MacGregorSailors.com

@Dave

magnetic wrote: previously
To my mind the BF50 is a truly awful engine; firstly, it is identical to the BF40 except for the ignition mapping software, which means that for most of the rev range you get the torque and general grunt associated with a far smaller engine. Secondly the cav plate and rudder skeg seriously restricts the diameter propellor you can select, and I am a firm believer in blade surface area over pitch.

17 knots. WOT, with stock Honda 4 Blade prop.

Andre Emmenegger wrote:17 knots. WOT, with stock Honda 4 Blade prop.

No ballast? One person? Calm? at sea level?

Or were you surfing down a big wave?

Phil M

17 knots is more or less where I got to in 2010 - flat water, minimal wind or tide, ballast out, 1 person, full tanks, mast & sails in position, antifouling paint, standard kit below decks

My swings a 3-blade Honda prop, dimensions listed elsewhere in this discussion, and these days I max out (at sea) at around 16 knots WOT / 6,000 rpm. It may well be the case that the 4 blade is a better prop

17 knots WOT, sea level, one person, light load, calm seas, no tide, no wind, stock honda 4 blade prop. I only longboard, so no surfing this time.

2000 26X with bottom paint , loaded with gear and water.
Honda 50 engine with standard prop
All sailing gear and full ballast
two people on board

We get about 10mph .

I tried a high speed run just the other day , same as last year , about 10mph max.

You have to empty the ballast to go faster.

I didn't buy a Mac to go fast . I bought it because it carries enough motor to get out of the way of a storm and it has an alternator .
I can cruise at hull speed and get close to 10mpg or sail and ride for free .

Which beats my previous boat , a 22' Bayliner cabin cruiser that got 3 mpg at hull speed .

I bought a to use as a poor mans trawler with the option of sailing.

For me to need to run so fast as to dump the ballast , I would have to be rushing somebody to a hospital .

I agree; as I said in my earlier comment,

The longer I have had the the less concerned I am about outright speed under power; sure, 10 - 12 kts to get the boat up out of the water around 4,500 revs, but above that the fuel economy really drops off badly; I would far prefer to have a massive prop which could consistently smash me through lumpy seas at high displacement speeds, but the Honda isn't able to swing one