going after my recent fixes. I can say it definitely sounds better. I found some new problems with the fuel system that's going to end up with me completely removing the gas thank in the hull, I suspect. Apparently one genius owner thought it a good idea to separate the primary fuel line (from the outside of the boat to the tank) in the battery area so that they could run a small fuel line to the fuel water separator and thus to the motor. However, the fuel line is much smaller than the hose going to the tank, so there's a big opening for water and other stuff to get to the tank. I will pull that out next week and see how bad it is, but I don't want to simply replace fuel lines until I see how bad that is.

I guess the good thing out of all of this is that my next boat will be much easier to deal with since this is my learning boat. lol

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

Careful! If it is a built-in tank, it will have a 5/8 inside diameter VENT hose that SHOULD attach to a thru-hull fitting. This is not a feed line to the engine or a fill hose and this also MUST have the 5/8 hose to prevent fuel vapors from getting inside the hull.

 

[On a boat]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

I'm positive that what I state it as being is what it is. The hose going from the gas cover on the side of the boat is completely separated and a fuel line is inside that hose at the break and going to the fuel water separator. I'll get some pictures if I find that I'm in doubt of how best to proceed, but it seems straight forward enough right now, I just need the time to do it.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

So, how do you fill the tank?

That 2 inch fill hose is marine grade, explosion proof and costs gold. If what you have is reusable then save some money. Otherwise spend the bucks for the grounded hose.

It sounds like you will need to replace the fuel lines and check the pick-up inside the tank. I would bet the P.O. had a fuel problem and temporarily routed the pick-up through the fill opening. And, temporarily has a way of becoming permanent.

 

[On a boat]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

In the center of the floor there is another hole to access the tank directly. I remove the gas cap there and fill it up.

 

[bman1bpm]

Re: '88 Force 125hp - How fast should I be able to go?

And, temporarily has a way of becoming permanent.

Oh so often this is true