New Boat motor options

[aya16]

about the 90, I would go with a 90 if I had it to do over. For sure The transom would be stiffened.

I have the suzuki 50 4 stroke and Im very happy wit the thing.
The reason I want the bigger engine: isnt speed but power. towing a dingy or just set the speed at around 18mph depending on the seas of course. The ballast full these speeds are obtanainable with a 90.
My choice so far would be the 90 tohatsu or now the 90 evenrude.
The millage chart on the evenrude is aswome looks even better then my 4 stroke.

For me this will happen next year as I have a 13 foot whaler with an older 2 stroke motor, The suzuki 50 will do nice on that so there is no waisted
great shape suzuki.

Also you might want to think about this,,,No one ever complains about having to much power, they always complain about not enough.

[McSkipper]

A lot of good comments on pros & cons over going over the 50 hp. One response said "That increased engine weight will marginally decrease your sailboat side of the power sailor." My understanding of that comment came from one of the engineers that worked with Roger on the design of the X & M. The increased weight results in the raising of the bow. The Macs don't point to wind to well to begin with. Add the weight in the stern and you add to the problem according to this guy.
Personally, if I had it to do over, I'd go with a 70hp. A little more guts than the 50 I have but I don't believe it would add a noticable amount of weight, nor additional stress that would result in making transom modifications.
Whatever you do, you will enjoy the results.
Skip

[ALX357]

One other thing to think about..... the owners of heavier motors have found the weight a burden to the steering when sailing with the prop lifted up out of the water, while the steering is still connected. The remedy is to disconnect the motor from the steering when sailing. But the owners of lighter motors seem to not have this problem. It is one less thing to have to do, and makes a quicker transition to motoring when you sometimes need it, even if just for a few moments. Eg. becalmed with a windy patch just a hundred yards away, or momentarily stuck against a lee shore, or just need to round a point before getting under way with the wind again.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

Personally, if I had it to do over, I'd go with a 70hp. A little more guts than the 50 I have but I don't believe it would add a noticable amount of weight, nor additional stress that would result in making transom modifications.

we've been thru the "weight" exercise on many occasions...
the following is "about" what each weighs:
merc 50 or 60 - 250#
honda 50 - 210#
honda 75 or 90 - 385#
suzuki 50 - 250#
suzuki 60 or 70 - 340#
suzuki 90, 115, 140 - 410#
evinrude etec (2 stroke) 70 or 90 - 315#
nissan/tohatsu (2 stroke) 70 or 90 - 310#

bottom line...
a suzi 70 weighs almost 90# more than a suzi 50.
it also weighs more than an etec or tohat 90.
an etec or tohat 90 weighs only 60# more than a suzi 50.
you will maximize your power to weight ratio with one of the new clean buring 2-strokes.

[HERNDON]

Hey...I'll take your weak 50hp motors!!!!

I have a 8 hp Tohatsu (1996) that I use
leaving and entering the dock and also into the
wind to raise and lower the sails. I fill both 6 gal
tanks in March and empty both into truck in Feb
the following year.

Doesn't charge your battery either.

Not bragging...not suggesting anyone change.

Tiny little motor is cute though..

I am standing on the dock with a card board sign....

"will work for 50 HP motor"

"humor"

Rob H.

[kmclemore]

[Jeff WYllie]

Wow...thanx for all the input guys. You folks do your homework.

I feel the 50 will be large enough for me, as my last boat - an old venture - only had a 7 hp on it. 6 gal of gas goes along way with one of those.

I am looking forward to doing a bit more than 5 kts and the extra speed will open up alot of new sailing areas. Pulling a tube in a sailboat still seems kinda strange thu....but the kids will get used to it.

I will be giving the dealer my list of options in the next day or two. I will let you know how it works out. not much snow around Las Vegas so I can sail all year long. I have waited a very long time to get a new boat....I feel like a kid before Christmass.

Thanx again for the help.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

I feel the 50 will be large enough for me, as my last boat - an old venture - only had a 7 hp on it. 6 gal of gas goes along way with one of those.

huge mistake (going with a 50hp vs. a 90hp).
you will regret that decision for the rest of your "Mac ownership" life.

that is, two years from now...on this board...you will be telling us the story about the day (today) you decided that a 50hp for your Mac was more than enough power.
and now (two years from today) you regret that decision.

been there, done that.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Pulling a tube in a sailboat still seems kinda strange thu....but the kids will get used to it.

Hey, I did that for the first time a couple weeks ago and sure enough, I got a lot of strange looks Kids loved it , wife didn't...

I have a 2000 X boat with the Merc BF 50 on it. Not sure if it is the same with an M but the engine cowl does hit/raise the captains seat at the very end of the tilt. However, it is still way up enough to keep the motor out of the water at rest. During sailing though, if I have too much weight towards the stern, the very tip (like 1 inch) of the motor skeg may drag the water a tiny bit..but I think that is pretty insignificant. I could always keep the seat up if I wanted to raise it that last couple inches.

[Chip Hindes]

But I was disappointed looking at the fuel mileage for the 50 TLDI, it's only marginally better than the old 50D: 5.0 gal/hr for TLDI vs 5.2 gal/hr for the old 50D. The fuel useage chart is right on the Tohatsu website.

You're looking at the wrong numbers. Your 5.2 gph figure is at 5500 RPM, that's WOT. At WOT, fuel consumption doesn't vary much more than 10% or so, worst to best, for all modern outboards, including four strokes. The differences happen at part throttle, which for most of us is where we operate most of the time.

Instead look at this one.

At hull speed, trolling speed and idle, TLDI will be 4-5 times better than the carbureted two stroke, and at least competitive if not better than the four stroke. I would assume the same rough numbers apply to the ETEC.

[Miami]

The Tohatsu fuel consumption chart is on this page, but you have to click on the "fuel consumption information" link to get the pop up chart.

http://www.tohatsu.com/tech_info/index.html

And yes, those figures are for WOT at 5500 rpm.

However, if the TLDI, which reduces to near zero the amount of fuel that is wasted through the exhaust cycle in a normal 2 stroke, even at WOT the improvement over the old 50D should be much better than a measly 0.2 gph. I believe a Honda 4 stroke 50 is less than 4 gph at WOT.

Maybe the 50D is better than most common 2 strokes.

[Chip Hindes]

However, if the TLDI, which reduces to near zero the amount of fuel that is wasted through the exhaust cycle in a normal 2 stroke

Yes, but you're grossly oversimplifying. The carbureted 2-S motor doesn't waste a lot of fuel in the exhaust at all operating conditions, only at part throttle. It is optimized to produce 50 HP at WOT, and at that optimized point it is quite efficient. Again, as I stated, as good as most four strokes.

I believe a Honda 4 stroke 50 is less than 4 gph at WOT

I would be pretty surprised if the Honda was that much better at WOT, especially since it's carbureted. I notice the Honda Marine website makes no such claims. Interestingly, in a triumph of marketing BS over substance, they claim a "4-stoke advantage over 2-stroke technology" compared to the ETEC. Ignoring the Nissan/Tohatsu TLDI completely and also the truth, that Honda's antique carbureted four stoke "technology" has been surpassed by everyone else's FI 4-strokes and the TLDI and ETEC 2-Strokes as well.