Outboard motors

[Ben]

I bought a houseboat on the Ohio river.  (Strange for a West Texas boy ,I know),
My question is:  Can you run a 115 hp Evinrude for 10-12 hours at a time or do you need to turn it off once in a while. My experience with boat motors is sking, short trips etc. etc. So I don't
know???

[Chrisj CMA]

should be fine if it doesnt get too hot.  Its not as important how long its running as it is how HARD its working.  If you have to have it wide open then No, not a good idea.  If its in its "comfort zone" and its not too hot it should be able to go as long as the fuel lasts

[Ben]

THANKS CHRISJ

[alph]

it depends, is it brand new?  still under warrenty?  then yes.

if it's OUT of warrenty, then take it easy....   

[Saw]

My wife and I own a 34 ft houseboat. It has a 115 Johnson on it. Any where we take it on the lake it lives on is 4 to 7 hours. On a houseboat you will not be able to really open the engine up. Keep A extra tank of gas and fresh spark plugs. Outside of that the engine is reliable. Here are a couple of links that have helped me.

http://www.all-about-houseboats.com/index.html
http://www.marineengine.com/boat-forum/forum.php
http://www.marineengineparts.com/
http://ww2.seastarsteering.com/
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/index.html
http://www.boatpartstore.com/

Enjoy the boat and ride safe.

Saw  

[sugerbear]

are you running for that long, or just providing electricity for the houseboat?

don't have any experience with a house boat. just asking.

[Saw]

Houseboats are big,slow,and,comfortable. To move it 5 miles take 4 to 5 hours depending on wind, water currents, how choppy the water is other boat traffic.We charge our battery's with a generator. Just use the engine to move.


Saw

[Patrick]

If its propped correctly WOT should be in the 5200-5400 rpm range..  I don't like running an engine at WOT for very long,, I like to back them off to a decent cruise of about 4000-4500 rpm..

[Black Dog]

Not sure what difference being a house boat makes, but modern motors have alarms/sensors that should keep ya out of trouble.  I have a '96 60 HP Merc on my 16ft Smokercraft Pro Tiller (fishing boat), and as long as the cooling impeller is not obstructed/clogged, and water is pissing out the outlet on the back of the motor head, you should be good.  An alarm should sound if it starts to get hot (the 'beep' you hear when turning on the ignition).  Also, if a two stroke with oil injection, an alarm will sound if the oil tank gets too low.

Black Dog

[Saw]

Being a houseboat ours never gets turned over 2200 to 2400 rpms. Big and slow like i said earlier.

[Robert]

Running for that length of time should be no problem but recheck the prop for it. It should be able to get to the rated rpm range to be happy. Yes you can run it slower but it puts strain on the engine and components. Its kinda like a weed eater that the string is to long on it doesn't get to full speed and lugs the engine. As stated the cooling should not be problem either and if the impeller hasn't been replaced then you may want to do that also. At higher speeds the impeller is not needed as much but with slow moving hard working engines cooling depends on the impeller. It really is normal maintenance to replace the water pump and isn't to expensive.

[alph]

that engine sounds extremly small for a house boat.  i've seen bass boats with 250 horse engines on 'em, and they're a heck of a lot smaller boats. 

[Robert]

Alph just for you I think this may be a little fast for what they need but I think it would work

Miss Turbine
Hydrostream Vegas 300XS
Pershing 115 - Lengers Yachts

[Saw]

My 34 ft long houseboat is 12 ft wide. It came from the factory with a 65 horse power engine. The previous owner changed it out to a 115 horse power engine. Which is more engine than my houseboat needs. Houseboats are not boats that get up on plane. They don't need a huge amount of horse power.
They only need enough power to move the boat steadily. Yes smaller boats can and do have larger engines,But those boats are boats that run on plane. With a houseboat you will rarely use more than a quarter throttle.

Saw  

[bscrive]

I would not run a 2 stroke engine for that long.  A 115 is not meant for long runs like that with that much weight.  I would run it for 2-3 hours and give it a rest.  If you put a 4 stroke on it then you could do a trip like that no problem.  The newer Evinrudes are not noted for being super reliable and they have lower end problems.  Even if the engine was ok after a run like that the lower unit could be a problem.

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

I had a buddy with a pontoon boat that came with a 50 horsepower mercury on it. We swapped it out with a 90hp mercury and gained a whole 4 mph. These things are note designed to go fast. If you keep your thottle at about 3/4  you will get more mpg and your speed will not be much slower than wide open throttle and your engine should last alot longer.

[The Anvil]

There is no need to "rest" the engine. Engines like marine outboards typically have a tbo (time between overhaul) rating of xxx amount of hours much like airplane engines. Whether you run it in 3 hour increments or all of it in one shot doesn't matter. The idea that they need rest is something akin to superstition and transfering the attributes of living things on mechanical objects. I mean I get it, I used to think that way too. 

And marine outboards usually have open loop cooling systems so they're getting a constant supply of relatively cool water for engine cooling. That helps longevity. I had a 60's era 50 horse Johnson that had hundreds of hours on it. Never overhauled and ran perfectly when I sold it. It's still running out on Treadwell island.

[solo1]

The only experience that I had was a 50 hp on a 16 foot pontoon boat.  I didn't know it but the previous owner had always 'checked it out ' in the Spring by running it out of the water. as a result, the cooling impeller gave out for me in the middle of the lake. The warning buzz went off and the engine shut down. 
I would replace the waterpump impeller just for insurance and make sure that you have the right pitch prop for the houseboat type of running, ie lower pitch prop (lower gear )to have it run at the right rpm.

[Spirited-6]

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There is no need to "rest" the engine. Engines like marine outboards typically have a tbo (time between overhaul) rating of xxx amount of hours much like airplane engines. Whether you run it in 3 hour increments or all of it in one shot doesn't matter. The idea that they need rest is something akin to superstition and transfering the attributes of living things on mechanical objects. I mean I get it, I used to think that way too. 

I agree. What it`s going to get a second wind ??? When I kicked the S%$# out of my 53 Ford I would take it easey on it for a few days so it could get better. Hell, I was 16 and numb.