is 9.9hp enough for a 3500lb boat?

[TintedChrome]

So it's about that time.. this is the season where outboards and general boat parts come cheap, and I need one for my boat. My question is whether a 9.9 is enough to power a 24ft 3500lb boat reliably through chop or against the wind. I remember my grandfather having a 9.9 on his ~5000lb 27footer, but it would really struggle to keep her pointed when the stronger tides or wind was against us.

Essentially, sailing on Lake Ontario I want to make sure I have enough power on tap to power through and not get caught off guard mooring/docking/trying to make my way home, but at the same time it's a small boat and I don't want to throw too much weight back there.

[deniseO30]

yes it's enough. I think the rule of thumb is 1 hp for each 1000 lbs

[gasolino]

I have a 9.9 hp on my 4400 lb 25' boat. I haven't ever had any difficulty moving her with it. I haven't encountered much strong wind or current yet, though. I do sail on a shallow, mucky lake, and when I wasn't too familiar with the waters, I'd get stuck in the mud regularly. The 9.9 never had any trouble getting me out.

[tommays]

Its a big motor and while the 6Hp would be plenty you will like how much smoother the twin cylinder runs

Try and buy it with the high thrust prop as the standard prop is for planing hulls

[TintedChrome]

Great! Thanks for all the advice!

[dabnis]

Tinted,
I had a Coronado 25 at about 4,000 lbs. Had a 6HP which was marginal for
San Francisco Bay conditions. Changed to a 15HP 2 stroke Evinrude
which was the same size and weight as the 9.9HP. The 15HP would
drive us through anything we wanted to be out in at hull speed. Suggest you get the strongest motor with the longest shaft that will fit. You can never
have too much power when it gets nasty. Here are some links related
to your question:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...-2-stroke.html

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/genera...-purchase.html

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/genera...endations.html

Dabnis

[olson34]

I used a Yamaha 10 Hi Thrust with the 25" leg on my 4K displacement 26 footer for almost a decade. This is special motor, with a 3 to 1 reduction gear, for displacement hulls.
I used to have to motor thru a narrow channel with an afternoon 3' chop and a 20 kt head wind where sailing was not possible, and it would hardly drop a quarter knot from it's regular 6 kt speed. That was fully loaded for summer cruising, too. With people and assorted food and stuff on board we were likely displacing about 5K.

There's no comparison with the old two strokes from the 60's or 70's. Those were often way over-rated in their advertised hp.

A modern four stroke will only burn a half gallon an hour on that size boat and be wonderfully quiet as well.

L

edit: Our 26 footer came with a Honda 10 long shaft, and it was suffering from corrosion problems from the prior owner's use in salt water. The Honda with the 20" leg would pop out sometimes in a chop. Our Yamaha 10 with 25" virtually never cavitated. Larger dia. prop, exhaust thru prop, lots of blade area, and geared down for lower speeds -- the "Hi Thrust" was and is the superior answer for a sailboat.
One more thing... ours was a pull start model too, and even my 5'4" wife could start it with two pulls -- both hands!

[Sternik]

I have 9.8hp Tohatsu on my 7200lbs Solina 27, no issues so far. Motor is equipped with high-thrust prop. I sailed under power twice in 34-36kt winds (against the wind) without much problem.

T.

[COOL]

No outboard is going to work great
on a small light boat in a steep chop.
But adding lots of horse power is not likely
to help much either.
A 4 stroke 6HP long shaft motor will work
fine, and at 55lbs it will be possible to
lift it on and off the transom without
herniating a disk.
The Suzuki 5 used to be the standard
engine for Olson 30s, and they could
get up to 7 knots out of that motor.

[dabnis]

Originally Posted by COOL

No outboard is going to work great
on a small light boat in a steep chop.
But adding lots of horse power is not likely
to help much either.
A 4 stroke 6HP long shaft motor will work
fine, and at 55lbs it will be possible to
lift it on and off the transom without
herniating a disk.
The Suzuki 5 used to be the standard
engine for Olson 30s, and they could
get up to 7 knots out of that motor.

I had a Coronado 25 which I consider to be somewhat small.
It had a good well layout with the motor mount somewhat
forward of the water line, IIRC. With the long shaft, at that time
20", I think, the prop almost never came out of the water and then
just barely. Adding HP for nasty conditions is OK if you can
"get the power to the ground" so to speak. A lot depends on
your transom or well layout. I would think the new high thrust
props with lower gearing and 25" shaft would be far more
efficient than the older standard props. We got a prop with
about an inch or so less pitch and it worked fine. Running
in calm water is one thing, going against the wind and steep,
high chop is another. Power is good.

Dabnis