new motor size?

wrestle one · 09-14-2009, 09:03 PM

I have a 1963 Voyeur Traveler with a cabin fiberglass hull. No motor want to have opinions on the size I should get. It is 17 foot. I will use it to pull tubes and wakeboards and hit the ocean some. Can someone help me out, the boat is in great shape just needs a motor.

bvs · 09-15-2009, 05:31 AM

I had a 1963 boat and it had a Coast Guard plate on the transom stating among other things the maximum hp (45hp on a 14'). I'd check for this limit and get as close to it as you can without going over it.

If there is no plate then refer to the formulas in this Coast Guard document: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_20...3cfr183.53.pdf. For instance if you have a 17' long by 6.5' wide boat with a 20.5" transom then you'd end up with 17*6.5*2-90=131. Then they allow you to round up to 135hp.

Depending on how steep the deadrise on this boat is you might get by with as little as 75hp as long as you make some concessions, but you'll be able to have more people in the boat with more hp. If the hull can handle 150hp you'll be able to pull up a slalom skier even with a fairly full load.

FYI, You'll be better off with this boat staying away from 4-strokes. This boat was built for light 2-strokes and a 4-stroke will make the stern ride too low.

Azeal · 09-17-2009, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bvs

FYI, You'll be better off with this boat staying away from 4-strokes. This boat was built for light 2-strokes and a 4-stroke will make the stern ride too low.

I'd somewhat disagree. There are lighter 4 strokes today worth looking at. In the 90 hp range, the Suzuki DF90 four stroke is within 20#'s of the Evinrude E-tech 90, and actually 30#'s lighter than the Mercury Optimax 90. The Yamaha HPDI's are the only really light 2 strokes left in the bigger HP range.

Are you looking to go new or used on the motor? I'd look at a 90 or 115 to start with. Expect to pay $8k-9k for a new 90 hp, installed. Used, don't buy anything that hasn't been inspected by a marine mechanic.

bvs · 09-17-2009, 10:38 AM

You really think this guy is looking to put a $9K motor on a 46-year-old boat? Old-school carbed 2-strokes like Yamaha's 90hp (261lbs) are about 100lbs less than modern DI 2-strokes or 4-strokes. This boat almost certainly has a 20" transom and a bottom width of about 60". Weight makes a huge difference on these types of boats. On mine I added a transom-mount electric trolling motor and 2 batteries under the splash-well and every wave over 12" would come into the splash-well. Moving just the batteries to the bow made a huge difference.

I do agree that on newer boats 4-strokes are the better option. I've got Honda's on mine and probably would have gotten Suzuki's if there was a dealer within 400 miles.

Azeal · 09-17-2009, 07:09 PM

If we assume he doesn't want to put much money in an old boat, why bring up 4 strokes in the first place?

For used motors, watch Craigslist in Seattle as well as Portland. When I was repowering my boat, there seemed to be quite a bit more selection in used stuff up there than down here.