How reliable are the newer engines?

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by Big fish

Thanks for the input guys. I'm just worried about getting stranded with a single. And I'm not sure if we have that type of insurance in hawaii. What do you think about the yamaha 70's? Weight is 257 pounds each. I'll be adding a bracket and it's only about 54 pounds heavier than my 60's.

Understand the desire for get home capability, but I agree with Gillie and FS . . . 514 lbs, especially mounted way aft on a bracket, is too much of a CG shift for the 20' hull! Trust me, I went from a 300 lb motor on the transom to a 429 lb motor on a 30" bracket, on a Seafari, which is less stern heavy than a CC model, and I still had to make a lot of performance compromises with a 4B prop and drag-creating doelfin to get back to the sweet ride, low planing speed and great handling I had originally!

Not sure you could even move the gas tank and batteries far enough forward to compensate. Maybe it'd work if you moved the whole console a couple feet forward. A Hermco bracket MIGHT keep it reasonably level at the dock, but the flotation tank's out of the water when you're on plane, so the boat will still know that you seriously screwed up it's CG, Your min planing speed will be in the mid-20's instead of the low teens. Rather than have an expensive stern-heavy twin engine rig that won't plane on one engine, I'd vote for a cheaper well balanced boat with single engine + kicker that rides better, costs less to operate and maintain, and still provides equal safety/reliability.

[Big fish]

Insurance won't work for me. That sucks. Anyway what size kicker would I need for my sceptre? I was also considering the suzuki 140 4s. Will that work with a kicker or will that also be too heavy? Thanks again for all you're expert advise. What would I have done without CSC.

[cdavisdb]

My Yamaha 8 hp hi thrust is plenty for a 25 Seafari or a 23, but more than you need and too heavy for a 20 with a 4 stoke. Not sure what is out there at lighter lower hp. You will need something that is geared down and swings a big prop. Horse power can be very minimal .

[FishStretcher]

Originally Posted by Big fish

Insurance won't work for me. That sucks. Anyway what size kicker would I need for my sceptre? I was also considering the suzuki 140 4s. Will that work with a kicker or will that also be too heavy? Thanks again for all you're expert advise. What would I have done without CSC.

My 30" shaft 6hp Tohatsu SailPro with an appropriate prop works fine. The powerhead is way out of the water and you can tiller steer easily that way. A bit rough sounding, though. You can only store it on one side due to the carb layout. It was cheap, at $1350 new. But if I used it lots, I would get a nicer kicker, probably a Yamaha. Hoping that it is nicer sounding and looking. You might be able to get away with a lighter engine, but I haven't tried.

I leave mine on the transom because the main engine is only ~370lb. More convenient than stowing a kicker outboard on a 20 footer.

[76Red18]

My thoughts on small boats offshore

Up to 20 miles or so:

Inflatable PFD's
WELL MAINTAINED MECHANICAL, FUEL AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
EPIRB ( An AquaLink 406 personal EPIRB at less than $400 should be standard equipment on all boats )
Handheld VHF with internal GPS
Tow Boat Membership

20 + miles

Life Raft

50 + miles

Sat Phone


If a boat performs well with a single, twins are a waste. I take my 18 cc out 20 miles when weather permits. I rely on a 1999 150 Johnson and the gear I listed for that distance.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by Big fish

. . . I was also considering the suzuki 140 4s. Will that work with a kicker or will that also be too heavy? . . .

The Zuke 140 is about the same weight as the 150 E-TEC and is about as heavy as I'd want to go. It'll work fine, although it's not nearly as strong as the "150" E-TEC (which is actually 165 hp at the prop). However the V-4 "115" E-TEC is actually about 125 hp, but 43 lbs lighter than the V-6, so might be an even better choice if you're running offshore in big seas. That "150" will push your Sceptre to almost 50 mph, but you probably can't use all that power offshore very often. The "115" will use less gas but still give you about 40 mph with lots of mid-range torque, so should be plenty of power for offshore use. I considered the 115 when I repowered my boat, but they were not yet in production when I was ready for a motor.

[Fr. Frank]

I have rigged 20's with twin motors before, but they were the 165 lb Mercury 65 and 70 hp 2 strokes, and the 182 lb Evinrude 70 hp 2 strokes. Modern 4S motors are way too heavy for twins unless you drop down to the 50-60 hp range, where you can get started at 205 lbs.

I used to have a 2 hp Suzuki DT2 as a kicker on my 20 Seafari, and it would push me along at about 3.1-3.2 mph on the gps at WOT. Back it off to 3/4 throttle, and I still got 2.5-2.6 mph. So you don't need a lot of power for a kicker. On the other hand, when I had a Chrysler 9.9 hanging off the back, I could troll at 6-7 mph at 3/4 throttle, but full throttle only netted an additional 1.5 mph.

I recommend a reliable 90-140 hp single OB, AND a small 3-5 hp kicker, plus Sea Tow or Vessel Assist/TowBoat US, plus a satellite phone, in that order.

[kmoose]

Originally Posted by Fr. Frank

I recommend a reliable 90-140 hp single OB, AND a small 3-5 hp kicker, plus Sea Tow or Vessel Assist/TowBoat US, plus a satellite phone, in that order.

That covers it for sure.

[kmoose]

Originally Posted by Bushwacker

The Zuke 140 is about the same weight as the 150 E-TEC and is about as heavy as I'd want to go. It'll work fine, although it's not nearly as strong as the "150" E-TEC (which is actually 165 hp at the prop). However the V-4 "115" E-TEC is actually about 125 hp, but 43 lbs lighter than the V-6, so might be an even better choice if you're running offshore in big seas. That "150" will push your Sceptre to almost 50 mph, but you probably can't use all that power offshore very often. The "115" will use less gas but still give you about 40 mph with lots of mid-range torque, so should be plenty of power for offshore use. I considered the 115 when I repowered my boat, but they were not yet in production when I was ready for a motor.

That 140 Zuke is a great motor. Have a friend with a restored 20 Seafari with one mounted right on the transom. Perfect balance and more hp than you will ever use. I'll see if he can give me some performance #s. I'm almost positive he was getting 4 or 5 nautical per gallon.... maybe more.

[NoBones]

Originally Posted by kmoose

That covers it for sure.

Not quite.....