Since repowering Sojourn, I’ve taken it easy, rarely getting above 2000 RPM. My knot meter isn’t working and was never calibrated, so I don’t actually know how fast that pushes her – perhaps 3.5-4 knots, obviously just shy of light speed. Yesterday Annie and her friend Loren were begging to go to Jetty Island. We only had about an hour and it’s about a half mile each way, so light speed was going to be too slow. The river was calm, so we tied every thing down, took our seats and pushed Sojourns power lever all the way forward to, yes, ludicrous speed.
Up river, the GPS settled on 5.5 knots. 20 minutes later, it settled on 7.3 knots on the return course. So, ludicrous speed averaged 6.4kts on the GPS with the engine turning 3500-3600 RPM and no evidence of soot or smoke. So for Islander 30 MKII and Bahama owners with Beta 14’s, if any others exist, here is a data point for you.
Incidentally, this sinks the transom to the point that the exhaust fitting, which is normally 4-5 inches above the water line, is completely submerged. The Beta 14 came with a 2:1 ratio gear box and is spinning a 13X8 2 blade Michigan Sailor prop.
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