Bluejacket II Search for "speed"
Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 11:18 am
Following is an excerpt from the Fortier web site that I posted today. I thought it might be of interest to some club members as well.
JB, I too had lost speed with my 26 Fortier. The boat is a 2000 powered by a 4 cylinder 230 hp. Yanmar. Engine hours are 2750. The boat is built heavy with a hard top, live well, tons of fishing gear etc. Medium cruise for this boat was 18.6 knots at 2950 rpm. Fuel burn was 2.5 mpg. In the 2012 season the cruise was down to roughly 15.6 knots with a fuel burn of 1.75 mpg. No vibrations. Only a puff of smoke getting up on plane. It was time to do something. For the 2013 season, I had the bottom paint stripped and redone in Montauk Marine Basin with an epoxy barrier coat and Sea Hawk Cukote. Carl Darenberg did a fabulous job. Speed picked up to 17.6 knots but the fuel burn stayed high. So next stop was Dante Grover in Freeport in the fall for a complete tune up: valves adjusted, injectors cleaned, turbo cleaned, cooling system flushed and some other maintenance stuff. Speed was about 18 knots after this work was done. Still not satisfied, I sent the propeller out to S&S to be tuned. The boat was swinging a 19 x 17 Nibral wheel lightly cupped. Steve reconditioned the wheel and added a bit more cup. I just completed the run from Freeport to Montauk this week end. Fuel burn is back to 2.5 gpm and the boat is cruising at 18.6 knots @ 2950 and 23.7 @ 3550 WOT. I'm not sure if this helps you. The search for speed was not cheap in my case; I do not believe it ever is. But I found it. And if you are willing to spend the time and effort I believe you will too.
Mike S.
JB, I too had lost speed with my 26 Fortier. The boat is a 2000 powered by a 4 cylinder 230 hp. Yanmar. Engine hours are 2750. The boat is built heavy with a hard top, live well, tons of fishing gear etc. Medium cruise for this boat was 18.6 knots at 2950 rpm. Fuel burn was 2.5 mpg. In the 2012 season the cruise was down to roughly 15.6 knots with a fuel burn of 1.75 mpg. No vibrations. Only a puff of smoke getting up on plane. It was time to do something. For the 2013 season, I had the bottom paint stripped and redone in Montauk Marine Basin with an epoxy barrier coat and Sea Hawk Cukote. Carl Darenberg did a fabulous job. Speed picked up to 17.6 knots but the fuel burn stayed high. So next stop was Dante Grover in Freeport in the fall for a complete tune up: valves adjusted, injectors cleaned, turbo cleaned, cooling system flushed and some other maintenance stuff. Speed was about 18 knots after this work was done. Still not satisfied, I sent the propeller out to S&S to be tuned. The boat was swinging a 19 x 17 Nibral wheel lightly cupped. Steve reconditioned the wheel and added a bit more cup. I just completed the run from Freeport to Montauk this week end. Fuel burn is back to 2.5 gpm and the boat is cruising at 18.6 knots @ 2950 and 23.7 @ 3550 WOT. I'm not sure if this helps you. The search for speed was not cheap in my case; I do not believe it ever is. But I found it. And if you are willing to spend the time and effort I believe you will too.
Mike S.