Would a new 20 HP Honda Outboard Be Sufficient

Would new 20 HP Honda outboard be sufficient to adequately power and plane a 1977 Starcraft 16' long, 5' 6" wide, 550 lb (empty hull only without engine, people and gear)? Most of the time there would be less than 400 lbs of people and gear in boat, so total weight would be around 1,000 lbs. But what if total weight (weight of bare hull plus motor plus people/gear) with more people say, were 1,200 or 1.300 lbs?

:shock: I wouldn't want a 20hp on a 14-footer meeting those load requirements myself!

I'd want no less than a 35hp given the chance to carry a heavier load ... and make sure to prop and pitch her well.

One other think. I'm thinking a top speed of 20 - 25 mph would be sufficient for this particular boat.

I agree, at 550 lbs for the hull alone, you need more motor if you want to get into the 20MPH range.

I would think with a 20 and the size/weight your describing at WOT you'd probably only be able to get high teens at best.

Yes, I'm now thinking that 20 hp will be on the low side. Wanted a Honda or a Yamaha but pretty expensive. For the price of a new 20 hp Honda one can get a new 30 hp Tohatsu (long shaft, pull start, efi, 5 yr warranty). Maybe that's the way to go. Need to see what others think of this new Tohatsu model. At the end of the day, I know it's probably better to go larger . . .

larski said:

Wanted a Honda or a Yamaha but pretty expensive. For the price of a new 20 hp Honda one can get a new 30 hp Tohatsu (long shaft, pull start, efi, 5 yr warranty). Maybe that's the way to go. Need to see what others think of this new Tohatsu model.

Click to expand...

It's a better motor all the way around! Tohatsu has been making OB motors as long if not longer than any other OB make. IMHO they are the most reliable and best value going. My other '1st choice' would be a Nissan.

Small Honda motors are dogs! My boatclub just bought a 15hp e-start OB for a club tender. The Nissan 10hp on the same Carolina Skiff J12 is faster than that goshdarn heavy Honda! The Honda mid-range 90 to 130hps are good ... but the small one under ~25 or so ... ugghhh!

DaleH said:

larski said:

Wanted a Honda or a Yamaha but pretty expensive. For the price of a new 20 hp Honda one can get a new 30 hp Tohatsu (long shaft, pull start, efi, 5 yr warranty). Maybe that's the way to go. Need to see what others think of this new Tohatsu model.

Click to expand...

It's a better motor all the way around! Tohatsu has been making OB motors as long if not longer than any other OB make. IMHO they are the most reliable and best value going. My other '1st choice' would be a Nissan.

Small Honda motors are dogs! My boatclub just bought a 15hp e-start OB for a club tender. The Nissan 10hp on the same Carolina Skiff J12 is faster than that goshdarn heavy Honda! The Honda mid-range 90 to 130hps are good ... but the small one under ~25 or so ... ugghhh!

Click to expand...

Agreed, except the Tohatsu part. I'm not a big fan of them. They are cheaper than Yamaha and others for a reason, and if you really start to pick at them, you'll see why. Really have to look at them hard to see the differences. And that's all I will say about it. I've run a 20hp Tohatsu/Mercury for a while and it was indeed a good motor (4 stroke, power tilt, electric start). It was a little heavy but not an issue on the 1448 it was on, plus it had power tilt which was nice. But it did NOT have power TRIM. It doesn't tilt while under way, only at and near idle speeds. I think the Yamaha is similar, but I haven't run an F20 with power tilt, only a Merc/Tohatsu/Nissan (all the same motor with different paint and stickers). The smaller Hondas are GOOD motors but they are tanks and honestly with the size boat you're planning on putting it on, I'm not sure you'd be happy with it. You may only want 20 mph, but I guarantee you nothing kills an outing better than going to your fishin' hole, loading the boat up with a bunch of fish, then heading home to find out that it won't plane with a little extra weight.

The 1448 I ran the Tohatsu on, with just me in the boat, the factory-installed prop, and nothing else, I saw about 20 mph max. And it was a little bit sluggish getting on plane. With 2 of us in the boat and our gear, 16.3-17.5 mph tops and took about 15 seconds to get on plane from a dead stop. It was a little bit sluggish but did the job and never broke down...other than my own fault for letting it sit with gas in it, and plugged the carb the one time. 2 things I didn't like about it were that the gearcase was a little noisy (gear whine) and it was a little rough running (vibration). Aside from that it was ok. At one point I put up a video of the difference in sound between the Yamaha F20 and the Tohatsu 20 4 stroke...might search for it.

if you gonna buy new. go Yamaha or Honda. Cant go wrong. My first motor was a tohatsu mercury and I really didn't care for it. Pretty cheaply made (IMO) new motor is older version and seems to be built much better. Will be looking for a Yamaha 40 this fall.

i would recommend honda or yamaha. i had a tohatsu mercury 20hp that was horrible. long time to get on plane, lack of top end and torque. very sluggish motor. cheaply made. i bought new and within 3 years it would strand me atleast once a summer.

also, do not make the mistake i did. purchase the biggest motor you can afford/fit on there. trust me.

Go for 40hp.
If your not over powered your under powered.