[coldsteel]

Aloha,

I have a 1974 Cal T4, 24', sailboat here in Hawaii. It is a real fixer upper and does not have an outboard motor. I am unsure how big or how small of an outboard I should get for this size of boat. I have a friend who has an old Johnson 50hp, with a 15" shaft. I think that the motor is too big and the shaft is too short for the boat. The boat has not been changed where the motor goes on the transom. Should I change that and put in a lift up motor mount? Please let me know what you think about this.

Mahalo

 

[mrwuffles]

your not going to be able to pull up a 50 on a lift up motor mount, you should probably put 10-15 hp if you don't have too strong a current. It will also burn less gas.

 

[Faster]

8 - 10 HP should be plenty unless you are having to regularly fight strong winds and currents to leave your mooring/marina area. The 4 stokes in this power range have a lot of push, are much quieter and burn cleaner.

A long shaft is certainly recommended for a transom mount esp if you are having to motor in sizable waves (as I'd guess you might). Not sure of your setup, but a lifting mount may be indicated if you would otherwise drag part of the motor in the water when sailing.

That 50 hp motor is totally not what you want!

 

[sailingfool]

Given you are in a budget boat, I'd recommend you find a used 4-6HP 2cycle and mount it in the normal location. Get a long shaft if you can find one. This will be enough - you will find pleny of opportunities to spend more money on your boat, if you feel you can afford a bigger, new 4 stroke engine, you should buy yourself some new sails instead.

 

[HerbDB]

I used to have a Catalina 25 and used a Honda 7.5Hp long shaft motor on it. Plenty of power to push the boat at hull speed plus it had a charging lead to keep the battery charged.

 

[coldsteel]

Thanks for the information. So if I get a used 4-6 hp outboard, long shaft if possible, that should be enough to get me in and out of the boat slip and out into Pearl Harbor? I am not planning on taking her out into blue water until I get some courses behind me and some time sailing her. What would you say the Max would be for this small of a boat?

 

[camaraderie]

4-6 is sufficient...7.5-9.9 would provide an extra margin of safety in stronger winds and currents. Longshaft is the ONLY type to get if you want the prop to stay in the water in a chop. Enjoy!

 

[bubb2]

Stay with the 50 horse. It should weigh enough to make the stern squat down enough to keep the prop in the water. On the days with no wind you can go water skiing. I think that the extra weight of the 50 should only cost you 1 to 2 knots of sailing speed.

On second thought, stay with advice given in the other posts above.

 

[mrwuffles]

On some small boats with a short shaft if you go to the bow something comes out of the water and makes a lot of noise I noticed this when I was catching or unhooking mooring lines on my boat. So now I have a long shaft.

 

[Faster]

Stay with the 50 horse. It should weigh enough to make the stern squat down enough to keep the prop in the water. On the days with no wind you can go water skiing. I think that the extra weight of the 50 should only cost you 1 to 2 knots of sailing speed.
.

Sometimes I think you're just evil, bubb!

 

[bubb2]

Sometimes I think you're just evil, bubb!

Sometimes, I do too!

 

[coldsteel]

Bubb2,

Thanks for the advice but I think that I will go with the conventional wisdom on this one

 

[bubb2]

Bubb2,

Thanks for the advice but I think that I will go with the conventional wisdom on this one

You're welcome

 

[Mc51]

My Cal25 came with a 10hp honda. It was about on it's last leg, but still had plenty of power to push her. We get pretty tide running out of the bayou that our marina is in when the tide is going out. The 10hp had problems with cranking so I bought a 2 stroke 6hp. It was okay but I felt better with the extra power that the 10hp had. My next project is to convert to a hybred. I intend to pull the powerhead off of the old 10hp and replace it with an 30 or 40hp electric motor.

 

[Izzy1414]

Mc51 (or anyone else),
Have you done any research on the hybrid project? Would be very interested in any information on changing outboard to electric.

 

[Bene505]

The 50hp could be used as part of your ground tackle, to supplement a nice mushroom anchor. Let's not discount the usefulness of a large horsepower engine with a boat that size. Just not the original intended use <grin>.

 

[SailKing1]

Coldsteel, I had a 9.8 on a 26 and never used more than half the power it provided even in strong current. Anything between 7-9 should be more than effeicent. Prop has a lot to do with it also.

 

[coldsteel]

Outboard motors

Izzy1414

No, I have not done any research on the hybrid conversion. I am going with a 4 stroke 9.9 outboard. Does anyone have any information on the Parsons or Sky outboard motors? My friend Kevin says they are a Chinese knock off of the Yamaha engine and that the parts are interchangeable. The price is quite a bit less than the Yamaha so I guess the quality is quite a bit lower than the Yamaha. There are no dealers in the state of Hawaii that I can locate on the internet, so if I buy one it will be direct from the company via the internet. If you have any information I would greatly appreciate it before I put down the cash that it will cost for a new outboard.

Mahalo

 

[Izzy1414]

Coldsteel,
From just a quick look at the specs for Parsun vs Yamaha on web site, they seem to be a little different motors(displacement,fuel tank configuration,options,etc). I'm not sure how accurate the Parsun data was that I was looking at as it seemed to show the same displacement for the 15 hp as the 9.9 hp. Also there are lots of models to compare so it probably will take a lot more research (best would be to talk to an experienced outboard mechanic). I am thinking about repowering too and the Yamaha 9.9 high thrust model looks like a good choice but it is pretty expensive. Anybody with input on the high thrust model?

 

[Bene505]

Izzy1414

No, I have not done any research on the hybrid conversion. I am going with a 4 stroke 9.9 outboard. Does anyone have any information on the Parsons or Sky outboard motors? My friend Kevin says they are a Chinese knock off of the Yamaha engine and that the parts are interchangeable. The price is quite a bit less than the Yamaha so I guess the quality is quite a bit lower than the Yamaha. There are no dealers in the state of Hawaii that I can locate on the internet, so if I buy one it will be direct from the company via the internet. If you have any information I would greatly appreciate it before I put down the cash that it will cost for a new outboard.

Mahalo

You might want to find out from other Sailnetters if they have had any reliability issues with them. The times you use your engine can be the times you really need it to work.

Regards