Outboard horsepower

[mustangermatt]

I am finally going to put a motor on my cs17. I am wondering what the best size is. I have 3hp johnson that will probably take a couple hundred to get running. I have also seen 2hp motors in good shape for $250.

I am not looking to plane or anything, just looking to move the boat at around 4-5 knots when the wind isn't blowing. Distances can be up to 20 miles (no electrics :-)

[PAR]

Your 3 HP will be fine to hull speed, in light conditions.

[Gordy Hill]

I'd go for the 2 hp. It takes very little to move your boat.

I'd be more interested in weight and convenience. I'd like to keep the motor in a locker and only bring it out when needed.

[jaxsailr]

I agree the 2hp should move the CS17 just fine. It moved my Seaward Fox quite well, although not with as much authority as the 5hp did. The Fox is now gone, still thinking about what the next boat should be.

Fairleads,

Niels

[Charlie Jones]

I've "moved" Tehani with a 2.2. All 7000 pounds of her with cruising gear aboard. We didn't move fast at the beginning, but after a bit, the speed came up to 3 to 4 knots.

Wouldn't want to rely on that little HP, but it did move the boat.

[Designer]

CS17 hull #1 was built out of aluminum and was very heavy. She was fitted with a 2.5 HP outboard. I was very impressed with how well she motored but it all depends on how you are going to use your boat.

I own a 2 HP Suzuki but have never put it on a CS and probably never will. Rob in Australia feels that he needs a 4HP on his CS20 as he goes camping with the whole family and carries a huge amount of camping gear and they have some good tides.

It is all a tradeoff; light weight and convenience versus heavy and large but more speed for difficult conditions. I have never been in a situation yet in a CS where I felt that I needed a motor and I have a lot of miles in the boat.

[Joe Nelson CS#35]

Also being on the West Coast and knowing the cruising grounds...I do know his desire for power. The San Juan's can have non-existent wind in the summer. If you need to make 20-30 miles to get to your destination without wind, it can be difficult. My CS20 does 8 mph with WOT and cruises nicely at 5-6 with a 4 horse. I would look for a light motor in the 2-4 horse range. I had an older Evenrude that had no reverse that weighed 32#. Now I have a Yamaha 4 stroke that weighs 48#. I think the honda 2 horse would be a great motor for you!

[John Turpin]

My new Honda 2hp just arrived today. I just cannot believe how light that motor is. I think it will ride well on my transom.

[Eric]

I have a 3hp Yamaha two-stroke on a CS 17. Its just about right, I can hit nine to ten kilometer an hour with it.

I have to have one, as I live way up a meandering canal that leads into the bay. About ten ks to the ocean. No way to get back into the bay when the tide is going out, it rips out through a bottleneck incredibly fast.

Sometimes I just motor around the bay with no masts. Have put ten people in the boat, no problem for that 3 hp.

[Peter HK]

I see a couple of people have made comments about the Honda 2 hp. Has anyone had experience with them compared to other small 2 or 4 stroke motors particularly with respect to noise?

I have a 2hp, 2 stroke yamaha at the moment which is very light (9.8 kg) but like all 2 strokes is a bit smelly and noisy- and no gearbox . I have thought about smaller 4 strokes but most are a lot heavier (about 17kg- nearly 40 pound). The Honda is only 12 or so kg but air cooled so I wonder about noise. The centrifugal clutch seems to overcome the gearbox issue.

Any comments from experience?

Peter HK

[Kim Peters]

Does anybody have experience with electric motors? Are there major advantages to a gas outboard vs electric? I would think that the ability to put the heavier batteries forward on the centerline and hanging a lighter outboard on the stern would be an advantage for going electric. What is the equivalent thrust compared to the 2-3hp gas? I have no experience with electrics, but I have always been intrigued by their possibilities on a non-ballasted sailboat. Electrics seem to be getting bigger and more efficient.

Kim

[Ken_Potts]

Peter,

I've got a Honda 2hp 4-stroke. I would have chimed in earlier but I haven't gotten my CS17 into the water yet so I don't have any good input on that particular hull/engine combo.

I've used the engine on a smaller boat (about 12 feet) and a larger 23 foot ballasted sailboat. It pushed boath boats along just fine as long as there wasn't much hurry. I had the little boat out in wind of 20+(MPH) gusting to over 30 and it was very slow going trying to get upwind but I think it will be fine for my CS.

It is louder than a water cooled engine but I think probably quieter than most 2-strokes. Overall I haven't been too offended by the noise. At lower throttle settings (I usually run about half-throttle) it's possible to have a conversation but voices do have to be raised.

I bought the motor mainly because it was the lightest 4-stroke I could find.

There is no reverse gear but the engine can be turned 360 degrees in the mount and the tiller flips over so it can be reached when the engine is pointing backwards.

I will mount it off center on the transom when I want to use it and not bring it when I don't (lightweight = easier to mount and remove). I plan to lock the throttle and steering and use the boat's rudder to steer when I motor around for extended periods.

As far as smell goes I guess it's not too bad but I still hate having gasoline on a sailboat

The main thing I would change on that outboard is the prop. It's a pretty small one and it seems to be tuned to push a heavier boat around at lower speeds. It would be nice to find a prop that would push a lighter boat faster.

[Ty Cassedy]

I'm getting ready to build a CS 17. I live near Puget Sound and there are many times when there is little or no wind. How much horsepower would it take to get a CS 17 to plane at 15-20 MPH with a moderate load (500 pounds)? I'm interested in thoughts on the feasibility of this. Thanks

[fatehunter1972]

for electrical motors check out the Torqeedo.

It seems to be a step up in electrical motor technology.

http://www.torqeedo.com/en/hn/home.html

Torqeedo GmbH: Home

[Peter Batchelor]

Does anybody have experience with electric motors?

I use a Minn Kota RT55 electric outboard on my CS17.

It is fine for moving to and from the launch ramp. At full power it draws 50 amps, so I use a 100 amp/hour battery (32kg, or about 70lb).

Because of some nifty technology in the controller, the Minn Kota varies the frequency at which it draws power from the battery, so at full power I can get about 2.5 hours running, and if I drop down to 50% power it goes up to about 6 hours.

Speed at full power is about 4kts. Speed at 50% is between 2.5 and 3kts.

Against a current and a stiff breeze I feel that this motor isn't really sufficient for the CS17. For short trips I'm finding that electric is fine, and the lack of noise is fantastic, but I confess that I've been looking at 3hp outboards recently, as there are times when extra speed and endurance would have been handy. The ability to extend my range, simply by adding extra fuel, is very attractive....

Peter

[mustangermatt]

Thanks for the input. I went ahead and got the 2hp. The only times I need the outboard are when there is no wind and I have to catch a tide.

Around the San Juans it isn't uncommon to ride an ebb down one channel, and then catch the flood to go up another channel. With no wind I often can't row far/fast enough to catch the next tide. Then my timing is messed up for the rest of the day. I think if there is enough wind to cause problems for the little motor I will be sailing anyway.

[Dale Niemann]

Remember: The louder the motor the greater the pleasure is in sailing with it off.

Dale

[jaxsailr]

Ditto what Ken_Potts said....

My Honda 2hp did a decent job pushing the Seawards Fox I had. And yes the air cooled motor is noisier then the Honda 5 I had even though the exhaust is underwater. Once the boat was moving I could throttle back and the noise is not that bad.

I find the clutch to be wonderful, takes a little bit of getting use to. But works very well. Also the twist grip throttle is nice too.

My only gripe about the engine is the oil fill is on a horizontal angle and makes it hard to add oil. Also i wish it had a little more oil capacity, only .29 of a quart.

Compared to a Yamaha 2hp I had years ago it works well and no water pump maintenance to worry about. Although a Yamaha would be nice pick also.

Regards,

Niels

[Scott Dunsworth]

Amen Dale

I can't stand to run my 2 stroke 4.5 hp any more than I have to.

My motor pushs our Belhaven at 7 mph according to the gps and at 5 mph its not to noisy. If I ever buy a new motor it will be a 6hp four stroke with a alternator.

Scott

[Charlie Jones]

Dale- you sure nailed that one. I had a Seagull 5 hp on a San Juan 21 back in the early 70s. I hated that motor so badly I'd go to almost ANY extent to not run it. Finally traded it in on a used 6 hp Evinrude. That was much queiter, but you know, that Seagull made me a better sailor.

Of course, we now have an 8 hp 4 stroke Yamaha on Tehani, it's so quiet that when idling you have to look to see it vibrate to know it's running, but Laura STILL hates having it run, so we still sail anytime we possibly can.