John, I think motor size selection is somewhat dependant on where you sail... I have a mercury 6 hp that came with my M17. At first I thought it was perhaps a bit larger than necessary. However after a couple of years sailing Serenity up here in BC, I have been glad to have the extra heft it provides when dealing with rip currents etc. I have yet to be significantly northward up the inside passage with Serenity but given my experiences so far I suspect I will be happy to have the extra hp. On another note the 6hp doesn't require me to run the engine very hard at all to reach close to hull speed which I think makes it easier on the motor when it is run for an extended period of time. I also really like having an external tank. So given my admittedly limited 2 years of M17experience, if I had to buy a new motor now I would probably get a 5 or 6hp. And more likely a 6hp in order to get an alternator to augment my solar panel. That said my selection is I think largely driven by where I sail. If I was on Lake Pleasant in AZ, or say Christina Lake here in BC, I think 3- 4 Hp would do probably do nicely. Cheers, Keith *Keith R. Martin, P.Eng.* *Burnaby, B.C. CanadaSerenity,** M17 Hull #353* On 18 September 2015 at 12:32, John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net> wrote:
OK, changing the topic a bit based on this:
On 09/18/2015 11:59 AM, Dave Scobie wrote:
...the 4HP Suzuki on my M17 is running at less than 50% to reach cruise speed.
So what is anyone's experience on what HP outboard is adequate for an M17?
Mine came with this nice, low hours Tohatsu 6hp sail pro model. It seems to me like overkill.
And, with Tohatsu at least, no point downgrading to their 5hp or 4hp because they are the same carcass, basically same size and weight.
Looking at Evinrude, Mercury, Suzuki, Honda...all making the same basic range of motors, same weight within a few pounds in HP class, etc.
The break point is under 4 hp, where the 2.5-3.5 hp units are significantly lighter and smaller.
Any experiences welcome - what do you find adequate for your M17 auxiliary motor needs?
thanks, John S.
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com