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For the first time, I took my Nauset out alone. I got the boat back from Precision Outboard in Delray after having the #3 injector and the trim unit replaced under warranty and considering that I was close to the boat ramp, I decided to test run it.

1968 Nauset and E-Tec 90 with 15 hours on it. No bottom paint, and no water intrusion, 1 small mushroom anchor, 6 gal. fuel tank half full, one 180 lb. driver, Bimini top standing tall but folded in the boot. Engine is mounted 2 holes up and is spinning a 17" Stiletto Advantage. I was on the ICW with minimal wind and ran in both directions with an insignificant difference in top speed.

I saw 45.1 MPH at 5300 RPMs. I was able to snap a picture with my phone but caught the GPS showing 44.9 MPH (personal page). Am I the only one to exceed 45 MPH on a 16'7" with a 90 E-Tec?

Is there more? Most definitely. The a/v plate is buried when trimmed up and on plane so I could raise the motor all the way up and remove the bimini. I know I can break 46 mph but I'm not sure how fast she'll go.

Should I try? I love speed and I've owned boats that run 60 MPH plus and have been in boats that run 90 MPH plus. This hull isn't much fun at 45 MPH. I was trimming up, bending over to check the tach, snapping a GPS picture with my phone, and trying to maintain situational awareness at the same time. The boat was dancing on every ripple. This hull was never intended to go this fast and it's not very good at it.

Chris

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Well, 45.1 MPH at 5300 RPM is about -6 percent calculated slip for that 17" Stiletto Advantage. That is a typical slip figure.

Weight has a lot to do with top speed. A clean older hull is a lot lighter and potentially faster. Sounds as if yours is doing well.

And yes, the E-TEC 90 can easily be mounted all the way up on the transom of a classic 16'-7" hull. That is why I keep repeating that advice.

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Raising the motor will generally make it easier to handle the boat at speed. There will less steering torque and less "squirrelyness"

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I'll almost definately try it all the way up. I'm 2 holes up since install partly because I was using the engine as my template for drilling the green holes in the splashwell.

My question is; If I were to raise the motor up 1 hole at a time from the lowest bolt hole to the highest, are the performance improvements linear? What I mean is, there are impovements in speed, economy, steering effort, ride, torque induced list. As we raise the engine up through the four positions, will we see 33% of the total improvement with each change? I understand that this can't be easily quantified for any of the aforementioned criteria with the exception of speed so it's driver's perception.

I ask because I have no doubt that my performance at 2 holes up is light years better than all the way down, but am I going to see a noticeable difference going up that one last hole?

Chris

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You'll never know unless you try.

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Thanks for the info. I'm getting ready to mount the same motor on my resto boat, 1970 16'.
Should I start out two holes up? I've never mounted an outboard. Always worked on or owned IO's until now.
Thanks

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I had my E-TEC 90 mounted two holes up initially and have since moved it all the way up. Save yourself the trouble and have it mounted all the way up. That way you won't wonder what you're missing and have to do it later like I did.

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In my opinion and for this combination; 2 holes up is the lowest mounting position for any modern propeller. If you haven't picked a prop I would start here. If you're going to run a Stiletto Advantage, I believe you'll wind up in the top position, just as I believe I will.

Have you drilled the mounting holes in the transom yet?

Chris

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Yeah the holes are already there.