'81 Manatee 21' vbr info and hp recommendations

[axelrod]

I recently inherited the Manatee. It has been sitting in my grandfathers barn in Md. for at least 15 years after the outboard went on it. Nobody in the family seems to know anything about it other than My grandfather bought it new in 82' and they used to love spending time on it.

I initially had intentions of selling it, but it is a fairly clean boat and after drilling some sample holes and finding out that it is actually solid with no rot or soft spots my wife and I are thinking of selling our smaller boat and keeping it.

That being said, I can't find out much information on the net about these boats and nobody can remember what hp outboard was on it. Any info on these boats or hp recommendations would be great.

 

[phillipgo]

There should be a plate somewhere with the capacities. Mine is a 77 and it has a plate. Mine is the 1900 VBR and it is rated for 145hp.

 

[jbcurt00]

Iboats spec pages provide some info

http://boatspecs.iboats.com/Manatee__21_VBR__1982/bp/66b53029

 

[axelrod]

There should be a plate somewhere with the capacities. Mine is a 77 and it has a plate. Mine is the 1900 VBR and it is rated for 145hp.

The boat is over 20 ft and does not have a plate from the manufacturer. thanks jb on the link but I believe iboats is off on that info. Especially now that I know that the 19' is rated at 145.

 

[jbcurt00]

I doubt iboat's specs are off by much if any.

The link in my signature to boat specs lists the above posted 19ftr as rated for 140hp for 1982. Not much of a change from the 1977s plate he mentioned.

The jump from a 19ft to 21ft makes yours a much more substantial boat, you'll likely need most of the increase to 235hp that iboats lists

 

[phillipgo]

Keep in mind the weight differences in motors today and the motors of 70's early 80's. I have a 2006 Opti 75hp. It weighs 375#. A 77 75hp Johnson weighed 230#. In your case a 235hp Johnson weighed 400#. I think the weight might mean more than the hp.

 

[axelrod]

Doing some more searching, I came across this in a 2007 thread. Thats way different information than what Iboats had. He never found where he kept his manual. What do you think? I'm going to be purchasing a motor this fall and really need to come up with the right info before I purchase.

Re: 21 ft Manatee, new motor

21 foot Manatee cuddy is rated for 170 max. (Listed in the catalog as a 20 foot boat--actual length 20"9") Mine --a 1988, because it is over 20 feet long, has no capacity plate. Only has a statement that it complies with Coast guard regulations at the date it was built. If yours is not a cuddy, the horsepower is about 10-20 less but that's just a guesstimate unless I can find the VERY safe place I stored the catalog. Cuddy hull weighs 1600 lbs bare--no engine, fuel, battery, canvas, or GC equipment.

Engine size is listed in the sales catalog. It is interesting that the catalog states maximum horsepower as 170 but the photo shows the boat with a 90 on it. I also found it interesting that the 19 foot cuddy is the exact same boat with 2 feet less length at the stern. All other dimensions are the same. I think it is rated for 140 hp. I had a 125 and now have a 140 on my 21 foot cuddy and would like more. It gets 38 MPH at wide open throttle. 90 or 115 will be slightly underpowered even though either engine will get the hull onto a plane at somewhere around 15 MPH and deliver a top speed around 28-32 MPH. It is a narrow hull with a fine entry and wide flaring bow, so it is an excellent bay or ocean boat. However, because the hull is narrow, at speed she tends to roll or list to either side as passengers move or change positions in the boat.

Do not worry about fuel economy. It will not be a factor with any engine unless you run it at wide open throttle at all times. In other words, no matter what size engine you have, within reason, it will take the same amount of fuel to go the same speed. With the larger engine, you can go faster and will then use more fuel. But it's nice to know you have the reserve power and speed if you need it.

 

[axelrod]

bump

 

[Frank Acampora]

It is a nice rough water boat with a wide flaring bow to help keep you dry. My 20 foot (actually 21 foot cuddy) is rated for 170 or 180 Horsepower (don't remember so well) and with a 150 will do 40 MPH with two people. I bought it with a 125 and that engine would only get it to 33 MPH. so: for good performance get as close to maximum as possible. There is no capacity plate but a suggested horsepower is shown in the catalogs.

However, the 20/21 was simply a stretched 18 footer so the beam is narrow for its length. This makes the boat very tender for people moving around inside it. It also makes it susceptible to engine weight since a 30 gallon tank is mounted under the splash well. The other problem I have is that the hull has a riding pad. My Caulkins trailer has bogeys with center keel rollers and the boat NEVER goes on that trailer straight.

Don't know about the VBR, but my cuddy weighs only 1600 pounds dry.--A little light for a boat that size.

 

[phillipgo]

My 1900VBR tops out at 27 with a 75 OPTI with a 4 blade prop. I like a low planing speed. I put the AGM31 up under the bow for better weight distribution. If I had the money, I'd put a 90 E-tec on her. I think that would be the perfect motor.