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Volvo AQ 125 coupled to a 290 leg

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basilforty

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"Hi,my father and I are very n

"Hi,my father and I are very new to boat owning and have bought a 24 foot wilson flyer dory for fishing etc,however we have been told that the combination we have is not original as a 125a would not be coupled to a 290 leg.The leg ratio is 2.15 and the prop is 14x18.Is there anything we can do to improve top speed as we are stuck at around 12 knots max and the engine is now running well?"
 
"You can experiment with diffe

"You can experiment with different props to see if you get better results, but in any case you are limited by the engine HP (around 115).

What RPM is the engine doing at WOT?"
 
"The prop seems to be the righ

"The prop seems to be the right pitch and diameter. You could try props with different geometry, and even cupping the prop may make you gain some speed. However, any potential improvement you get will be less than dramatic (read "negligible").

Installing an AQ151 engine will give you about 30 more HP."
 
If it's a true "dory&#

If it's a true "dory" style hull the ride at higher speeds in anything but a dead calm will be less than comfortable. I spent many years fishing in dory style hulls when I was very much younger. The common view about them was... "Take it easy and they will always get you home".
 
"Further my initial post...&#4

"Further my initial post...(It got dropped when I hit the wrong button) The Yacht club I belong to had in service a 23 ft Hankins "Bay Head" skiff as a patrol/support boat for sailboat races here on Barnegat Bay from circa the early 70s until just two years ago. I believe that this is a simular hull to yours albeit it was lapstrake/wood construction. Origonally, the boat came with a 100 something inboard, and over the years it was re-engined, twice. The last engine was a 350 CID 240 HP inboard. While this engine would push the boat at speeds over 30mph, in actual use the boat would rarely get much over 15 to 20 mph. Reason... the ride got very harsh and wet. The body of water that the boat lived on would often get a 3 to 4 ft steep chop with breaking tops in the afternoon. When this happened, the boat's occupants were most happy (and dry) at speeds under 15. The boat got retired two years ago when the estimated cost of the needed refasten and repairs exceeded the cost of another (used) boat. I can post a pix of the boat if you are interested as it still lives at the club "on the hard". The design was developed from life guard boats that were rowed by two person crews and launched thru the surf. Earlier in the last century like boats were launched thru the surf by commercial pound net fishermen."
 
"Basil, since it is obvious th

"Basil, since it is obvious that the drive has been swapped, why don't you varify the over-all gear ratio. The 2.15:1 is correct for that engine.
An incorrect gear ratio can have you pulling your hair out trying to find a correct propeller... in fact, you won't be able to correct performance.

Remove the ring anode.... wire brush the aft surface of the prop shaft bearing carrier, and expose and read the ratio number.... it's right there in plain sight.
If no one has changed the lower unit internal gear set, then this will be accurate.

."
 
Many thanks again to you all f

Many thanks again to you all for your usefull imput.
I can confirm the ratio is 2.15 and am in the process of getting a local pro to overhaul and refurbish the leg and am convinced that my problem with speed can be atributed to the bottom being dirty and not the mechanics.I would appreciate any advice on product selection for the repair of the gel coat as after taking the boat out of the water i have noticed a few small spots where the coat has come away revealing the fibreglass underneath.My plan is to make good these repairs before a fresh coat of anti foulling.
 
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