I recently did a sea trial on a boat I'm thinking about buying, a 1990
Thompson 288 Adventurer flybridge cruiser with twin 350 mercruiser inboards.
I was disappointed to find that at 3200 RPM, trimmed for max speed, it could
only make 13-14 knots, as indicated by GPS, and at WOT, around 4800 rpm, it
topped out at about 24. This was in glass-smooth protected waters with
little wind. The engines seemed to be running fine, but this seems a rather
slow boat. It's my understanding that much over 3200 rpm the 4bbl carbs
open up and send fuel consumption through the roof. Any thoughts or advice
for this beginner?

Steve