MacGregorSailors.com

@ Dave C / about the Honda BF50

it's the same engine in all regards (capacity and weight) as the BF40, but with remapped ignition software. For 90% of the rev range you get the performance of a 40hp unit - particularly lame torque.

The skeg/cav plate are such that you can't mount a wide-but-low-pitch prop. Coupled to the low torque, this means that the engine has difficulty smashing through chop at displacement speeds - it's like a modern Japanese motorcycle engine, all top-end

Finally, in Hong Kong, there are no Main Dealers. None. It's a complicated story, but not one.

Buy a BigFoot instead.

Yer wanna go fast get 75HP or bigger
http://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010002.mp4

J

That do look like fun.

My Mac is almost the same, 'cept for the mold, rust, cobwebs, etc.

Highlander wrote:Yer wanna go fast get 75HP or bigger
http://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010002.mp4

J

Beene's forestay looks a bit slack, and it's notable that all of the wrought ironwork on Highlander's scale-replica Titanic makes his boat significantly slower, even with the funnels down

Ya

I am embarrassed to say, you are quite correct.

I am in dire need of a serious rig tuning.

In fact, moments after that video, my pin that holds the forstay let go!
I was motoring along and notice that mast was bouncing a bit.
I looked at the bow and noticed the only thing stopping the mast from giving me a splitting headache was my old faithful backup......

I swear by using my asym halyard as a forstay backup.

I keep it attached to the bow pulpit.
The halyard was locked up and when the forstay pin let go, the mast fell back and the halyard stopped it.
The mast only managed to fall back 12 inches if I recall.

Fun

Stopped, replaced pin with something more secure, always carry spare everything.

Good to go

G

Or if you just want to look like you are going fast, when you are sitting still

Mike

Don't forget to have your marine flags starched - going strai

aya16 wrote:Or if you just want to look like you are going fast, when you are sitting still

Mike

ght back.

aya16 wrote:Or if you just want to look like you are going fast, when you are sitting still

Mike

Rodger measured the BF50 max speed while going over a waterfall:)

Oh Roger's boats will do the advertised 22 mph, he just forgot to tell us we would need some serious hp.

Wish I had a dollar for every 100 dollars spent trying to get max performance from the little engine that couldn't (the 50hp)
props, fins, countless hours spent researching how to get that engine to hit at least 20mph. If only the mighty mac was
blessed with a 75hp right from the factory.

Today was a good day, started out calm seas no wind, ran the mac at 24-25 mph with full ballast, brought the engine up, hoist the sails
sailed steady 30 miles at average 6 mph, rolled the jib up, sailed the main at 4.5 mph, best sailing my boat ever did, thanks to hard crab and his secret mast tuning.
Mike

Mike that 115 is a thing of beauty!!!!!

Love it

G

She certainly screams motorsailer. Rogers worst nightmare, for sure....
I dont recommend this motor to anyone with a mac. Shes a good motor, but way more power than the mac needs. I sling a 15 inch pitch prop, no problem with full ballast.
shes 25hp more than the 90's out there, 65 more hp then the standard 50's. Buttt there's no battle between the mac and the engine, to see who's boss, the engine barks
and the mack says which way, how fast sir.
Mike

I have a Yammy 50 hp with a 12 x 3 x 9 pitch prop.
I have tried 4 other pitches ,and the 9 with big dog ears gets me to 17/18 mph at wot.

that yamaha is doing really well, It seems the x's with their flat bottom are better at using the available hp then the M.
Sadly my M with fridge, and loads of stuff packed inside, would only hit speeds of 12-14 mph with my little suzuki 50 4 stroke.
Empty ballast, going down hill with the swell, that's all she had. Fighting the steering wheel because the boat wouldn't plane,
I was just frustrated with that motor.

My 13 foot Boston whaler with her 20 year old engine was getting tired, My little 50 hp Suzuki had a new home, the whaler
has never been happier, power trim, fuel injected 4 stroke, the whaler trims out and rides very well now.

That 60hp evinrude now on most factory mac's is a very good choice, the engine looks so tiny, but will give the mac some needed hp
from before (days of the 50), to bad mac stuck to their guns on the 50 hp thing for so long, many people bought the 50's because of that, and are now stuck with the little engine. 10 more hp, and a hundred bucks more, that 60 makes a big diff.

Lots of people dont need the larger hp engines, they sail most every where they go, but not here in so cal, you need the boat to plane to
get to most of the places we go, Catalina for one, the mac on plane is a very nice riding boat, she doesn't slam, cuts through the swell
and you don't have to fight the wheel, she does spray you in a wind chop, but if the wind is up like that, I like to sail.
Mike

Just LIL, here, but coincidentally I had my '99 out last night in relatively calm water (for a change - been pretty windy here lately).

Got it up to 16 mph, according to my little spare handheld GPS. That's with mast up, main on the boom (covered), genoa rolled up, no ballast, all foils retracted completely, and three men in the boat. Going against a light breeze. Probably should have tried it in the opposite direction, too.

Oh, and the engine is the much maligned Honda BF50 with a 3-blade prop, running at about 5800 rpm or so (6k redline). I think the prop is the same as the spare I'm looking at now, which is an 11-3/4 dia. x 10 Honda (blades have curved leading edges and straight trailing edges). Since this is the biggest boat engine I've ever driven, it seems pretty good to me, but then, this is also the first boat I've ever driven that didn't have a typical sailboat displacement hull.

Our solution for the underpowered BF50. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqKgqweVZVQ

We had the kids wakeboarding last weekend pulling them 21 MPH @ 4800 RPM.

1.3 years later it is hard to imagine the BF50 on our 26' boat:)