4.3 190 hp on 23 walkaround is that too underpowered?

Looking to buy a boat.just would like some opinions . thank you

I wouldnt say its underpowered but it would depend on the prop and gearing of the I/O. Could get enough speed and hole shot if it all matches. I myself would take a ride if you could and see and listen for yourself. My personal boat is 22ft cuddy with a Mercr. 350cid ,260hp and is just right. The 4.3 may be good on fuel if you dont push it hard. Every boat has its own personality.

I have a Seamaster 2388 with 5.0 220hp takes a little to get going with 5 adults, I use it for chartering it does well, had it since 2001.
Friend of mind has same boat V6 190hp with hard top it runs smooth but he complained about full load it took a lot to get on plain however he went to a four blade prop, he is very pleased with the performance.

Hope this might help!

i think it would be plenty of hp. but you might want to go with a 4 or even 5 blade prop. i do have a 350 in my boat but when we got it loaded with 5 or 6 people and all that fishing gear including rigger weights. and a cooler full of soda and food. and i also have 4 large marine batteries in it. i have 2 for the transome mounted trolling motor/trim tabs and then 2 for the boat. i just didnt like the way i got on plane, and if i tried to slow down alittle in rough water it would lose plane, and would have to shoot the power back to it. i dont use the trollin motor/trim tabs to help me take off. the only time i use the trim tab part of this set up, is if the water is real rough i use them to push my nose down in the water to give me a better ride.

i had heard good things about the high 5 props, and didnt really want to go down to a 17 p 3 blade prop. so i started watching ebay. i really wanted a 17 p 5 blade prop. but i got a great buy on a 19 p high 5. it was like putting a new high performance motor in my boat. i cant load it to heavy. it takes off like a rabbit, and stays on plane 5 mph less than with the 3 blade prop. my rpm,s are in the mid range for wot and i lost about 2 mph on top end. then i was still watching ebay for props. i was hoping to still get a 17 p and use the 19 p for a spare. well i ended up getting a 17 p for 150.00. so i bought it. i put it on my boat, i couldnt really tell anything on take off it just takes off with either prop. but i did get about 300 more rpm,s and about 1 mph better on top end. so the 19 pitch went back on and the 17 p went in storage with the spare trim pump i keep on the boat.

you may lose just a couple of mph on top end with a 5 blade prop. but if you want to ski or tube or load the boat then you,ll love the way the 5 blade works over a 3 blade. you can try a prop with the same pitch but i think they reccomend going down 2 degrees.

i was at our local prop shop talking to them about what to put on my old inline 6 mercury on a 16 ft tri hull. he said about the only thing they sell for anything anymore is this one brand of 4 blade prop. they didnt even like to sell a 3 blade prop any more. he told me they would guarentee me to be happy with the prop they gave me. all they needed was all the info for the boat and he could match the right prop. if it was low or to high on rpms i could bring it back and get another prop. and he said this 4 blade would perform as good as the high 5. but i am just pleased to death with my high 5. i wouldnt go back to a 3 blade on my boat. the 5 blade just does more than anything i even expected. it jumps on plane no matter how heavy its loaded it stays on plane at much lower speeds and it handles like a dream in turns. this is just my opinion. and you will be very happy with the gas with the 4.3.
sherman

If I have a load I put the trims all the way down and the drive down and it will come out pretty quick, but after talking to my buddy and reading the last post maybe a 4 blade prop would be worth it. I'm still running the original with 4500 hrs. on it.

Hello Dale

I have the same boat except the SeaSport 2344 version and I was wondering how you deal with all of the water that ends up in the fish kill boxes?

Thanks,

John

what a pain, all the water goes in the fish boxes then when it over flows it goes out the skuppers, the boxes are always dirty and wet, plus I M constantly cleaning the filter screens. I just live with it, I have heard of people siliconeing them off.
If I M running rough water I turn the pumps on and pump them out just to get rid of some extra weight.

Thanks Dale

I guess we are in the same boat (pardon the pun). The previous owner on mine installed floats in the boxes which tripped the pumps but the pumps burn out. I have used waterproof tape covered them with vinyl mat and water still gets in. I guess I will replace the pumps and see what happens.





Thanks,

John

John,
Maybe we should fill them with ice and put are fish in there at least it would keep it cleaner with using them, but then people would have to move around so I could open the box.

What I did do was I bought screen which is used for your drain on a clothes washer to catch lent. I put those on the drain in the fish cooler and took wire ties to attach them. It does help keep some of the grit and grime from the pump. I still have to clean the filters on the pumps quite often.