overpowered boat

L

Louis D

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6299
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I am interested in a boat thats for sale 24ft 8.5 beam that's been repowered with twin 150s but the rating from the manufacturer is 280hp Will being overpowered be a problem with insurance and the coastguard
 
Your insurance company might find that a convenient excuse to not pay a claim if you are involved in an accident. Coast Guard might ticket you for it too.
 
You can get it re-evaluated to 300HP in most cases (I've been told). There is some type of USCG procedure/paperwork to do that. You might talk with the local coasties about the paperwork.
 
I would not want a boat that was over powered for a couple of reasons. The most important one being the structural problems that can be produced during operation. Also the liability issues that go along with that. Not a good i'dear!
 
That is a manufacturer CYA rating. Coasties won't care if it's over 20 feet. Insurance may be an issue but probaly not. If you double the rating it may be a problem, but 10%? If that is a structural problem, weight, speed or whatever, you need to walk VERY quickly away. And power ratings of engines are plus or minus 10% anyway. Depending on the motor, a 150 can easily be a 165 actual at the prop and most Merc 150s are.
 
Louis,

I had a 20ft Privateer Roamer 2000, that was rated for 200hp. The boat had a Johnson 225 on the transom. When I questioned the builder, I was informed the transom could support the extra weight, and torque.

I insured through BoatUS, not an eyebrow was raised when they asked the size of boat and horsepower of engine. I received my insurance paperwork year after year without a problem.

Marine Police didn't care as long as I didn't throw a wake in a no wake zone, and the Coasties never bothered as I wasn't faster than they were!

If its the boat you want, I wouldn't let 20hp stand in your way!
 
quote:
Originally posted by KnottyBuoyz

I wouldn't think that 20 hp over would cause a problem.

Click to expand...


You can get a rev limiter installed to reduce the HP Rating but you'll need to certify with a facility that it's done properly & confirm with your insurance carrier an acceptable facility or USCG. On gas you'll never top end the motors anyway.
 
"You can get a rev limiter installed to reduce the HP Rating but you'll need to certify with a facility that it's done properly & confirm with your insurance carrier an acceptable facility or USCG. On gas you'll never top end the motors anyway."

WHAT????? Never "top end" the motors???? Can you possibly explain that? Those motors better be propped to turn close to max or they won't last. And there is no such thing as an HP limiting rev limiter for outboards, especially one that is "certified".

..........
 
The funny thing is that a lot of people think that their insurance is just fine just because the carrier picked them up and sends them a bill. The only REAL time that the policy exclusions are fully reviewed is when an incident occurs. You might very well be making payments for years and not have coverage worth the paper its printed on.

bp
 
Mr. Ghost, I agree completely. Like I said, your insurance company will find every loophole possible to get out of paying a claim, and this one sure sounds like a perfect loophole for them.

Also, I have been stopped for safety checks on our local lakes by the local fish and game commission, and they have checked the Coast Guard capacity plate and asked to checked inside the engine compartment after they asked me how many horsepower the engine was.
 
Oops, those were outboards he was asking about? Forget what I said.
 
The immortal words of Carol Shelby:
"If some is good, more is better. And too much is just enough".

However, you must use good sense in all things.
 
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