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Merc 4 stroke 60HP POOR PERFORMANCE

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dtylersr

New member
Any help would be appreciated!
I recently purchased a 2012 Merc EFI 4 stroke 60HP on a Smokercraft 161 aluminum. This motor starts and runs perfectly, but with more than 1 person in the boat it struggles to get past 4000 rpm's and will not plane out. With a light load it will top out at 5800 rpm's and run beautifully. This unit had about 12 hours on it when I purchased it. I have changed the engine oil, fuel filter, added new premium fuel, Sea Foam, marine Sta-Bil, and new plugs ( NGK's gapped @ .035"). I was told that the unit had Sta-Bil in the fuel tank while in storage, and the prop didn't even have any scratches on it. It seems that this engine should perform much better than what I am experiencing. Unless I learn more, my next step will be to clean the filter screen in the VST.
 
i am running the same motor on a 16 foot 7 inch 100 gauge fully equipped aluminum bass boat...with one person it will top out good at 5800..touch 6000 under right conditions...with 2 people it will do 5800 but a tad slower getting there..the difference is not even noticeable to a passenger...there is no increase in torque or speed between 5500 and 6000 with either a light or heavy load..i blame that on the nature of the beast on a 4 cycle on this boat...

sounds like the wrong prop on yours to me...
 
Thanks Papyson, I'll do some checking to verify which prop I should be using. The boat came with another prop. I was told it is a high performance prop, but I haven't tried that. Thanks again!
 
So, I checked my props. I'm running an aluminum 10 3/8 x 13 now. the other prop I have is also aluminum 10 7/8 x 11. Both are 3 blades. According to my research, I'm running the correct prop. I would expect better low end performance from the 11 pitch but also lower speed.
I also have another observation,....the fuel primer bulb does not stay "firm" after priming, should it?

Any thoughts??
 
Sounds like you need even less pitch--some boats are like that despite what pitch they are supposed to run (and you might have more 'stuff' on board than you realize).

Less pitch will make you and the motor much happier!

Jeff
 
the bulb will not stay firm after you are u[ and running gas through it...but it should not suck in either...

on your props...i cant understand why you ended up with aluminum props on that motor...unless the person you bought it from wanted to keep the stainless and swapped props on you...noone i know buys an engine that expensive and dont spend the xtra 2-300 for a good prop...

the numbers stamped on my prop are mgf3r13pm135...manufactured by pitprop or thats what is stamped on it...

920 929 5040 is the number for mercury consumer service if you wish to call them...they will point you in the right direction...

it looks to me as if you need a bigger prop...
 
Thanks to all!! I put the other prop on and "Wallaaaa" it performed beautifully. I was alone but what a difference. The boat went on plane almost instantly and ran strong. It can only get better from here, so THANK YOU ALL!!��
 
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