I have been thinking about getting a gas outboard for my weekender "Little Rascal." I was wondering what other skippers have on their boats and if you have any suggestions. I want something that can really max the boat out, but not too big and heavy. I may need to motor back to shore in a hurry if the wife calls it quits for the day. Right now she is excited/willing to support me on sailing trips, and I don't want her to cut me off if it takes me a half hour to get back on an underpowered motor. I read through all the old forums, and I remember several discussions on motor type and size in the past, but I can't seem to find any.
I hope to have it in the water by the end of the month. It's been three years in the building with a tour in Iraq in between.
Thanks
Andy
Welcome to the BYYB Andrew!
I believe Stevensons reccomend only a 5hp outboard for auxillary power. To be honest, I think most of our members use 35 to 55lb thrust trolling motors for power. A lot less expense, not as noisy, and no smelly gasoline to worry about.
How 'bout posting some pics of you fine craft?
Hi Andy - welcome to the forums.
I use a 2.7hp Cruise-N-Carry outboard on my Weekender and it pushes to hull speed easily. Only 12 pounds and stores easily (it is really just a souped up weed wacker disguised as an outboard). Noisy, smelly and runs rings around my 44lb troller when the wind, waves and current are being obstinate.
Thanks!
I am not new to the forum. I have made one or two posts before, but I think my account was lost when the web site crashed a few months ago. I have been visiting the site regularly for about 3 years and most of my questions are already answered just by searching the forums.
I was looking at a small 4 stroke outboard either 3.5 or 4 hp.
If your 2.7 can make hull speed, then I will probably go with the 3.5 hp.
Hull speed for this boat should be no more than 5.5 knots.
Hull Speed = 1.34 * 1/2 * (LWL)
does anyone have a measured hull speed for their weekender?
thanks
If you have heavy tidal currents or flows and need to fight them, you will need more than a 50-55# electric will give you. A 2 hp ouboard will handle most anything you need except tidal current flows, a 3.5 will do better, but if you are going against a 3 knot current then don't expect to get there quickly. Even a 5 hp will take some time. You could expect the 3.5 to take you to hull speed under optimal conditions. Beyond that and you are just pending money needlessly. Because to go any faster you would need to get the boat up on a plane and go with the current flow.
So the best thing if sailing in salt is to watch the tide tables and know the current flows in your area, then take advantage of them coming in.
Andrew
I have a 5 hp and it gets me to hull speed at less than half throttle so it gets run slow most of the time. I found that last summer I only used about 1/2 gal of gas in about 15 sails. I only use it to get out into the lake and then back to the ramp. it doesn't get a lot of use.
I've got a 2.5 Johnson, and 9.9 Merc. I run both on my Vacationer, the 2.5 moves her at 3 knots in lighter wind conditions. The 9.9 moves her around 6 knots. In rough weather the 9.9 in my choice. A 3.5 should be fine on a Weekender.
Another thing to consider is the extra weigh on the stern, may require additional weight in the bow for balance. I had trouble with my 9.9 and had to load gear in the bow compartment to balance things out. I'm ballasting my keel this spring to improve handling.
I have a 3.3 Merc on my Weekender (still unnamed) that deals with the current just fine. I'm not real pleased with the service of this particular motor itself, but the power is more than enough to deal with the strong currents we have here in coastal South Carolina. It's a lot more efficient than I expected...Go with the gas outboard if your going in salt water or dealing with tidal flow, the 3.5 is probably more than enough..............Herb
get on ebay and get an old 1950s johnson, evenrude or seagull. they are super easy to fix and get running and never stop.
I'll second the motion for an old SeGull, I've got a 1958 with reverse and 5 HP. I've rebuilt the thing several times, dropped it overboard, banged it on rocks and generally beat the crap out of it. I can't seem to kill it dead enough a few new seals or parts can't fix. I think they only have three moving parts so little can go wrong. They're loud, smoky, oily, stinky, but also easy to start, reliable as sin and parts are easily available, even for my 50 year old motor.
You can only push your boat to hull speed with a small kicker, so getting to shore faster with a larger engine isn't in the cards (unless you hang a 20 HP on the transom) A bigger motor will just pile up a larger bow wave, but you will not be going any faster, until you provide enough power to overcome this resistance. A 5 HP will move a Weekender along smartly, with sufficient reserve to punch through contrary currents and chop.
Reverse gear is often over looked in these small outboards. When you really need a motor is the occasion you come into a landing at a dock or beach and have screwed up, mis-judged or otherwise must abort the landing. This is when reverse can be the difference between repairs to the sprit, cutwater or rub rail or a simple blast in the other direction to stop or reverse the boat's motion. Yes, you can spin the engine around in it's mount, on small outboards without reverse. But, I've found, sometimes you need reverse at the flip of a handle, not having the time to turn around, bend over the stern and swing the motor, before you bash up the topside paint, so lovingly applied, months earlier.
I've nothing against the newer outboards, particularly the 4 strokes, but they cost a lot and are much harder to fix. I can rebuild the SeaGull in about 2 hours.