Boat motor selection

[bagwan]

Just had a Springbok 14 ft aluminum come into my hands and wondering which shaft motor. Thinking Yamaha 15 HP that I can still lift in my old age (111lbs) and they list 15 or 20. If any one sells these motors and can give a better deal than 3300 all in give me a shout via PM. Thanks

[EZM]

The boat is likely a 15" transom which requires a short shaft outboard (15" shaft).

Yamaha is great motor, you can't go wrong with one.

Myself, I would go with another Honda. The 9.9 short shaft is a lighter at 103lbs and sells for $ 2949.

I have found, of all of the motors I've owned (Mercs, Rudes, Yammy, Hondas) that the Hondas are bullet proof and easiest to start as they are not very temperamental.

http://marine.honda.ca/portables/BF9_9

If you want a little more power you can go with a 15 hp ($3250) or right up to a full 20 hp motor (at $ 3700) and still just be at 103lbs for any of the 3 motors as they are the same engine with a different internal set up to give you more or less power according to specification.

Riverside Honda in St.Albert is likely to have these in stock.

[TROLLER]

I ran a Yamaha 9.9 high thrust kicker on my last Crestliner. It had elec start and power tilt.

Bullit proof motor and never had any issues in the 12 yrs. I ran it.

[58thecat]

I run a 15 hp short shaft Honda on my chestliner, would not go below that hp just for performance if I had to do it again I would go to a 20 hp

Your price range I would keep looking but minimum 15 hp.

Good luck.

[lsxfirebird]

I personally would go with a 15hp h.o. evinrude etec will out perdorm most 20hp on the market and is a simple reliable and proven design

[ROA]

I got a 20hp Tohatsu 2 years ago for $2950. After making a small carb adjustment on the idle richness it has been one of the best outboards I have used. Most new smaller outboards need a bit of tweaking on idle richness as the are set to lean to make emissions this included a Honda 8hp I had so that is nothing out of the ordinary. Tohatsu are the ones that make the smaller merc, Nissan and evenrude 4 strokes. Very good outboards made in Japan. In the 15 -20 hp range I would take the Tohatsu over anything else on the market right now, they are also the cheapest probably due to being the 2 nd largest outboard manufacture and also not spending money on advertising. Worth a look!!

[RigPig]

Take a look at the Suzuki's. Best motor on the market. I believe Honda evinrude and mercury are all tohatsu's at the smaller ratings. Yamaha would be my second choice behind Suzuki.

[ROA]

Suzuki 15 and 20hp is EFI and one of the lightest but some of them had big problems when they first came out with the EFI. Might want to double check they got it sorted out. Also not made in Japan anymore if that matters to you.

[bagwan]

Thanks for all the responses. Checked the Honda's out as EZM said and found their 15 sounds good. Have to do a bit more research on the weight of the Tohatsu and others. Honda at 103 is a bit lighter than the Yamaha.

[trouty]

merc 15 long leg is about $2650 at bps, was a few months ago anyway.

[Headdamage]

A used OMC (Evinrude/Johnson) 2 stroke 15hp is about 78lbs and in good condition should cost around $1000.

[EZM]

merc 15 long leg is about $2650 at bps, was a few months ago anyway.

He needs a short shaft. A long leg will making getting on plane pretty tough - he will be plowing.

Match transom depth to leg length in 99% of the cases.

[EZM]

I personally would go with a 15hp h.o. evinrude etec will out perdorm most 20hp on the market and is a simple reliable and proven design


Motors sold in North America are strictly rated by HP - A 20hp Rude will produce 20 HP not 27 HP. This is a very common misconception.

This means a 20hp 4 stroke Merc produces the same 20hp a Evinrude 20HP produces. Period.

If you sell a 20 HP motor that actually outputs more horsepower on a small vessel not designed for that speed/thrust/torrison that causes injury or death the manufacturer is going to get sued.

I've heard this a few times myself before - but it's simply not the case.

[ROA]

The peak Hp number is usually within 10% plus or minus the rated hp. But the torque could be anything and the hp curve could be anything. The etecs supposedly have monster torque over a broad curve as well as a hp curve that comes up quick and plateaus. These things have crazy amount of engine management. What it means is you may be a able to turn a much higher pitch prop without bogging the engine down as you are coming up out of the hole. Same hole shot but higher top speed. They also have a variable idle feature that lets you slow them down for trolling.

Anyways the 15 etec is actually a 30 block I think and quite heavy.

[67ZL1]

EZM, all outboards are supposed to be within +/- 10% of plate rating. So with this one could say a 15hp model could be closer to 17hp and a 20hp model could be closer to 18hp. To the OP I would buy the OB with the highest torque rating that falls within your hulls HP rating.

[ROA]

Another thing just to confuse is some of the springboks are actually rated in kilowatts on the transom plate!

[67ZL1]

i have no dog in this fight, but here is a chart with specs comparing 4 different manufactures. In regards to my earlier post about Tq ratings you should be able to do a search for EPA ratings as each manufacture has to submit this info for their ratings.