Hi all,
thank you for all the information provided through this forum. I've been reading lots and lots of threads, and gained (hopefully) sufficent information in the pontoon-area to make the most out of our "new" 2006 PB w Merc 50 4-stroke bigfoot engine.
As you may be aware of, the pontooning-enviroment in Europe and especially in the north of Europe is very limited. I guess you could say that in the whole of Norway there are a maximum of 20ish boats around... We normally will go for more sheltered deck-boats as the weather may vary from hour to hour and the distance to travel is not limited by lakes...
Our pontoon sits just near our house as we live by the sea, and this is a saltwater environment. I've read lots of therads on different forums regarding claening the pontoon immediately if ever been used in saltwater, but hopefully it will survive here...
Having towed the boat halfway through Norway to get home, (using a Volvo V70 Diesel for towing...), I did get a lot of attention on the road. In my rear mirrows it didn't look that big as I looked though the boat and hence was able to see the traffic behind me, but approaching other cars I honestly can say I saw a lot of big eyes...
Anyway, got home safe and sound, and we've been spending several hours on it during the past weeks.
And therefor some initail questions to you guys:
Propeller. I'm pretty sure the propeller is too small. It is a 14 x 9, and I suppose it should be 14 x 11 or maybe 14 x 13. The WOT speed is GPS just above 17 mph, but the rpm is close to 6200 (which I know is too high). Furthermore, as the merc 50 EFI is identical to the 60 horsepower EFI it is possible to reprogramme the ECU and make my engine put out another 10 hp (which is never wrong!)
This job will set me back about 500 USD, and before you argue that the price is high, I'll put down a few word about cost for boats/engines over here...
A new PB22 with 60 hp Merc cost close to 60.000 USD. A 32 Party Cruiser with 90 HP will take out 75000 USD from your pocket... But then again the prices will not drop significantly when you sell - expect approximate 10% a year the first two, and then stabilize. On the positive side, our sale of goods-act gives you a full 2 years warranty and furthermore you can raise a claim against the dealer for malfunction in a 5 years period from the first salesdate. So, back to the 500 USD for an additional increase in hp - its fairly cheap in this respect!
After my summerholiday I will check the new WOT rpm with now an engine putting out 60 hp, and decide which prop I should buy. Unfortunately, we can not try the prop first - I'll have to buy it and if it is incorrect - buy anotherone...
We travel most of the time with 3-5 people, mixture between adults and kids, so the load is not really that heavy. As of today, I still get above 6000 rpm at WOT with 12 people aboard.
One ting I've noticed is that the engine almost get flooded with waterspray at high speed. I know it has to be mounted fairly low to get the full grip, but is it normal to "plough" so much water?
I'd be delighted if enyone with a similar set-up as mine (with a 60 hp) can give some recommandation of propeller size and expected speed and also some information of the waterspray.
If anyone is interested, I may publish in some photos of the boat and its surroundings (if I can figure out how to)
Regards
Stig
thank you for all the information provided through this forum. I've been reading lots and lots of threads, and gained (hopefully) sufficent information in the pontoon-area to make the most out of our "new" 2006 PB w Merc 50 4-stroke bigfoot engine.
As you may be aware of, the pontooning-enviroment in Europe and especially in the north of Europe is very limited. I guess you could say that in the whole of Norway there are a maximum of 20ish boats around... We normally will go for more sheltered deck-boats as the weather may vary from hour to hour and the distance to travel is not limited by lakes...
Our pontoon sits just near our house as we live by the sea, and this is a saltwater environment. I've read lots of therads on different forums regarding claening the pontoon immediately if ever been used in saltwater, but hopefully it will survive here...
Having towed the boat halfway through Norway to get home, (using a Volvo V70 Diesel for towing...), I did get a lot of attention on the road. In my rear mirrows it didn't look that big as I looked though the boat and hence was able to see the traffic behind me, but approaching other cars I honestly can say I saw a lot of big eyes...Anyway, got home safe and sound, and we've been spending several hours on it during the past weeks.
And therefor some initail questions to you guys:
Propeller. I'm pretty sure the propeller is too small. It is a 14 x 9, and I suppose it should be 14 x 11 or maybe 14 x 13. The WOT speed is GPS just above 17 mph, but the rpm is close to 6200 (which I know is too high). Furthermore, as the merc 50 EFI is identical to the 60 horsepower EFI it is possible to reprogramme the ECU and make my engine put out another 10 hp (which is never wrong!)
This job will set me back about 500 USD, and before you argue that the price is high, I'll put down a few word about cost for boats/engines over here...
A new PB22 with 60 hp Merc cost close to 60.000 USD. A 32 Party Cruiser with 90 HP will take out 75000 USD from your pocket... But then again the prices will not drop significantly when you sell - expect approximate 10% a year the first two, and then stabilize. On the positive side, our sale of goods-act gives you a full 2 years warranty and furthermore you can raise a claim against the dealer for malfunction in a 5 years period from the first salesdate. So, back to the 500 USD for an additional increase in hp - its fairly cheap in this respect!
After my summerholiday I will check the new WOT rpm with now an engine putting out 60 hp, and decide which prop I should buy. Unfortunately, we can not try the prop first - I'll have to buy it and if it is incorrect - buy anotherone...
We travel most of the time with 3-5 people, mixture between adults and kids, so the load is not really that heavy. As of today, I still get above 6000 rpm at WOT with 12 people aboard.
One ting I've noticed is that the engine almost get flooded with waterspray at high speed. I know it has to be mounted fairly low to get the full grip, but is it normal to "plough" so much water?
I'd be delighted if enyone with a similar set-up as mine (with a 60 hp) can give some recommandation of propeller size and expected speed and also some information of the waterspray.
If anyone is interested, I may publish in some photos of the boat and its surroundings (if I can figure out how to)
Regards
Stig
