Will this be enough motor for my boat?

[V3n0m]

I recently purchased a Lowe 1467t Sea Nymph and trailer. I've been saving up to buy a used outboard and I've got enough put back now to where I can make a move. On my hull the safety plate says a 25hp motor is the max. The fella I bought it from used a 4 stroke 18hp Tobatsu on it and it done very well, but he usually fished alone other than gear in the inlet. I've found SEVERAL 15hp 2 strokes for sale in my area in my price range. One in particular is a like new fully serviced 1985 Evinrude 15hp. The asking price is a little steep in my opinion ($800) but the motor looks brand new and the guy does great work, dealt with him in the past. He restores small outboards 20hp and below to supplement his income (retired military). Any how, on the Lowe website it says the reccomended HP for this boat is between 9.9 and 20. I will be using this boat catfishing exclusively in the Neuse river here in NC and will never be going more than a mile or 2 from the ramp. The river has a good bit of current. As an indication... A lot of times, an 8oz no roll sinker has no chance of planting. I will be fishing with a friend who weighs around 205, and I myself weigh 230. Could anyone please advise me as to if this motor is a good choice for me??? Will it plane out? I'm suppose to go look at it Friday. I would appreciate any advice at all very much.

Eric

 

[NicoPags]

I would say you should stick to the highest compliance rating while staying safe. You'll be pushing around an extra 500 lbs in boat motor and equipment if you stick with a 25hp that would be perfect. I would say a 20HP would be sufficient, the 15 would get the job done. If you know the at home mechanic does top notch work than that's a decent price for a rebuilt motor. 15hp sells for the same in my local (after USD to CAD conversion) I came across a formula to determine HP size at 75% throttle. Total Weight / 30 = HP required to drive the boat at 25 mph, at a 75 percent throttle setting. I don't know if this formula is legitimate. But it seems to land inline with your compliance label.

 

[redneck joe]

Yeah and older 15 should work the 25 would be better tho.

 

[Sea Rider]

Welcome to Iboats,

Are you buying combo with attached 4 strokes Tohatsu 18 HP ? If so, personally would't get rid of that nice 18 going for a under powered 15 HP, to get the max horses out of that 18 you need to tach current prop with OB well trimmed, driver at tiller, boating mate up front.

Go for a wot spin on flat non wind water cond, check max wot rpm achieved, going for one less pitch will pull wot revs higher, will handle heavier passenger weight more efficiently Will need an induction tach for that. That 18 should rev near or around 6 K wot revs with current stated 2 passenger weight once prop is maximized. Max HP stated is for MAX passenger/load stated on tech plate, if boating with less passengers on a constant basis don't need to run Max HP OB.

Happy Boating

 

[V3n0m]

Welcome to Iboats,

Are you buying combo with attached 4 strokes Tohatsu 18 HP ? If so, personally would't get rid of that nice 18 going for a under powered 15 HP, to get the max horses out of that 18 you need to tach current prop with OB well trimmed, driver at tiller, boating mate up front.

Go for a wot spin on flat non wind water cond, check max wot rpm achieved, going for one less pitch will pull wot revs higher, will handle heavier passenger weight more efficiently Will need an induction tach for that. That 18 should rev near or around 6 K wot revs with current stated 2 passenger weight once prop is maximized. Max HP stated is for MAX passenger/load stated on tech plate, if boating with less passengers on a constant basis don't need to run Max HP OB.

Happy Boating

The 18 he sold before I bought the boat.

 

[V3n0m]

I most likely going to be giving the 15 a shot. If all else fails...I can always sell it later. But I know it'll at least get me on the river for now. My last boat was a 1542 mv Polarcraft with an early 2000s 15hp evinrude. We me, my fishing buddy at the time was right at 300, and a cooler, it pushed us along just fine. So I have no doubts this will work unless the mv Vs deep v kills me. I don't want it to be a total slug. But it doesn't by any stretch of the imagination have to be a speed demon either.

 

[redneck joe]

And old 15 2 stroke will kick an newer 18 four's a** every day

 

[Sea Rider]

Everybody is bashing 4 strokes over 2 strokes. The issue is that few go for a prop maximization, assumes that delivered prop works spot on for their current application which can't tell without installing an induction tach. After break in period ends you should tach you OB and dial a prop if needed to rev around max wot revs stated for that particular OB application, if don't want to follow factory suggestions, it's entirely your problem if can't get the max HP out of that OB.

Boaters preffers to buy a twelve pack beer before investing wise on a tach. Have 3 outboards in use, all needed a prop max (less pitch) for their respective boating application to run full wot revs. The performnce difference is outstanding compared to factory delivered prop.

Happy Boating

 

[V3n0m]

And old 15 2 stroke will kick an newer 18 four's a** every day

I told the guy I bought it from about the 15. He swears up and down that if the 18 4 poke done good, the 15 2 smoke will do great....We'll see come Friday.

 

[Sea Rider]

Saying that a OB performs good, great whatever word you want to use to enlighten its water performance is NO indication that each individual mentioned OB is performing TOP, that's reaching its full max wot revs along HP number on cowl for that application. Can guarantee that both mentioned HP OB's have original delivered factory props on them which has not been wot rpm tached for top performance.

For the record, how far or close is good to great ? LOL!!

Happy Boating

 

[V3n0m]

I understood "good to great" pertaining to the 2 engines as the 18 he had did well but was heavy for HP rating. Supposedly the 2 stroke 15 will be lighter (big plus for me) and "should" , from what I got out of our conversation, have a better holeshot. I can't believe I just had to try to define good to great LOL. I'll probably invest in a tach, why not? But honestly, for what I'm doing with the boat, If its reliable, and gets up on plane. I'll be happy. After all, I never even go far from the dock. I'm not bashing 4 strokes at all, the whole 2 smoke/ 4 poke thing came from my atv racing days....Which has all changed now. I suppose it's worth mentioning, I swapped a 4 MIL banshee (2 stroke), for a yfz450 (4 stroke). I'm not biased towards either. Honestly it's just that older 2 stroke obs seem to be substantially cheaper in my area and right now, I'm just trying to get back on the water on a budget.

 

[V3n0m]

Well went to check out the motor earlier. Ended up getting a 77' evinrude 15 instead (cheaper). Slapped it on when I got home and took it to the pond. The old thing done great and got her up on plane no problem! Not sure how fast I was going but it was fast enough for me. Hopefully it'll perform the same way or close in the river with a passenger. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[redneck joe]

Good deal. I'm not the expert but there is something about the hp rating on old v new motors. Anyone can help?