Quote:
Originally Posted by Sailor Dog
Seems that I have read that a 130 HP might not be sufficient power for a 20' Master Angler. Would appreciate input...looking at a 2002 with 130 Honda 4 stroke and hate to be underpowered. Thanks
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Excellent question Sailor Dog, and welcome to CSC ! A 130 is plenty of power unless you want to run over about 35 kts!
As others have said, many of these boats were sold new with relatively small (but lightweight!) motors, because the SeaCraft VDH is more efficient than any comparable deep V so it doesn't NEED as much power. The problem with the 130 Honda is it's weight! Those older Hondas were even heavier than the new 150 4-strokes, which I think are about 490 lbs (wet, with oil), so boat balance (CG location) is the real issue! When you consider that Carl Moesly designed the 19/20' hulls in the mid-60's for the I-6 Merc that weighed about 275 lbs, increasing engine weight by 2X is going to seriously upset the boat's balance! Even if that motor put out 200 horsepower, 500+ lbs on the transom will prevent you from planing below about 20 kts! When it gets rough, you won't be able to use 200 hp, and you'll wish you had a much lighter motor that would let you plane at 10-12 mph!
I'm speaking from experience because I ran my boat for over 30 years with a 300 lb 1975 Evinrude 115 that actually put out about 100 hp at the prop (motors were rated at the powerhead instead of the prop back then). It would cruise at 20 kts with a top end of about 32 kts, but it would easily plane at about 10 kts, even with a very heavy load. It rode GREAT and I found that during six 180 mile trips (each way) to the Abacos (in northern Bahamas), I could comfortable keep up with 23-24' boats in seas up to about 3'! (The 20' hull is relatively light so it starts to go airborne at speeds over 20 kts in seas of about 3'. You don't HAVE to slow down at that point, as the SeaCraft hull will take a lot more punishment than you can, but it becomes progressively less comfortable as the seas build up!) Fuel consumption over those 6 trips averaged 2.8 mpg, which I considered fairly decent for that simple and reliable (but loud and smokey) motor.
When I repowered in 2006, I installed a bracket that moved the motor 30" aft, AND I installed a much heavier 429 lb motor! Although I then had a 50 mph boat, it wouldn't plane below 20 kts! Given my previous experience, where I could run comfortably in rough seas, that was totally unacceptable! I figure the CG was shifted aft about 12-18", based on how much I had to move the trailer axle to keep adequate tongue weight on the hitch. By switching to a good stern-lifting 4 blade 15x15" prop and a Doelfin on the AV plate, I was able to drop min planing speed back down to an acceptable 12-13 mph. And I now have a rig with an awesome hole shot and even better load carrying ability. However, that fin has cut my gas mileage by 0.2-0.3 mpg, and I'm sure a 3 blade prop would probably be a little more efficient, so I had to make some compromises to get acceptably low planning speeds.
Bottom line is you could do the same things I did with my 150 to make that heavy Honda meet my requirements, but IMHO the lighter DFI 2-strokes are a much better match for the 20' hull. However I run offshore a lot, so if you plan to use the boat primarily on flat water at 20 kts+, then maybe low speed planing and ride is not an issue for you. In that case the boat might be fine as-is for what you want to do with it! Denny