new to boating

[jelli]

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hello i just bought my first boat and i have a few questions
1.1987 suzuki dt20 fuel mix sticker says 100-1 is this correct i have read that 50-1 might be better?
2.1975 chrysler 15 foot tri hull is this boat & motor combo any good or should i get a alluminum jon boat?
3. the tri hull is gutted with just a wood floor and 2 seats i am just useing it to fish on a big lake it should get on plane or just chug along?
4.is this motor reliable?
it seems to run fine after i changed the fouled plugs and lower unit oi lbut i know nothing about boats and verry little about outboards watter pees strong as far as i can tell comes out verry verry warm i am going to put it in lake tomarrow.

thanks for any help and opinions

 

[5150abf]

Re: new to boating

If the sticker says 100:1 that is what you mix it at, most older OMCs use 50:1 btu you don't have one of those and I don't see any advantage to doubling your oil mix.

A jon would be a little lighter and probably go faster but you will get tossed around more and it won't ride as nice.

Maybe get it to plane, 20 horse isn't lot so you can't expect too much from it.

Properly maintaned the Suzuki is a very good motor there just aren't alot of them around.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: new to boating

If you're going to use 100:1 on that outboard, just make sure you never make a mistake and add less oil than required. At that low Fuel:Oil ratio, there's no room for error.

100:1 was changed for Evinrudes and Johnsons for a number of reasons, among them being that the ratio was so critical. If I had your outboard, I'd mix at 75:1, just for safety's sake, or even 50:1. The outboard doesn't really care what ratio you use. It will run the same.

Keep in mind that your outboard is over 20 years old, too.

As for planing your Chrysler trihull, it's a marginal case. The boat is probably rated for either 50 or 75 hp. That means that you're way under half the power the boat was designed for.

If you're thinking about replacing the boat, consider a 14' aluminum v-hull. It won't be as wide as your trihull, but your 20 hp will plane it just fine.