21 ft Manatee, new motor

[futbal2332]

My grandfather has a 1987 manatee with a 1987 johnson 110, he wants to repower but doesnt know what motor he should get and what hp, his neightbor has the same boat with a johnson 90 and he likes it but i think he should go with a 115 for bay purposes, any ideas on what we should do?

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: 21 ft Manatee, new motor

Welcome to I-boats!! You could go with a 90 or you might want to go with a 115. Some people put 150's on and some put 80's. You could get a brand new motor or you could get a motor that is used. There is 2-stroke morors that are made and there are 4 stroke as well. You might want to get eather a 2-stroke or a 4 stroke. Eather way you go you could get maybee a 90 hp or a 115 hp. Then if you like you could go with something different. I saw a motor one time that was on a boat. It looked pretty cool and the guy that had it picked it out. Its pretty neat when you get a motor and put it on your boat. It sounds like you want to put it on a 21 ft Manatee. If thats the case you should decide what motor you want to put on there. Once you decide which motor you want then you can figure that you dont need to buy the others that you are thinking about cause then you know which one you want. For example: if you decide that you want to go with the 115 hp then you know that you need to get the 115 hp to have that. If, like we just said that you decide that you want the 115 hp then you should not buy a 90 hp because that motor only has 90 hp. If the motor is a 115hp then its not likely going to be 90 hp. However if you decide to get the 90 hp motor then you should get one that has 90 hp. If you get one that is 115 hp then that's not 90 hp but a little more powerful.

 

[JUSTINTIME]

Re: 21 ft Manatee, new motor

what does the USCG plate say max hp is?

 

[futbal2332]

Re: 21 ft Manatee, new motor

ill have to check the next time i go over

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: 21 ft Manatee, new motor

Yea next time you go over there you should take a look. It might say that 90 is the max hp. If thats the case then you can only put a motor that has 90 hp. That would be the max hp your boat is rated for. It will say it right on the CG tag. If you see numbers that look like a 9 and a 0 then that is most likely 90. On any motor you look at it will have the hp rating on the cowling. It will say something like 90, or whatever the hp rating is. If the cowling has a 90 on it then it's most likely a 90 hp motor. If it has 115 on it then thats not a 90 hp motor it is most likely a 115 hp motor. It it is in fact a 115 hp motor then it has more hp that a 90 hp motor does. That means that it will be more powerful than a 90 hp motor. If the motor says "90" on it then that is not as powerful as a 115 hp motor. If your CG tag says that 90 is the max recomended hp for the boat then the largest hp that is recomended will be 90 hp. You could put a 90hp motor on there but that will give you less power than a 115 hp motor would. It's something that you have to determin for yourself. If you want to get a 90hp motor than you need one that says 90 on it. If you buy one that says 115hp then that is not the same as a 90hp, its more like 115hp thats why it will say 115 on the cowling. That means that it has 115 hp. I have a motor that is 115 hp. It says 115 right on it. Thats how i can determine that my motor has 115 hp because it says "115" right on it. My motor is not 90hp, i can tell cause it says 115 on it. If it said 90 on it then it would most likely be a 90hp motor. If you are not sure you can call a dealer and they can tell you the hp of the motor. They can look it up by the model number but they might just ask you what the large numbers are on the top cowling. Usually if it says 90 on it then they can determine that its a 90hp motor and will not need the model or serial numbers to tell you the hp rating of the motor. Eather way you go make sure you are within the recomended specs of the boat. So if it says that the max. hp is 90 this means that you should not put a motor that is larger than 90hp. Max. is a maximum that means the "most". If it is 115 max.hp then the "most" hp you should use is 115. If you were to put say a 125 or a 150 hp motor on then that would be greater than the max recomended hp. 150 hp is more than 115. so that is larger than the max. recomended hp. If it says that 115 is the maximum recomended hp then that tells you that 115 hp motor is the largest motor that you should put on there. At that point you want to find a motor that has 115 on the top cowling. that number would indicate the hp of that particular motor.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 21 ft Manatee, new motor

21' manatee is a heavy boat, i would go 115 Evinrude Etec.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 21 ft Manatee, new motor

21 foot Manatee cuddy is rated for 170 max. (Listed in the catalog as a 20 foot boat--actual length 20"9") Mine --a 1988, because it is over 20 feet long, has no capacity plate. Only has a statement that it complies with Coast guard regulations at the date it was built. If yours is not a cuddy, the horsepower is about 10-20 less but that's just a guesstimate unless I can find the VERY safe place I stored the catalog. Cuddy hull weighs 1600 lbs bare--no engine, fuel, battery, canvas, or GC equipment.

Engine size is listed in the sales catalog. It is interesting that the catalog states maximum horsepower as 170 but the photo shows the boat with a 90 on it. I also found it interesting that the 19 foot cuddy is the exact same boat with 2 feet less length at the stern. All other dimensions are the same. I think it is rated for 140 hp. I had a 125 and now have a 140 on my 21 foot cuddy and would like more. It gets 38 MPH at wide open throttle. 90 or 115 will be slightly underpowered even though either engine will get the hull onto a plane at somewhere around 15 MPH and deliver a top speed around 28-32 MPH. It is a narrow hull with a fine entry and wide flaring bow, so it is an excellent bay or ocean boat. However, because the hull is narrow, at speed she tends to roll or list to either side as passengers move or change positions in the boat.

Do not worry about fuel economy. It will not be a factor with any engine unless you run it at wide open throttle at all times. In other words, no matter what size engine you have, within reason, it will take the same amount of fuel to go the same speed. With the larger engine, you can go faster and will then use more fuel. But it's nice to know you have the reserve power and speed if you need it.

 

[Yamauser]

Re: 21 ft Manatee, new motor

If your grandfather is a little set in his ways, he might be more comfortable with a DFI rather than a four-stroke.