magnetic wrote: previously
To my mind the BF50 is a truly awful engine; firstly, it is identical to the BF40 except for the ignition mapping software, which means that for most of the rev range you get the torque and general grunt associated with a far smaller engine. Secondly the cav plate and rudder skeg seriously restricts the diameter propellor you can select, and I am a firm believer in blade surface area over pitch.
top speed Honda 50Hp
- magnetic
- First Officer
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- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:39 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Hong Kong
Re: top speed Honda 50Hp
@Dave

- Andre Emmenegger
- Deckhand
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:11 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Tarpon Springs, Florida, Honda BF50A
- Phil M
- Captain
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- Location: 44' Jeanneau, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Re: top speed Honda 50Hp
No ballast? One person? Calm? at sea level?Andre Emmenegger wrote:17 knots. WOT, with stock Honda 4 Blade prop.
Or were you surfing down a big wave?
Phil M
- magnetic
- First Officer
- Posts: 286
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:39 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Hong Kong
Re: top speed Honda 50Hp
17 knots is more or less where I got to in 2010 - flat water, minimal wind or tide, ballast out, 1 person, full tanks, mast & sails in position, antifouling paint, standard kit below decks
My
swings a 3-blade Honda prop, dimensions listed elsewhere in this discussion, and these days I max out (at sea) at around 16 knots WOT / 6,000 rpm. It may well be the case that the 4 blade is a better prop
My
- Andre Emmenegger
- Deckhand
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:11 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Tarpon Springs, Florida, Honda BF50A
Re: top speed Honda 50Hp
17 knots WOT, sea level, one person, light load, calm seas, no tide, no wind, stock honda 4 blade prop. I only longboard, so no surfing this time.
- Gypsy
- First Officer
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- Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:52 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Montgomery Alabama
Re: top speed Honda 50Hp
2000 26X with bottom paint , loaded with gear and water.
Honda 50 engine with standard prop
All sailing gear and full ballast
two people on board
We get about 10mph .
I tried a high speed run just the other day , same as last year , about 10mph max.
Honda 50 engine with standard prop
All sailing gear and full ballast
two people on board
We get about 10mph .
I tried a high speed run just the other day , same as last year , about 10mph max.
- Andre Emmenegger
- Deckhand
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:11 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Tarpon Springs, Florida, Honda BF50A
- Gypsy
- First Officer
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:52 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Montgomery Alabama
Re: top speed Honda 50Hp
I didn't buy a Mac to go fast . I bought it because it carries enough motor to get out of the way of a storm and it has an alternator .
I can cruise at hull speed and get close to 10mpg or sail and ride for free .
Which beats my previous boat , a 22' Bayliner cabin cruiser that got 3 mpg at hull speed .
I bought a
to use as a poor mans trawler with the option of sailing.
For me to need to run so fast as to dump the ballast , I would have to be rushing somebody to a hospital .
I can cruise at hull speed and get close to 10mpg or sail and ride for free .
Which beats my previous boat , a 22' Bayliner cabin cruiser that got 3 mpg at hull speed .
I bought a
For me to need to run so fast as to dump the ballast , I would have to be rushing somebody to a hospital .
- magnetic
- First Officer
- Posts: 286
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:39 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Hong Kong
Re: top speed Honda 50Hp
I agree; as I said in my earlier comment,
The longer I have had thethe less concerned I am about outright speed under power; sure, 10 - 12 kts to get the boat up out of the water around 4,500 revs, but above that the fuel economy really drops off badly; I would far prefer to have a massive prop which could consistently smash me through lumpy seas at high displacement speeds, but the Honda isn't able to swing one
