Best outboard motor if you were to repower

[Rolf]

I've gotten the 20 miles to Catalina in rough conditions using just under 5 gallons going 11-12 mph with my tohatsu 90 tldi(loaded down no ballast). That was INTO the swell and wind. I've motored around over 15 miles at trolling speeds (5 mph) and burned just over a gallon, if that.
Rolf

[baldbaby2000]

As with the 26M, with its reduced ballast aft, the newer Whaler models were designed with the additional weight of a four-stroke on the transom in mind.

Moe,
I've seen this mentioned before about the M being designed to have heavier motors but I'm not sure where the information came from. In the Macgregor manual they say to move weight forward to increase sailing perfomance. This implies that you're better off with a lighter motor.

BB

[Moe]

Look at the cross-sections of the boats published by MacGregor on their websites (old ones at web.archive.org). At the time the 26M was designed, the handwriting on the wall suggested 2-cycles were not long for this world and the future was all 4-cycles. You'll note the outboard in most MacGregor photos is the Mercury 4-cycle BigFoot, a motor that weighs about 100 lbs more than the 50HP carbureted Tohatsu 2-cycle the 26X was designed around. It appears to me, from examining the cross sections and observing the volume under the aft berths, water ballast aft was reduced to offset the weight gain of 50HP motors on the market.

Yes, when it comes to sailing, the lighter motor will get more of that drag-producing squared off transom out of the water and should result in a faster boat.

[DLT]

My boat is nose heavy, especially with ballast.

The "water line" shows that the nose is lower than the stern...

[baldbaby2000]

One thing I didn't think about when choosing a motor was the alternator. My Tohatsu direct injected 40 HP only puts out about 11 Amps. If I had to do over I may have picked something that could charge the battery faster.

BB

[Catigale]

200 Watt alternator on the Merc 50 BF....havent figured out to use all that joice yet, except to reverse run the solar panel and shine light back at the sun....

[Chip Hindes]

200 Watt alternator on the Merc 50 BF....havent figured out to use all that joice yet

200W isn't a lot of power. And before you go out and waste all that 70 extra watts, trying to create alty envy, I was under the impression that a good chunk of that gets used up by the EFI and computer, and that the net available to run stuff and charge the battery is not a lot more than the 130W we're getting out of our carbed Tohatsus.

I notice the current model 50BFs advertize 231 watts & the Tohatsu TLDI is 280. I wonder how much of that is used up by the EFI?

The fact of the matter is, 50HP motors are normally used on much smaller boats than the Mac with far fewer electrical power demands.

If you have a boat with an inboard or automotive based I/O, the size of your alternator is limited primarily by how much you're willing to spend. For outboards, you get what's offered, and I don't notice huge differences in most of the motors in our size range. We could be happy with the fact that most 26 foot sailboats are powered by 9 or 12HP motors with maybe 70-90W alternators.

Let's face it. Though it would be nice, not too many of us are willing to go out and buy a new motor just so we can get a bigger alternator. There seems to me a definite market for a higher power alternator retrofit for outboards, but I've never seen one.

[Catigale]

I cant imagine the EFI pulls that much Ill guess 10-15W for computer, and the injectors duty cycle is so low that the net draw is very low.

Ill put a current clamp on the output when Im laying up the motor this fall and put all this speculation to rest for all you two stroked carbers with alternator envy...some Guy Frank M in Washington has linked the higher power alternator to the gybing X centerboard performance just so you know......

Chip - want to come down to Coeymans for the tradiitional November sail to close the Hudson for the season??

[baldbaby2000]

My boat is nose heavy, especially with ballast.

The "water line" shows that the nose is lower than the stern...

I think I'll repaint my waterline; or maybe just sail with fat people in the cockpit.

BB

[capt. black]

There is a thread on this site, "Honda Pee", that was good reading for all my 4 stroke outboard dedicated sailors.
My 1st boat was a Bayliner 1850 fish n ski with a 4.3 litre vortec I/O alpha drive. it was loud, but fast. I had to work
on the motor every season before I could get out and enjoy it. Since getting a power sail boat with an outboard I
was blessed with a 2 strike motor. My original thought, (hey be nice!!!) was I will no longer have to do circus acts
to repair my engine. I was right. To my surprise In the three years that I've had this boat I've only replace the spark plugs,
and lower end unit oil.
If anyone is interested in buying a 90 TLDI new take a look at internetoutboards.com they sell the outboard and all the trimmings for $7069.99, I am in the hunt for a better price.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

If anyone is interested in buying a 90 TLDI new take a look at internetoutboards.com they sell the outboard and all the trimmings for $7069.99, I am in the hunt for a better price.

Tohatsu web site (in the specifications section) show a manufacturer's list price of $9,243
BTW, by all accounts the 2009 is the same motor as the 2003 (intro year of the 70/90 TLDI).

for reference, when i purchased my '04 in Jan of '05 i paid $7,200 installed. the list price then was $8,260

Bob T.
"DāBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI (14" x 11 pitch)
Dinghy Motor: '06 2.5-Suzuki

[David Mellon]

I use the good oil and believe the engine runs cleaner. It costs about $30 a gallon and I use less than a gallon a year or about $0.30 an hour. Following posts on this board and others suggest using the right oil matters, less smoke and possibly longer life. Hard to judge the life because the system isn't old enough to judge.

[technicalman]

it might be worth it to just get a portable generator for power instead of relying on the dc current that outboards put out. just a thought.

--Randy