What outboard?

I’d say a bare minimum of a 6hp four stroke if you want to still be able to lift it in a reasonably manageable way.

My Jag 24 is a similar size but lighter (3000lbs vs 4400lbs) and a 6hp is adequate I found after I downsized from a very heavy Honda 10hp.

So once it gets going and providing it’s calm 6hp will do it.

If you need to punch anywhere though it’s back to something like the Honda.

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I agree a minimum of 6hp but 8 or even 9.8, 9.9 or10 if you want to be able to punch your way against choppy conditions.

Also choose a "sail" version as it will have a prop more suited to a displacement hull rather than to a fast planing runabout
 
In calm water a 2 to 3.5 hp is fine, small and light, used a 2 hp o/b occasionally on a mostly raced 23-footer that was similar size/weight to a Voyager. O/B stored on cabin sole when racing. But for most usage including a bit of wind and waves 6 hp at least permanently mounted. The limiting factor in bad weather is prop coming out of the water when pitching, so whilst 9.9 also OK nothing bigger will give much benefit except to use more fuel.
 
As has been suggested a saildrive (bigger prop/lower gear ration) extra long shaft (25") outboard is ideal. I would try and get a 9.9 Tohatsu or Yamaha 2 stroke on the grounds of weight. These are both highly rated engines and are very little heavier than the 6hp. These are not available new now for pleasure use but little used 2nd hand engines do come up from time to time but are in demand so are not cheap.
 
C08 said:
As has been suggested a saildrive (bigger prop/lower gear ration) extra long shaft (25") outboard is ideal. I would try and get a 9.9 Tohatsu or Yamaha 2 stroke on the grounds of weight. These are both highly rated engines and are very little heavier than the 6hp. These are not available new now for pleasure use but little used 2nd hand engines do come up from time to time but are in demand so are not cheap.
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Unless you are a resident of the channel Islands and can visit Alderney :devilish:
 
jwilson said:
In calm water a 2 to 3.5 hp is fine, small and light, used a 2 hp o/b occasionally on a mostly raced 23-footer that was similar size/weight to a Voyager. O/B stored on cabin sole when racing. But for most usage including a bit of wind and waves 6 hp at least permanently mounted. The limiting factor in bad weather is prop coming out of the water when pitching, so whilst 9.9 also OK nothing bigger will give much benefit except to use more fuel.
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Same here.
It's amazing what a small motor will shift when there's no wind, provided that the motor will rev.
A 4hp motor that won't rev because the prop is too big/coarse pitched will only be giving perhaps 1HP and the prop won't be working efficiently either.
 
I once pushed my 29ft cawas calmtamaran using the dinghy alongside and a 2hp Yamaha. Managed quite happily for a couple of miles, although it did get a tad warm.
BUT there was no wind and it was calm.
The additional hp is needed to push through waves and against wind, and that is why the sail drive versions of the outboards are so much better.
 
lw395 said:
Same here.
It's amazing what a small motor will shift when there's no wind, provided that the motor will rev.
A 4hp motor that won't rev because the prop is too big/coarse pitched will only be giving perhaps 1HP and the prop won't be working efficiently either.
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I moved a fairly heavy 50-footer sailing yacht in a calm once with 4 hp on a small inflatable. Took a while to get going though, but eventually got up to about 4 knots. The tricky bit was guessing when to turn off the engine - about 200 metres from the mooring!
 
For new, Tohatsu seem to be the market leader now for outboard engines for small sailing boats. They do variants with extra long legs, charging coils, props suitable for displacement speeds, remote control & electric start for the bigger sizes. The UK importer is very flexible, making up any combination that's possible to put together.
 
C08 said:
As has been suggested a saildrive (bigger prop/lower gear ration) extra long shaft (25") outboard is ideal. I would try and get a 9.9 Tohatsu or Yamaha 2 stroke on the grounds of weight. These are both highly rated engines and are very little heavier than the 6hp. These are not available new now for pleasure use but little used 2nd hand engines do come up from time to time but are in demand so are not cheap.
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Totally agree, I have the Yamaha 9.9 hp two stroke on my H260, (The boat is plated max 7.5kw) Cracking engine, quiet, loads of torque and reliable as hell. Look for a good second hand specimen, mine came with a charging coil as a bonus.
 
Talbot said:
I once pushed my 29ft cawas calmtamaran using the dinghy alongside and a 2hp Yamaha. Managed quite happily for a couple of miles, although it did get a tad warm.
BUT there was no wind and it was calm.
The additional hp is needed to push through waves and against wind, and that is why the sail drive versions of the outboards are so much better.
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But some people only want the engine for when there is no wind, and a bit of 'power steering' on and off a pontoon.
A lot of boats, you're better off using the sails if you can.
 
grumpygit said:
Totally agree, I have the Yamaha 9.9 hp two stroke on my H260, (The boat is plated max 7.5kw) Cracking engine, quiet, loads of torque and reliable as hell. Look for a good second hand specimen, mine came with a charging coil as a bonus.
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I have a 15 HP on my 26 foot Trailer yacht which is 5 HP more than needed really, and its heavy.
On the other hand at 6 knots in calm weather, achieved on about 1/3 throttle it only burns about 2 to 2.5 litres/hour.
I have been wondering about the 9.9 Yamaha or tohatsu 2 stroke which are about half the weight of the Honda, but wonder what sort of fuel use i could expect?
 
John the kiwi said:
I have a 15 HP on my 26 foot Trailer yacht which is 5 HP more than needed really, and its heavy.
On the other hand at 6 knots in calm weather, achieved on about 1/3 throttle it only burns about 2 to 2.5 litres/hour.
I have been wondering about the 9.9 Yamaha or tohatsu 2 stroke which are about half the weight of the Honda, but wonder what sort of fuel use i could expect?
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To be honest I have not calculated the fuel burn of my Yamaha, I try to sail every time I go out and I use the engine so little.
The two stroke will burn more because if fires every second stroke, where the four stroke every four. This is also why the two strokes have more torque. The only down is having to mix the oil, but that's no great shakes.
Two strokes have less internal moving parts, hence lighter, less general wear and imho more reliable. It's nearly always four strokes one sees having starting and running problems.
 
grumpygit said:
To be honest I have not calculated the fuel burn of my Yamaha, I try to sail every time I go out and I use the engine so little.
The two stroke will burn more because if fires every second stroke, where the four stroke every four. This is also why the two strokes have more torque. The only down is having to mix the oil, but that's no great shakes.
Two strokes have less internal moving parts, hence lighter, less general wear and imho more reliable. It's nearly always four strokes one sees having starting and running problems.
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The small 4 strokes seem to be hard to start sometimes, but at 10hp & above, especially with electric start, modern ones seem to go on the push of the button every time. I've had 2 10's covering 45k miles of sailing. Hefty lumps, yes, bad starters, not once.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
The small 4 strokes seem to be hard to start sometimes, but at 10hp & above, especially with electric start, modern ones seem to go on the push of the button every time. I've had 2 10's covering 45k miles of sailing. Hefty lumps, yes, bad starters, not once.
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I'll take your advice on the four strokes around the 10's. The larger lumps as in big hp do seem to be trouble free.
To be fair, I've never owned one and hopefully I won't have too.
 
RupertW said:
One of these would be nice https://seamarknunn.com/acatalog/Torqeedo-Cruise-Motors-p1.html
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For those prices the Op could nearly get a new boat plus outboard. I also presume a secondhand engine might be more in order.

However back to the question I would suggest 6hp minimum, and longshaft unless the boat has now got an outboard well. In the Bristol Channel I found 8hp 4 stroke best to push against tide but the Honda was sadly a bit heavy for my 22ft Anderson and put it stern down. I am a Yamaha fan as their 2 strokes are reliable and light, though now I only need them for dinghy
 
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