Recommendation for 50 HP 4 cycle Out Board Motor

[Kittiwake]

....
I have a Honda 50 .... . 6 kt is a nice speed for the Mac. Any higher and things get pretty noisy too.

Thanks for this Rob! All the talk of new outboards with spiffy capabilities got me excited about the possibility of finding a 'silent' motor for poking along close to shore enjoying BC's coastline and wildlife. I needed to hear that even the 4-strokes are not silent - otherwise I'd be trying desperately to rationalize getting a new engine.

Victor I suspect the data presented by dlandersson are for an E-tec 60 (?)

And dl I suspect that the fuel consumption numbers for 21 mph and 19.9 mph are reversed (?) ... but I wasn't clever enough to find them on the Mac web site myself.

MacTommy that new Honda 60 does look good (as does the Suzuki).
I guess the concept of adding oil to the gas may raise the spectre of the old days when one had to sort of top them both off together. But with the E-tec the oil consumption is so low that you simply fill the motor's neat little oil reservoir say once per season (although I do carry some spare oil on long trips just in case, because I rarely check the reservoir - the motor warns you when it is starting to get low).
Kittiwake

[DaveB]

I think he forgot to say if engine had duel turbo charge.
Actually Ford,s 3.5 litter new Double turbo charge has a remarkable very high tork at low rpm's. Maybe the outboards can do the same to get out of the hole much faster with a lot more hp.for same size engine.
I still think one can get 20mph on a 50 hp outboard with a 125 lb person, motorcycle battery and boat fresh from factor with no gear on a X.
I know when I bought my used Mac.X I got 17.5 mph with 420 Lbs Crew and reg. battery and nothing else in the boat as extras.
Now down to 14.5 mph loaded with extra 600 lbs of items.
Dave

From the Macgregor web site: ...

Miles per gallon at full speed
3.5 mpg at 21 mph
2.7 mpg at 19.9 mph

21 Mph with a 50 Hp motor? Great marketing dream

Victor

[innervations]

Kittiwake is correct. The amount of oil used by the ETec is minuscule and you would certain,y not worry about the cost. This also creates a problem though. I went a whole year without adding any oil and after a while I just stopped checking it. Then one day motoring back from Rottnest island which is about 12 nm offshore in a 2m swell the engine low oil alarm goes off. I had a full container of oil on board qno worries but trying to pour it into the tank on the engine half way back to the mainland was no fun at all

Spilled about a pint all over the engine . Had no choice but continue on. Called the evinrude techs when I got back and they told me not to worry about it. Sure enough engine has continues to sing on.

Now I check the engine oil resoirvour EVERY time I take the boat out! Bit of a trap for young players

[Kittiwake]

Kittiwake is correct. The amount of oil used by the ETec is minuscule and you would certainly not worry about the cost. This also creates a problem though. I went a whole year without adding any oil and after a while I just stopped checking it. Then one day motoring back from Rottnest island which is about 12 nm offshore in a 2m swell the engine low oil alarm goes off. I had a full container of oil on board so no worries but trying to pour it into the tank on the engine half way back to the mainland was no fun at all ....

Something similar happened to me about a year ago ... but fortunately in calm water. The ironic part is that, although the warning light and alarm scare the pants off one, the manual reassures that, 'after the low oil warning occurs you have 5 hours of normal operation left before you must add more oil'
... and reading between the lines in another area of the manual, probably even then you could throttle back to low revs and stagger on home.
The smart electronics in big modern outboards seem to have foreseen-and-allowed-for many of the errors that operators can make. Hence our tiny 2.5 hp Suzuki (which seems not to have any of this fancy stuff) always brings a happy smile to my face by reminding me of the 'good' old days when it snorts and hiccups and forces one to juggle the manual choke and throttle to keep it running.
Kittiwake

[seahouse]

Hey Kittiwake!

I never cease to be amazed either at how technology constantly evolves to protect us from ourselves. At society’s present rate and course, we can extrapolate to a point in time when we will spend our entire 90+ years just floating in amniotic fluid. Sans Macgregor!

Did I just type that out loud?

While an engine cannot run toooo long without oil (they’ve done that) for lubrication, aluminum V8’s (12 years ago that I know of, and I’m sure others since) had an operating mode where the car could still be run several hundred miles without damage with the coolant gone, according to the manufacturer. The computer sensed the condition and changed the operating parameters (eg fired alternating cylinders while others cooled).

Quite unlike outboards of yore the Etecs get very high range when at, or just above, idle. (Not to mention without smoking and the plugs don’t foul.) So the range on the reserve oil in “limp home mode” could be quite high too- that is good to know if and when the time comes.

- Brian.

[innervations]

Ok guys I admit I panicked when the alarm went off holy s!?&t - low oil! Better put more in. Would have been a lot easier to just putter the 6miles to the marina, tie up and then fill the oil. Instead I thought it essential to lean over the stern with the boat bucking all over the place and pour 2stroke oil all over my relatively new engine Then I stressed out the whole trip back thinking it was going to catch fire! No worries though all good.

On a sensible note I find the etec60 very economical and quiet at 6knots which is where I motor 90% of the time.

[dlandersson]

What on earth are you doing reading the manual?

although the warning light and alarm scare the pants off one, the manual reassures that, 'after the low oil warning occurs you have 5 hours of normal operation left before you must add more oil' Kittiwake

[Kittiwake]

What on earth are you doing reading the manual?

Canucks are very conservative ... well, except for the Mac owners in the east .
Kittiwake

[seahouse]

dlandersson wrote:
What on earth are you doing reading the manual?
Canucks are very conservative ... well, except for the Mac owners in the east .
Kittiwake

Canucks, as defined historically by past patterns of conduct, follow the rules! (Remember the United Empire Loyalists, Revolutionary War, and that other war 200 years ago this year). That is why we are so readily able to knowingly take on "risk"!

Of course, this emoticon... : - J ...tells you I say this gratiously with tongue in cheek.

- Brian.

(to avoid starting another one 200 years later)

[pmmcderm]

This is definitely a good thread as a new owner. I have the E-TEC 60HP, and after deligently checking the oil the first several times, I realized the level was hardly moving. Led to the bad behavior of not checking now. After reading this through, I'm going to be checking EVERY time.

[dive4it]

I have the Evinrude 50hp 4 stroke fuel injected on my and so far love it. Quiet as can be and barely sips the fuel. At 4000 rpm, I do a solid 20.5 mph. That's with a brand new 4 blade 10 pitch....wish I would have gone with the 4 blade 8 pitch as 4500 rpm is all I can get out of it.

JT

[vkmaynard]

At 4000 rpm, I do a solid 20.5 mph.

Can you post a video showing the GPS displaying 20.5 on your boat with 50 HP motor running at 4000 RPM? Our Honda had a 10 pitch running 5800 and maxed out at 17.5+ like all other Xs. Same motor on friends X same results.

Thanks,

Victor

[raycarlson]

your either reading this speed off of a pitot tube type speedo or your running a 90hp motor with 50 decals on your doing 20knts , as it's physically impossible for 50hp to push your boat 20.5mph.

[dive4it]

That's what I thought. Never really believing Roger's claim on the speeds. I took it out for the first time a week ago, I pulled out of the harbor on pretty smooth water and started to open it up. Granted, this was without much gear on board and only 3 people. Rudders and centerboard up, throttle open almost all the way (the last 1/4 didn't change RPM probably due to being overpitched) and my GPS read a solid 20.5 mph. I did have it on miles per hour, not knots, and only held it there for about thirty seconds since I didn't want to leave my buddy in a keelboat in the dust. I figured it was the first and only time I'd get the opportunity to test it out with a nearly empty boat. Of course that was with empty ballast but mast in the raised position with furled jib. This was on a flat lake with no current and virtually no wind at the time.

JT

[Tomfoolery]

I have the Evinrude 50hp 4 stroke fuel injected on my and so far love it. Quiet as can be and barely sips the fuel. At 4000 rpm, I do a solid 20.5 mph. That's with a brand new 4 blade 10 pitch....wish I would have gone with the 4 blade 8 pitch as 4500 rpm is all I can get out of it.

I would reprop that puppy before you do some engine damage. I don't know for fact what the WOT range is supposed to be, but this web site says it should be 5900-6500 rpm. 4k rpm is way under, and not good for the engine, as it's essentially lugging.

http://www.marineengine.com/parts/prop/wot_prop.html

A more authoritative source would be better, of course. Something like the user's manual, or a shop manual. But 4k sounds awfully slow by any measure.