2021 188 SVL Mercury 60 HP

bryanparke

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We are new to pontoon boats. Bought ours brand new this year and I’m just trying to get an understanding of what I should expect as far as RPM, speed, getting on plane, throttle control, etc.

Some observations:

1) our max RPM is 3,500 with throttle fully forward
2) the last 2 inches of throttle make no effect on RPM at all
3) speed is around 18mph
4) it’s difficult to determine the best spot for the trim. With our ski boats I would typically trim up a little to reduce drag and get on plane smoothly

With the above observations I took the boat back to the dealer at the 20 hour mark. They indicated I should be getting higher RPMs. They determined that they installed the wrong prop when I bought it, they swapped it out for one that is 2 pitches less than what they had.

New observations:

1) with the new prop the max RPM is now about 4,200
2) speed has dropped to around 16

does any of this make sense? Should I be getting more than 4,200 RPM and 16mph? Or maybe this is what is expected on the 188 with the 60HP mercury.
Thanks for any input/feedback.
Bryan
 
This might give you a little insight on expected performance.
You might also check your tach setting to verify its correct cylinder selection. Your top speed isn’t way off vs. bulletin I attached but your rpms are waaaaaaay off in the initial info @ 3500rpm. The bulletin peaks at 20.8 @ 5500 rpm. It’s a different brand boat but it’s darn close in size.

 
Last edited:
We are new to pontoon boats. Bought ours brand new this year and I’m just trying to get an understanding of what I should expect as far as RPM, speed, getting on plane, throttle control, etc.

Some observations:

1) our max RPM is 3,500 with throttle fully forward
2) the last 2 inches of throttle make no effect on RPM at all
3) speed is around 18mph
4) it’s difficult to determine the best spot for the trim. With our ski boats I would typically trim up a little to reduce drag and get on plane smoothly

With the above observations I took the boat back to the dealer at the 20 hour mark. They indicated I should be getting higher RPMs. They determined that they installed the wrong prop when I bought it, they swapped it out for one that is 2 pitches less than what they had.

New observations:

1) with the new prop the max RPM is now about 4,200
2) speed has dropped to around 16

does any of this make sense? Should I be getting more than 4,200 RPM and 16mph? Or maybe this is what is expected on the 188 with the 60HP mercury.
Thanks for any input/feedback.
Bryan
As a comparison data point, we have a 20' S with a Yamaha 50. WOT rpm are 5400. Top speed is ~16 mph with 2 people and moderate load.

Our prop is a 13 5/8 X 13.
 
This might give you a little insight on expected performance.
You might also check your tach setting to verify its correct cylinder selection. Your top speed isn’t way off vs. bulletin I attached but your rpms are waaaaaaay off in the initial info @ 3500rpm. The bulletin peaks at 20.8 @ 5500 rpm. It’s a different brand boat but it’s darn close in size.

That is great info, thank you!

You might also check your tach setting to verify its correct cylinder selection.

I had no idea this was possible, do you have a reference on how to do this?

Thanks again!
 
That is great info, thank you!



I had no idea this was possible, do you have a reference on how to do this?

Thanks again!
Ones I’ve seen in the past have a dial on the back that has numbers correlating to number of poles.
 
Here’s a pic of one.
1631638290743.jpeg
 
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