Top Speed Nitro 185 FS w/ Tracker 120

[Bob Kutz]

Looking for a little feed back here.



A year ago I bought the Nitro 185 F/S with the Tracker 120. Guy who had it before me used it very little, took great care of it and had immaculate maintenance records. It's a 1995.



When I first got it, I took it out on the lake, light breeze, just me in it, my GPS pegged its top end about 42mph.



Now (a year later) with me and my son, a bit rougher, loaded with fishing gear (say 100 lbs.)that wasn't in it the first time I had it out, it struggles to get 40.



With the wife, 3 kids (oldest 13) and most of the fishing gear AND the cooler full AND towels, floaties, tubes, etc. it won't get to 35mph.



Okay, I understand; add 350lbs and it slows down a touch. I'm good with that. But then I find this in an ad for another used one; " It's an 18 1/2 foot Nitro with a 120 HP Tracker motor and it has a foot controlled Trolling motor on it already.It' would go 57 MPH with just me and a full tank of gas in it . . . " This is a fish and ski, very similar to mine.



My question is this; is the guy full of schtuff, or should my boat have another 15mph in it? Do I have a problem? (BTW; SS 21" prop, like new, engine gets to 5250rpm when it's just me and one kid)



If anybody with a similar boat/motor combo would share what their top end is, I would appreciate it. If anybody can tell me that there's no way this guy is telling the full story (57mph out of a force 120 in a 185FS), I would appreciate that too.



I'd really like to have my boat running closer to 45 than 35. Especially given the fuel consumption it has. If there's typically a problem with a 15 year old ignition coil or reeds or something easy to fix, I'd sure like to know what to look for.



Thanks for any advice.

 

[D Buch]

I have a 05 Nitro 189 FS w/115, and i have no problem doing 45+mph with a full boat and over 50 with 2 people. The setup is what it was when i bought it and i don't know the prop of hand?

 

[Bob Bourget2]

I have NEVER seen a 185 FS with a Force 120 do any better than 40-45.....unless he was going downhill...:lol::lol::lol:



Sounds as though yours might be running "just fine". I would assume she runs "no different", sounds good etc? Too many variables to pick apart a 2 mph differential.



Here's a tidbit of info. Consider....any normally aspirated outboard will lose up to 15% of it's rated power during the hot summer months. That means your Force 120 in the summer may produce "only" 102hp, and only with the advent of cooler, drier air will you see the motor make "more" horsepower. Try it again in late fall, when temps are about 50 degrees and the water is cool.

 

[Bob Kutz]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess you can say whatever you want when you're selling a boat online.



Doug; I would believe an '05 could get to 45 or 50. Much better technology at play, you probably have more actual hp than I do; a 15 year old Tracker 120 isn't likely getting more than about 105 . . . I should tune it up; new coil wires plugs, go through the carb etc.



Bob B.; yeah, she runs just fine. Once in a while something funny happens with the tach; it shows I'm running 6 grand, but the engine isn't running any different, I'm not trimmed up too far or anything. Then I'll take it off plane, relaunch, and lo 'n behold; my tach reads 5200 and sounds exactly the same as it did when it read 6. Strange that.



Anyway, after reading the ad, I thought I should see if anybody else with a Nitro 185 and a tracker 120 of about the same vintage was getting 57. Doesn't seem like the consensus. My neighbor suggested about a 10" jack plate. I'm not sure I wanna go there. Maybe find a good Opti 150, but I'm pretty happy with the performance for right now. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have a problem I wasn't aware of.



Also; It seems the bass boats do run a few mph faster than the fish 'n ski's with the same length and hp. Anybody know why that is?



Again; thanks for the input.

 

[Bob Bourget2]

Weight....and distribution of it.....

 

[Bob G.]

For what it's worth, my 2000 Nitro Sport 185 does 57mph GPS with just me in it with fishing gear and other boating stuff, but I also have a 150HP Merc XR6. With my two adult kids with me, we can run about 55mph GPS.

 

[Bob Bourget2]

HUGE difference between those two motors.....:blink:

 

[Bob G.]

That was my point Bob B., I didn't think a 120HP on the same hull as mine would run 57mph GPS, unless mine isn't propped right or weight isn't distributed correctly. My boat pops up on plane in a few seconds and the XR6 has not missed a beat since I bought it new in 2000.

 

[Bob Bourget2]

+1.

 

[Bob Kutz]

Would moving it up a notch or two on the transom help top end?



Would it hurt performance?

 

[Bob Bourget2]

You can go up until performance suffers....but... I would resign myself to "leave well enough alone", and enjoy it. The Force motors do not like to be "pushed" too much....

 

[Bob Kutz]

Bob B;



Thanks, that's probably the advice I was looking for.

 

[Fred Bradley]

Ok guys, just bought the pro team 190 bass tracker with the 115.. after break in period according to gps im running 48 mph with myself and my wife in the boat, 52 on speedometer, at 54 to 5500 rpms. If i back out to around 5200 rpms it seems to smooth out and i might lose 1 mph. I think this is pretty good according to mercury marine specs. Dont like the cable steering, seems if you let go of any pressure on the wheel it wants to spin out, but again, im told get used to it unless you get hydraulic steering. Hope this helps. Thanks. Fred.

 

[Don Kaczmarek]

I have a similiar dilemma as I have a 2002 Nitro 188sport with a 115 Tracker by Mercury 2stroke outboard. I spoke to two dealerships and am being told this boat should do 50mph. I cannot get it past 42mph with only me in the boat. My prop came with the boat and is a Mercury Laser II with 22pitch. Max RPM's trimmed out are 4900.

If it is a prop/RPM issue then what pitch should I be using?

 

[Bob Bourget2]

Don, you are running pretty close to the numbers that package produced. It IS a little slower than some others equipped identically, whose top ends are around 44-45 mph. Has your motor been serviced recently? Has the motor CHANGED top RPM at all? Has it ever gone faster? That is the correct prop, and the top rpm number on that motor should NOT exceed 5250. If the motor has a cold, it's only a sniffle.....

 

[Don Kaczmarek]

Bob,

Thank you very much for your response. Although I bought the boat only 1 year ago , it runs very well oh and has needed to be very little maintenance. It runs smoothly And starts up great. Although I do have to say That if the motor is trimmed all the way up the boat is extremely sluggish. What I begin to trim the engine up, it takes off like a rocket.

 

[Don Kaczmarek]

Im sorry i am typing on my phone. When my engine is trimmed all the way down the boat is sluggish . When I begin to trim the engine up is when it gets faster

 

[Bob Bourget2]

VERY normal. Your best top end will be when the engine is "trimmed out", for best speed. Start with it all the way down, trim up until boat speed stops increasing, then record your numbers...both rpm and speed. If rpms climb and boat speed does not, it is considered "excessive slip".

 

[Don Kaczmarek]

Rpm And speed seem to coincide. I guess it's just The way that it is. I just hate that sales people Would say so confidently that my boat will do 50 miles per hour. Oh well, suppose I should a bought the 150 horsepower engine! Thanks again for all the help. By the way, is my engine the same as a mercury classic. I cannot seem to find the tracker listed under any mercury engines

 

[VA Chris]

I have a 1998 185 F&S with a 115HP Merc. The best I get is 44MPH GPS. Granted I have a 19p prop on mine to get a little more ooommmph for pulling the kids on the tube. With the 22p laser I got about 3mph better but never got close to 57MPH. personally, I think that guy is full of it.

 

[Bob Bourget2]

Your engine is a "classic", and a true Merc. When I quote speeds, I will ALWAYS under-quote. I sold a Checkmate Jet a few years back to a buddy of mine....the criteria was that it had to do 80mph. No if's, no but's. If it didn't, the guy would get his money back. When I placed the order, I told the "prez" that it had better do 80....with one spark plug out! Needless to say it did........

It's always nice to hear the phone call saying the boat goes FASTER than you said it would....:huh: