would like to hear from anyone with 25 hp

[capncarp]

bahama bound,
I agree with Sea Griff completely. It is all depends on what you want the boat to do. I had a Merc 25, 2 stroke for 10 years on my X. It moved at 6-7 mph and went all summer on one tank of gas. At that rate mixing the oil wasn't a bother. Of coarse There was alot of sailing time in there. I'm am also on inland lakes so running from a storm wasn't a factor. It also handles better with the lesser weight of my present 50. I don't sail anymore . Only motor. It's all about you.
capncarp,

[Catigale]

There are very few places in the world w ith 10 knot currents...only time I have hit this is in the lower Niagara river..and I only Did this because it was there...

Even the Cape Cod canal runs about 5 knots' which a 25 HP woud handle for a hour or two transit.

The smaller motors are always financially way ahead of motors requiring installs.

[TAW02]

There are very few places in the world w ith 10 knot currents....

I can only think of three ... in Florida on extreme occasions of tidal conditions. But yes they exist. One of the three is Sebastian Inlet on the Atlantic side. Here is a navigational note on copied and pasted from Active Captain;
Sebastian Inlet is 36.5 miles southward of Cape Canaveral Light. In May 1983, there was a reported controlling depth of 5 feet from the Intracoastal Waterway through the dredged channel of the inside bar, thence 8 feet to the eastern entrance. In May 1983, it was reported that 12 feet can be taken across the bar in smooth seas. The western entrance is marked by private buoys and a light. The entrance is protected by a north jetty, marked by a private light, extending 600 feet from shore and a south jetty extending 500 feet from shore. A steel bulkhead leads in a west-northwest direction for about 1,500 yards from the south side of the inlet into Indian River. The inlet is used by local fishermen and party boats.Sebastian Inlet is dangerous and particularly hazardous to small boats not designed for the open seas. Persons using this inlet should be experienced boatmen and have local knowledge. It is reported that shoaling exists just north of the south jetty and for about 200 yards to the east of the south jetty. Shoaling also exists in the general area south of the small spoil island between the bridge and the Intracoastal Waterway. Shoals are gradually building up and shifting. Minimum depth in the inlet varies; the bottom is rocky in spots.It is further reported that the velocity of the tidal currents reaches 10 knots, and turbulence exists between the bridge and the end of the jetties. Anchoring east of the bridge is extremely hazardous, particularly by the stern. Except during flat calms, breaking and confused seas exist off the mouth of the inlet and inside the inlet as far as the bridge. Conditions worsen with increasing seas or winds and on an ebb tide. Small boats departing the inlet on a flood or slack tide can find it impossible to return on an ebb tide. While the inlet conditions are generally worse during the winter months, hazardous conditions develop rapidly in the summer in squalls and on ebb tides.Additional information on local existing conditions can be obtained by contacting the Fort Pierce Coast Guard Station (telephone: 561-464-6100) and asking for the Coast Guard Auxiliary telephone number. A fixed highway bridge, State Route A1A, crossing the inlet has a clearance of 37 feet.

Thinking about it tho .... yes it is true not everyone lives near such places as this. So not to be concerned. However if you plan a trip to sunny Florida don't be lulled into the beauty and mesmerized by the serenity of its island and bays ... because lies a monster hole up ahead

I would recommend Active Captain whenever or wherever you plan to cruise. Study the areas of interest and be prepared and keep safe.

Tom

[Norca]

Not that I am planning to go boating in northern Norway anytime soon, but the strongest tidal current in the world is Saltstraumen in northern Norway, (22 knots)
google it, or check it out on wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltstraumen

[Sumner]

It seems to me that some people buy an X or M for the room and not for the power boat aspect. If so and they have an outboard that won't let it get up on plane and the boat is running as a displacement hull only I wonder why not just buy a high thrust 8-10 HP Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki or Nissan/Tohatsu? Then you would also gain the fuel efficiency.

People power boats a lot larger than an X or M with these outboards. As far as dealing with the currents if you are going to be sailing/motoring in an area with them then you need to be aware of tides/currents. As has been mentioned even Florida with its relative low tides can have some areas with very fast tidal currents. We try to transverse them during slack times.

We used the tide function on the GPS every day to decide when to move (looking for slack tide) and also to anticipate what the water depths will be at low and high tide where we are going to anchor. If we for instance anchor during high tide I'll look at the anticipated tide heights for the next few days and make sure we are anchoring in water deep enough to keep us off the bottom during low tide periods.

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

[Norca]

You are right sumner.
I was thinking about buying a smaller motor when I got my 26M last year.
It was the admiral that wanted a larger engine, so who am I to complain
Now that the e-tec 60 is there I'm glad I have it.
It is more fun with the possibility to go fast when we want to.
But the boat would have been just fine with less power.
After all we got the mac for the ease of trailering and the cabin space, as we plan to
do some cruising in distant locations.
I think the mac is the best boat on the market for easy trailering, shallow draft and cabin-space,
The fast motoring is just a bonus for us, we would have bought it even if it was limited to hull-speed motoring only.

[bahama bound]

there was right at 4k difference in cost by the time they rigged it with prop and controls so i admit i was tempted ,i will more than likely end up in the 60 -70 hp range ,maybe im wrong but for some reason ive always been afraid of etecs ,but most people on the forum really like them ,what ever i upgrade to i will keep it maintained ,flushed and take really good care of the fuel system ,i really do miss the older johnson evinrudes ,50,70 ,115 's thanks for all your imput ,buy the way i had a chance to buy a late 80's seaward 26 ,i could have got it with the trailer and motor for a lot less than 5k i paid for my x ,but i wasnt impressed ,it was heavier ,not as well laid out ,i really like how my x sails ,i guess no boat is perfect, but for what i want i guess the x is as close as i can get .

[bscott]

Mountain lake sailing usually begins around 1300 hrs--so we motor to the end of the lake that favors broad reaching back to the POB, then motor back again avoiding the multitude of tacks required to sail against the head wind. It's nice to have a E-tec 60 to make the motor trip back--more trips = more sailing. If we time the afternoon reverse wind we can sail up and down the lake just in time for the afternoon rain, time to anchor out or go to the dock. Big, dry cabin is a wife pleaser, getting there fast makes the captain smile.

Bob