i need help with motor choice

[bahama bound]

found and bought a really nice x with trailer for 5 thousand but it came with a really clean 8 horse electric start nissan ,which defeats the purpose of having a x ,was gonna buy a 4 stroke 50 but now i think i might need alittle more motor 70 or 90 ???? i would be greatful for any advice ???? i do wanna bop around the bahamas and i want to do the dry tortuga trip ??? trying to balance ,weight ,fuel economy and performance ?????

[mastreb]

Sounds like you want fast. Most Mac owners run Suzuki 70s or 90s for that. The ETEC 60s and 90s are also common on Macs and a solid choice. I run an ETEC-60 and I really like the motor, but it is my first outboard so it's not like I have a lot of experience with them. The ETEC-60 is the largest motor you can rope-start, which I think is safety critical.

[bahama bound]

Sounds like you want fast. Most Mac owners run Suzuki 70s or 90s for that. The ETEC 60s and 90s are also common on Macs and a solid choice. I run an ETEC-60 and I really like the motor, but it is my first outboard so it's not like I have a lot of experience with them. The ETEC-60 is the largest motor you can rope-start, which I think is safety critical.

speed is not the most important ,but really like being able to rope start ,what will your boat cruise at with the 60 etec loaded with your cruising gear??

[Divecoz]

60 HP Merc will pull start as well.. I get about 15 mph out of my 50 HP Merc Big Foot.. The Big Foot / big gear case and 14" prop is IMHO very important.
Yes some guys are installing HUGE motors on these Sailboats and hitting in the mid 30's On Smooth lakes.. Not Open Ocean.. These boat were never designed to handle well at high speeds in big waves.. I stripped mine down pretty bare and managed to hit almost 19. I have had a number of ski boats.. I.. dont think My Mac... handles well even in Chop at those speeds.. To Each His Own... When I powered through bad weather? I was doing it slowly .. about 10 to 12 mph, full ballast , motor down.... full .. I let her plow.. Shes a Tractor not a Ferrari.. shes plows nicely.. fully under control..
I feel I get great MPG with my 50 as long as I am not sitting on the stick WOT.. No Boat Ever Built gets even decent MPG at WOT.. You pay for speed..
I was getting about.... 7 mpg towing a 9.9 ' inflatable with an outboard hanging on it and being fully loaded.. But I was in no hurry .. no chop and during ebb tide..

[bahama bound]

60 HP Merc will pull start as well.. I get about 15 mph out of my 50 HP Merc Big Foot.. The Big Foot / big gear case and 14" prop is IMHO very important.
Yes some guys are installing HUGE motors on these Sailboats and hitting in the mid 30's On Smooth lakes.. Not Open Ocean.. These boat were never designed to handle well at high speeds in big waves.. I stripped mine down pretty bare and managed to hit almost 19. I have had a number of ski boats.. I.. dont think My Mac... handles well even in Chop at those speeds.. To Each His Own... When I powered through bad weather? I was doing it slowly .. about 10 to 12 mph, full ballast , motor down.... full .. I let her plow.. Shes a Tractor not a Ferrari.. shes plows nicely.. fully under control..
I feel I get great MPG with my 50 as long as I am not sitting on the stick WOT.. No Boat Ever Built gets even decent MPG at WOT.. You pay for speed..
I was getting about.... 7 mpg towing a 9.9 ' inflatable with an outboard hanging on it and being fully loaded.. But I was in no hurry .. no chop and during ebb tide..

are you getting 7 mpg at 10-12 ???,i wanna cruise this boat ,10-12 is fine ,i dont wanna take a hundred gallans of fuel with me ?it does sound nice to hit the high teens or low twenties if you ever need to ,i think i bought into the 26 x promo video where roger says the boat planes off with a 50 horse motor !!!!

[Benmcgov]

I have a Merc 90 on my and fully loaded down with 4 adults a baby and 4 days of food, water, and gear we were able to hit 18 knots WOT. We usually don't have that many people or that much crap and yet it still did awesome. I have a SS Apollo prop, and the Merc 90hp is capable of pull start.

Buying a Motor is a big decision so do your shopping and read this forum like mad and you won't have any problem buying the outboard that is best for you.

Good Luck,
Ben

[Matt19020]

Whatever you pick two key things to remember:
1) Dealer location for service...If your nearest"Authorized" dealer is 200 miles away that will not help much in a warranty situation
2) Fuel...The larger motor the more fuel used the less range you MAY have...Rule of thumb is 1 gallon per hour for every 10 HP at full throttle
70hp = 7gph 50hp = 5gph and so on...
Most of us carry 2 - 12 gallon tanks When you factor in the 1/3 rule for safety you really only carry 16 gallons of fuel for use

[bahama bound]

Whatever you pick two key things to remember:
1) Dealer location for service...If your nearest"Authorized" dealer is 200 miles away that will not help much in a warranty situation
2) Fuel...The larger motor the more fuel used the less range you MAY have...Rule of thumb is 1 gallon per hour for every 10 HP at full throttle
70hp = 7gph 50hp = 5gph and so on...
Most of us carry 2 - 12 gallon tanks When you factor in the 1/3 rule for safety you really only carry 16 gallons of fuel for use

so wouldnt it be better to have a little bigger motor that doesnt have to work as hard to push the boat ?than have a smaller motor straining to push the boat ??? how happy are you with your 70 ??

[Matt19020]

I like the 70 and if I had to do it again I would...However I did not think about a dealer and the nearest one is 45 miles away...The other negative is the weight I would rather be 100lb lighter it fishtails a little when I trailer.
I cannot comment on little motor straining or not...thats for the engineers on this site

I always motor fully ballasted and at full throttle I get about 16mph with full crew, ballast and against current..
We rarely run full throttle... typically we do about 8-10 mph at 2-3mpg. You will not like the noise of a motor at wide open throttle...at 8-10mph we can still have a conversation listen to radio and no splash....
Remember we all use our boats differently..this is what works for us..

[mika]

Suffice to say, and for what it's worth, I am 100% happy with my ETEC 60.

[jschrade]

E-TEC 60, 1st maintenance 3 years or 300 hours. Very fuel efficient and starts on 1st turn every time. It makes a very convenient seat to use when boarding from the ladder or to a dinghy (you can't sit on most of the others).

i was shocked at how much 4 strokes cost compared to the E-TEC, provide no additional speed (extra weight tho) and the maintenance on 4 strokes is insane and all of it needs to be done by a dealer to keep your warranty - read lots more expense and headache. On many you cannot lower the captains seat without cutting out a piece of it and then getting around it is difficult when using the ladder or getting on/off a dinghy. Then add the joy of oil changes, the break in period - YIKES!

Of course, the 4 strokes are quieter.

It depends on what you want to do. Big engines eat big gas and no they don't use less because they don't work hard they have larger cylinders and take more fuel at all RPM's. Not great for cruising. But if you want a terrible ski boat with zero resale value and short range then put a 90+ on your Macgregor - you'll love it!

{Shields up - Red Alert!}

Jim

[Catigale]

Bahama...I would take a few months with the 8 horse and get a feel for the boat before getting a new motor. For those long trips you are contemplating, the bigger horse motors won't help you....on big seas you can't slam these hulls at 20 knots. Mad mike took his to some wild places with 2 Nissan 6 HP IIRC, that's the other extreme from Billys 140HP.

It's all about intended use. If you use that 8 HP for a bit, you can take it off yourself and resell for 2k pretty easily btw. Remember your big motors will need another 1500 USD on budget for installation too.

[Divecoz]

Some good issue are coming up ...
* How will you use the boat 50% to 70% of the time..
Is this a cabin cruiser that will also be used as a sailboat? Is it a sailboat that you want the option available, to move briskly when you need or want it?

*Budget $$$$$ how much are you willing to spend on a motor.. IBOATS has some very good prices on 1 and 2 year old program motors both Mercury and Yamaha. Numerous members here have bought them and none IIRC have had any issues.. If I had it to do all over again and with ALL the pictures and instructions now available just on this board I would have saved a LOT of $$ and bought a program motor and installed it myself.. Maybe the next size bigger motor for a whole lot lesssss money..

*Warranty I would be ... BTW ... very surprised to find , if I even have 200 hours on my motor even after using the boat as a live aboard for 5 weeks in Florida.. IMHO ... unless you live in Florida or somewhere , where they have what I call summer.......year round ? After the first year on a new motor that warranty is a joke.. By and Large.... My boat sat on its trailer 21 months out of the 36 months of warranty.. and It was used about 1 hour per week for the rest of the time..

**Noise.. 4 stroke beats 2 stroke hands down at most if not all RPM 's above idle.. is that important to you.. It was and continues to be for us.. But at WOT it STILL obnoxious! That's NOT why we bought a sailboat.. We have a built in CD player on board and we seldom use it unless we are at anchor having dinner and later as we sit and look at the stars..

*Gear Case Size and Prop size IMHO this is a must .. Big Gear Case and Big Prop.. Everything is better with the 14" prop..

The Biggest consideration may well be.. Budget$$ then Noise... then WOT speed..and for the reason stated Warranty... I... change my oil once a year..done deal.. I have a whisper quite 4 stroke.. my Merc 50HP EFI BF with 14 X 10 Prop works well and the motor fits well in the up position.
What you have is an older boat that mayyyyy be in need of some items being replaced or up-graded.. you could easily spend $2000 in the first few months..

[Catigale]

i was shocked at how much 4 strokes cost compared to the E-TEC,

I wouldn't buy an ETEC unless I had service in the backyard, so to speak. There is too much dealer only stuff in this technology, IMHO.

[bscott]

My 08 E-tec 60 is due for its first trip to the stealer--3 yr recommended service--There is one exhaust filter that should be serviced that I can't do but everything else can be done by me on the trailer. All brand's FI engine electronics need dealer servicing and you will need a bank loan to fix them when out of warranty.

Noise: Quiet enough at 2,500/3,500 rpm cruising speeds to have a normal conversation in the cockpit. After that

The annoying noise is down below with stuff rattling--the 4 strokes probably do better but I have no first hand comparisons as I have never been in another Mac's cabin under power.

BS