Planning to purchase 1994...have a question about capacity & power

[Anelsonjjm]

We are struggling to pull the trigger and buy a nearly mint 94 maxum 20' Eddie bauer with a 4.3. We are a family of 5 (kids 16, 13, 9) and prob weigh ~900 now and kids are growing. Capacity plate shows 8 people and ~1100. I am convinced we will be just fine in this boat as it is far bigger than the boats I grew up in. My husband & 16yr old son are not...think it will be a dog and unable to pull a tube. Thing is we will mostly use it for fishing. Can anyone speak to whether or not our large family is just too much for this boat?!?! THANKS!!!!!

[mmwjr]

Anelsonjjm welcome aboard.

I suggest all 5 of you take the boat for a test ride before buying it and see if you like the way it performs. While you won't be doing any watersports you are see how the boat handles and it's time to plane with all of onboard.

What size boat does you husband and son suggest?

[Anelsonjjm]

Not so much concerned with bigger boat but bigger motor. Good suggestion that's what i told them we need to do. Can anyone speak to the 4.3 on a 20' boat?

[biggerseagar]

It is a love um leave um situation. The V6 4.3 is a great engine but there is nothing like a V-8 underneath you like a 305 or 350 etc. I think you won't have enough engine with everybody in the family and coolers and everything else that families take..... Been there done that!

But I think everyone will tell you if it works for you and you are happy with the performance of what you have, then go for it. Put this boat thru the ringer on your test run to see what it's got.

Gee......When your kids get at that age of, " hey can I take the boat out," then instead of the that blank stare you might give each other... maybe as parents you are glad it only has a V-6 in the boat .

Good luck

Roger

[ss3964spd]

I'm not sure if there were 2 HP ratings of the 4.3 back in '94. Do you know what HP rating is?

I ask because we had our 2004 MY 24 foot boat, with the 300 HP V8, out a few weekends ago with about 800 pounds of 6 people aboard. I would guess our boat weighs probably 1000 pounds more than the boat you are looking at, and ours handled the load just fine, and wouldn't have had any problem pulling a tube.

As Roger suggested, load as many aboard as you can and take it for a test run. It might do just fine.

That said, I doubt there are many people who say to themselves "gee, I wish my boat had LESS power".

[Anelsonjjm]

Originally Posted by biggerseagar

It is a love um leave um situation. The V6 4.3 is a great engine but there is nothing like a V-8 underneath you like a 305 or 350 etc. I think you won't have enough engine with everybody in the family and coolers and everything else that families take..... Been there done that!

But I think everyone will tell you if it works for you and you are happy with the performance of what you have, then go for it. Put this boat thru the ringer on your test run to see what it's got.

Gee......When your kids get at that age of, " hey can I take the boat out," then instead of the that blank stare you might give each other... maybe as parents you are glad it only has a V-6 in the boat .

Good luck

Roger

Thanks Roger, wise words indeed!! I guess we just need to decide what compromise we are willing to live with.

[mmwjr]

Is the 4.3 carb or EFI, I suspect carb. The 2bbl 4.3 back then was 175HP and the newer ones are 190HP. A 5.0 2 bbl then was 220HP but weight ~100 lbs more so I am not sure the weight vs. power is a big deal in this boat. The 5.0 would have a little more torque for pulling holeshots.

I still say take a ride with all onboard.

[Anelsonjjm]

Originally Posted by ss3964spd

I'm not sure if there were 2 HP ratings of the 4.3 back in '94. Do you know what HP rating is?

I ask because we had our 2004 MY 24 foot boat, with the 300 HP V8, out a few weekends ago with about 800 pounds of 6 people aboard. I would guess our boat weighs probably 1000 pounds more than the boat you are looking at, and ours handled the load just fine, and wouldn't have had any problem pulling a tube.

As Roger suggested, load as many aboard as you can and take it for a test run. It might do just fine.

That said, I doubt there are many people who say to themselves "gee, I wish my boat had LESS power".

Thanks 3964. Up to this point we have not been 100 % sure of hp. The gentleman selling said it was around 220, but my husband sort of doubted that since it was not "fuel injected". It sure sounds like the test run will answer our questions.

[Anelsonjjm]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

Is the 4.3 carb or EFI, I suspect carb. The 2bbl 4.3 back then was 175HP and the newer ones are 190HP. A 5.0 2 bbl then was 220HP but weight ~100 lbs more so I am not sure the weight vs. power is a big deal in this boat. The 5.0 would have a little more torque for pulling holeshots.

I still say take a ride with all onboard.

Thanks Mike. My husband says carb. I think we have an accurate number for hp now. Thanks so much! Yes... Test run.

[ss3964spd]

If you can get the S/N off the engine you should be able to look it up and find the HP rating.

[jrsick]

Check the pitch of the prop also. I have a similar situation to you Anelsonjjm, and I have found that prop pitch makes a big difference. I am going fishing early tomorrow morning and have the larger prop on now. I'm pulling tubers and skiers in the afternoon and will change to a smaller pitch prop beforehand. Prop change only takes a few minutes and you can do it with the boat in the water.
When you do your test run, ask the owner for a full speed demo and see what the engine RPM's are at max throttle. This will let you know if it has the right sized prop on it now. I imagine the 4.3 is a 21 pitch prop. If so, going to a 18 or 19 pitch prop will give you all the power you need to pull tubers, even with a loaded boat.

[Anelsonjjm]

Thanks jrsick!!! Good info!