Logo
FULL SITE MENU

I need an HONEST opinion!

9

99ULLET

New member
Hey guys! I'm new here, and i already love it! I'm 19 years old and I've saved up about $10,000 from working so i can buy my own fiberglass bass boat. I found a 2001 Javelin 17' Venom w/ a 2001 Johnson 90 h.p. for $7,000 in excellent condition. Everything I've read about this motor says it's a V4, and on that 17' bass boat, I'm wondering if that is alittle underpowered. I don't want to spend the money on a pile of junk that's going to give me problems and i don't want to be passed by a kayak either. This boat is so clean i hate to pass it up, but is this boat with that motor worth it?
 
19 years old and saved 10 grand! Excellent. Do you have a good union manufacturing job out if high school or have you scrimped and saved for years to get that money? If its the later, maybe you would be better served by finding a way to go to college so a few years from now you will have better access to a higher paying job and then get exactly what you want. Seriously, congrats for saving that kind of change. You are netter off @ 19 than many 30 year olds.
 
Thank you! I work at a local grocery store 40 hrs/week and I'm currently in college going for my nursing degree. I absolutely love fishing and i plan to do it untill i physically can't. I've owned a 1969 Kingfisher with a 25hp Evinrude for about 3 years now, but i have been splitting my paychecks so i can afford something bigger so i can fish on the larger lakes in East Texas. But thanks again!
 
Awesome! Im not familar with the rig you are describing though so i cant answer your question. Good luck with your career and fishing!
 
The motor is 10 + years old, it could be in A-one condition or it could have been neglected / mis-used.--------Spend some money and have a dealer check it out.---------Compression test / oil injection system test / perhaps run it on a dynamometer.---------------Age means very little and condition means everything !!!
 
Dry weight on the boat is 1350 lbs so a 90 horse sounds "fair" given it's max listed horsepower is 115.

A boat will usually perform up to the claims of the mfg if it is fitted with a motor that is 80% of it's max rating. So 115 x .8 = 92 horses (so a 90 is a "proper fit")

Properly tuned I would expect it to push the rig in the high 30's and maybe 40'ish mph if it was loaded relatively light - plenty fast enough to stay ahead of a kayak, even if it's a double with two strong paddlers :)
 
Im not familar with that boat but if Graham's weight is correct 40's seems optimistic. That weighs the same as my 18 boston whaler outrage and u have a johnson 150 and it goes 43. In my whaler that is without engine. Add 400 lbs for engine.
 
Increases in horsepower does not give you the speed increases you might think.

A general rule of hydrodynamics for a planing hull boat is:

To achive a 15% increase in top speed you must increase your horsepower by 50% (that's not my math and doesn't factor the possible extra weight from the higher horse motor, but in general, the rule is "true").

So if you are getting 43 mph with a 150 you would get about 38 mph with a 100 horse (maybe 36-37'ish with a 90 horse).

In the case of (his) boat, the waterline will be shorter than yours by 8 to 12 inches, which will reduce the friction a bit (if comparing the two hulls) which would make his a touch easier to push (gain maybe an extra 1/2 mph).

So yes, while 40 is optimistic, I would expect that boat/motor combo, with a couple passengers and half a tank of fuel to "easily" get in the mid/high 30's (36 would be my guess). And with a single passenger, flat water, and near empty gas tank (with no "extra" gear on board), I still think he could crack the 40 mph mark - maybe not by much, but think it's possible...
 
99ULLET said:
Thank you! I work at a local grocery store 40 hrs/week and I'm currently in college going for my nursing degree. I absolutely love fishing and i plan to do it untill i physically can't. I've owned a 1969 Kingfisher with a 25hp Evinrude for about 3 years now, but i have been splitting my paychecks so i can afford something bigger so i can fish on the larger lakes in East Texas. But thanks again!
Click to expand...

That's honestly extremely impressive... You must really want to get yourself a nice boat... Maybe waiting will pay off in the end.
 
Back
Top