250xb on Pulse 186

[cheapbeater]

I will be bringing home my 1996 Pulse 186 sometime this week. It currently has a 175 Merc on it, but I have a 250xb i would like to swap off my other boat. Will this boat handle the weight and torque of a 3 liter? Is anyone else running a 250 on a 186? Does this boat respond well to setback? I will have about 6 inches with my jackplate. Also, does anyone know how many gallons this fuel tank is?
Thanks!

 

[KevinR]

I have a friend with a 225 3 liter with 12 inches of set back on a Pulse 186 26 bravo FX and it handles the weight just fine. He added some ballast up front but that was just for low speed planning stability.

 

[JW]

I've always wanted to do a 3.0 on the back of the 185/186. Be very careful of the transom, inspect it inside and out carefully. I've come across a couple excellent condition boats recently that had major cracks inside near the cap, running horizontally across the transom left to right.

 

[JUPITER PULSARE]

I don't think you would have a problem running your Pro XB250 on your Pulse. With 6" of setback you should be fine. If you increase your setback you may have some lower speed handling issues. I'm currently running a Mercury Pro XB250/11.5" of setback on a Starflite which weighs about 1250 lbs and is 21'2" in length with no issues. You should see speeds in excess of 75mph all day long with 6" of setback...maybe even in the 80's!!

 

[cheapbeater]

Thanks for the replys.. i should have the boat this week and the motor on this weekend. Ill let you guys know how it goes.

 

[cheapbeater]

The XB is on and looks great! Got a little wiring to do, then i plan to flush the fuel tank and put a new line on it.. does anyone know how many gallons the fuel tank is?

 

[JW]

I'm remembering 32 gallons for that year/model. If you access the top of the tank, it should have a label

 

[cheapbeater]

I cant read the label. I hope its at least 32.. this motor is thirsty!

 

[zstevens]

My 91' pulse 185 is 32 gal .