# Riverhawk B60 mercury 9.9 4 stroke



## russellg (Sep 10, 2012)

Hello all,

I am desperate for someone to help me with a River Hawk B60 Procaster/mercury 9.9 set up. I bought this boat used and when I first test drove it with the previous owner, my first thought was "that's all she's got?" But the prop was really chewed up and the motor was sitting on the transom...no jack plate to lift the motor. 

So i figured I could mess with it and get more out of it. I constantly read posts of people having the same boat/same motor or an equivalent Gheenoe and getting around 20 mph top end (give or take a few) I have never seen 13+ and here is a list of what I have done...

1. Had a marine tech look at it and the motor tuned up.

2. Bought a new prop 7.5 pitch.

3. Put Herculiner on the hull as I am running it in a river and drifting through several riffles when I float down.

4. Added a Bob's mini Jack and have the motor set 6 inches back and 3 inches up. That's when I went from 11.5 to 13 mph.

5. Had marine Tech look at it again and realized there was a cable linkage problem that wouldn't allow the motor to push the throttle to WOT but tested it manually with the cover off and pushed the throttle wide open and got very little difference, maybe 100 rpm. The tech said it was going to "cost me" to fix it. So I just bit the bullet and...

6. Bought a new motor, same one 9.9 hp mercury 4 stroke took it out and broke it in for a while, then tried WOT and guess what...12.5 mph with the stock 8.5 pitch.

7. Is it possible there is something wrong with the boat???? Not including motor, I have about 150 pounds of gear including trolling motor, anchor, cooler, new gear hatch with compartment, battery and gas tank and some misc. gear. I weigh 180 by the way and I thought maybe it was because of the extra weight, but it ran the same before I put that stuff in.

The previous owner had a cooler installed in the middle of the boat and the holes for the cooler tie downs went through the bottom of the hull but were then sealed of course with some kind of sealant. There are also a couple of cracks in the top side of the floor. Is it possible that the boat is water logged? I'm out of ideas, I've tried everything else... :-?


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## Dillusion (May 21, 2012)

No one is doing 20mph with a 9.9hp motor. They are flat out lieing.

20mph is what you would do with a 15HP motor.

You said you bought a brand new motor and are running it wide open, if that's the case- that's all you're going to get with a 9.9.


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## Hicatch (May 10, 2011)

> No one is doing 20mph with a 9.9hp motor. They are flat out lieing.
> 
> 20mph is what you would do with a 15HP motor.
> 
> You said you bought a brand new motor and are running it wide open, if that's the case- that's all you're going to get with a 9.9.


I agree, I have a B60 Kingfisher with a Merc 20hp 4 stroke and get 24-26 WOT with 2 people and gear with the standard aluminum prop.


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## mike519 (Jul 26, 2010)

My B60 is running 26,27by myself with my15 Suzuki 4stroke and 23 to 24 with 2 people.


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## DavidKnight (May 6, 2011)

I have a B-60 pro-caster deluxe and am researching what motor to put on it.  I called Bob (owner) at River hawk last year and asked about a 9.9hp and he said with 2 people and gear that it would be hard just to get it on plane.  He definitely recommended a 15hp or 20hp.  I am in no hurry to get the engine and continue to research what brand is best and read the post.  My thought is a 20 h.p. vs 15 h.p. as weight is the same on the 20 as the 15.  If you have questions call or e-mail Bob at river hawk.  If you don't mind me asking where did you get your Line-X hull job done and how have you liked it?


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

I had a b60 w/ 20hpmerc 4str top speed 26
did not like the merc

always stay w/i 85% of rated hp


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## mike519 (Jul 26, 2010)

The owner of my B60 had a 25 mercury4stroke before I got it . The transom had to be redone do to all the weight bouncing on the trailer.I added some corner to reinforce the transom and added a transom saver.When it was running the 25 the water line was about 6 inches and it would come over the back,think about putting it back on and moving up toward the front with a stick steer set up .


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