10 tunnel hull cougar cub help

**racecar001** · 08-26-2008, 11:33 PM

ok I just purchased this little boat it has a 25hp merc is there anything I can do to get a little more hp out of it ? also where do I tap in for a tach and a water press gauge, also should I have a temp gauge? any help would be great

**Fast Fred** · 09-06-2008, 05:55 AM

hey, well the only way to make it faster with that power is to lighten the hull.

thinkin gray wire for a merc tach, you can dice into the pee toob for water PSI,

brown wire comin off the head is temp, you may or may not have a temp set up on thare, i don't know.

just get the Merc to run it's best with no mods, mess with props and set up, if ya still need to go faster you need a new Moda.

**200VEGAS** · 09-06-2008, 11:05 AM

Do You Have A Picture

**racecar001** · 09-06-2008, 06:14 PM

I will post a pic... I think I have the right wire now it reads around .6 to 1 vac and goes up as you rev... its gray and comes from under the flywheel

**Jim Gin** · 12-01-2008, 11:28 AM

I also recently purchased a 1985 cougar cat. I plan on somewhat restoring it and using it as a marina boat on Texoma. The concern I have is the motor was change to a 40 hp Mariner from a 30 hp in 1996 and not used much after that. In fact I was told the motor only has 3 hours on it. Is the motor too big for the boat? Should I look at putting a jack plate on it? What about trim tabs for stability if I choose to leave the marina on calm days?

**Slowmo** · 12-01-2008, 04:19 PM

I think wildman has a 225 on a 13..Search wildman,it is an awsome looking setup.

**olmo40** · 12-01-2008, 05:53 PM

Depending on the age and model of the 25hp ,you may be able to fit a 35hp carby???.I did this on a Tohatsu recently ,havent done it on a Merc.

What prop are you running ???

**racecar001** · 12-01-2008, 08:23 PM

I purchased a 15" shaft 50hp omc for mine and I think I am going to hang it on the transom just to keep the weight forward. I tried a 6" jackplate with the 25hp merc I weigh 200 and no matter what I did it would not go much more then 30-33 on the speedo. Getting the boat on plane is tricky. I get tons of looks with the boat and its fun even at 30, but with 50hp it should be better

**Jim Gin** · 12-01-2008, 10:32 PM

When I purchased this boat the owner actually had passed away and I bought it from the estate. Good people! With the 1996 40 hp Mariner with power tilt and trim (do not know prop pitch) what should this boat do top end? I'm a 230lb lard butt.
Why is it difficult to get these on plane? Currently it has 6" x 8" fixed tabs but I will attempt to locate some a little larger. Plan on staying with fixed or any suggestions.
Does anyone know what HP these were rated for when produced.

**PARKER RABE** · 12-02-2008, 09:04 AM

I Think 25 Was The Max , I Had One When I Was A Kid , Think It Was A 83 Or 84 , Dont Know Where It Is Now , It Was Painted Up Like A Michlob Light Race Boat With A #1 On It , I Have Pics Somewhere, Mine Only Went About 35 , Was Hard To Get On A Plane Trimmed Out , I Had No Power Trim .

**racecar001** · 12-02-2008, 09:23 PM

Mine has no trim tabs. My boat has the tag and it says 25 hp max... But thats no fun. I have had me and a buddy so 500lbs with the 25hp and if he would go out on the bow it would plane and still go 30. So I know it will float the weight.

**yachter55** · 12-02-2008, 09:52 PM

They marde 300 and quite because everyone was getting hurt flippen em.25 hp was the max rating.I got a 25 merc on mine .stuffed it and cracked the hull. balance is everything.You have to go out on the bow to get her on plane,or surf the front of a boat wake .once your running dont stop or get back up on the bow.its impossable to lighten the hull as it only weighs about 100 pounds wet.I sharpened my strakes and sanded the last two feet of the hull and gained 1 mph.I got a custom prop with the boat and gained 6 mph.It now has a broom stick glassed to the bottom of the floor acting as a stringer.anything bigger and the seat will not fit and the deck wont lock down.Im going to try a 10 gal plastic tank mounted up as far as i can get it. hoping it will plane better. I thought of tabs but it always seems to ride ok. There was a group of guys that took a trip to binimi from lauderdale in these cats.I thought the guy was pulling my leg untill I saw the pictures. Keep in touch with your upgrades.

**Juggernaut** · 12-02-2008, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by racecar001

I purchased a 15" shaft 50hp omc for mine and I think I am going to hang it on the transom just to keep the weight forward. I tried a 6" jackplate with the 25hp merc I weigh 200 and no matter what I did it would not go much more then 30-33 on the speedo. Getting the boat on plane is tricky. I get tons of looks with the boat and its fun even at 30, but with 50hp it should be better

it should be doing better than that.. i weighed about 180 when i was running my 13' v-hull with a merc 50 up to 43mph on gps. did 38 all day, but those last 5 miles per hour were tough to squeeze out of it. a 10' tunnel should 45 mph with 50 hp easily, assuming you experimented with the set-up, and that you can drive it to top speed..