How much motor is enough?

[Jamesakers]

I have a 16 foot Buccaneer Deck Boat. It's weight is 1750 lbs., is rated to carry 9 passengers, and is rated for a motor up to 150 hp.<br />It has/had a 1973 Evinrude 135 hp motor on it. It recently broke down, and it will be too costly for repair. I bought the boat when I did not live on a lake. Now, I live on a lake with a speed limit of 10 mph (I don't pay much attention to the speed limit). My question is, how large of a motor can I install on this boat, and still hit plane once in a while. I don't want some granny boat, but I want something that can pull a tube, and won't carbon up and foul out from idling too much. It is such an old boat that I don't want to buy a new motor, but I have re-decked it and have an attachment to it. Any advise? Thanks in advance.

 

[JB]

Re: How much motor is enough?

Hi, James.<br /><br />Outboard boats I have owned mostly performed well with 70% of rated power. "Well" means 85 to 90% of performance with max power.<br /><br />I would expect that less power would give you a sluggish boat.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: How much motor is enough?

150hp!!

 

[aspeck]

Re: How much motor is enough?

scratch off the hp rating and put on a 200!!! That'll make the eyes squint!

 

[LubeDude]

Re: How much motor is enough?

I agree with ZMOZ, You will get great performance, have lots of power to pull tubes or whatever, and you can cut back on the power to cruise all day at 30-35MPH economically!! Im a firm beleiver in powering a boat to the maximum rated HP! Dont over power, Insurance issues, and the transome wasnt designed for it!<br /><br />LubeDude

 

[RatFish]

Re: How much motor is enough?

Ditto here... Maximum rated horsepower. In your case 150hp.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: How much motor is enough?

Most boats are safer with even more HP...and they don't really rate them by transom strenght...but for insurance you do want to be at maximum or below. (Or at least put 150hp stickers on your 200hp outboard )

 

[Jdeagro]

Re: How much motor is enough?

If you are using this boat only on the lake where you now live, and the speed limit is 10 MPH, and you want something that will allow you to plane, it sounds like the question is how little you can get away with and still have some performance.<br /><br />I would suspect that if you put a 150HP on the boat it will do about 40MPH. This is likely to be faster than you will go on your lake even if you are not paying mind to the limit.<br /><br />You also indicated that you did not want the motor to load up at low speeds. Keep in mind that the bigger the motor the more likely it will load up at idle speeds, unless it is a new 4 stroke.<br /><br />If I am understanding you correctly, I would look for a 90 HP which will be a lot less money than a 150HP, and burn a lot less fuel. Planing may be an issue unless you install Trim Tabs ( or Smart Tabs for under $200.00). I am sure that others on this site will think that I am ust trying to sell tabs, but that is not true for two reasons, one we sell tabs for boats with much more HP than 150, and two we have a lot of experience with trim tabs on this size boat and the performance improvements. We sell a lot in Europe and they typically "under power" because gas is $7.00 per gallon. <br /><br />HP isn't always the answer!<br /><br />Good luck and Have fun, that what counts.

 

[Solittle]

Re: How much motor is enough?

If you want to explore the possibility of getting your 135 running post back with what it is or isn't doing.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: How much motor is enough?

Always go for the max. I have yet to see someone disappointed by buying the max...yet have seen many who wish they should have done so! It's only a few bucks more to do it right!

 

[aspeck]

Re: How much motor is enough?

For the record, the 200hp was a joke! Insurance would have fun with that. However, I got a deal on an 88SPL and over rated mine by 3hp. Insurance agent said that would not be a prob - hope I never have to find out.<br /><br />With that said, my boat is a 16 foot Skeeter. Started out wiht a 70 on it. Was not happy - with one other person in the boat it would not come on plane. Trim Tabs helped some, but too much back end weight. Prop pitch helped some, but still not satisfactory performance. The 88spl did the trick. I was amazed at the difference 18 HP made - top end about 9 more mph and my hole shot increased dramatically. No more fighting to get on plane!<br /><br />If you can afford it, don't skimp on HP. You can always back off when on plane and save fuel then. Just my thoughts.

 

[Jamesakers]

Re: How much motor is enough?

Thanks to all!! Looks like I should "go for the gold".<br /><br />James<br />The two happiest days in a boaters life:<br />(1) the day that he buys it<br />(2) the day that he sells it

 

[Maximerc]

Re: How much motor is enough?

There are tons of those 88 hp johnsons out there that would do what you are looking for. Why pay for a Nascar if you can only use first gear ??? More fuel costs and repalcment costs later !