Motor Choices

Posted By: Mark N, Nimble Arctic, Jax FL
Date: 4/16/07 9:48a.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Motor (link) (pic) (Ed, N24 Sarasota)

Yes, that motor is heavy. I have the same motor (1993 model) and the book says that it weighs 99 pounds. To make it easier to handle, I bought an engine lift harness for about $30 at WM. I run my main halyard through a block connected to the outhaul on the boom then connect it to the harness. this way I can lift the motor out of the well and swing it out over the side into my truck parked beside the trailer without much effort. Going from the truck to the boat is a little harder just because I have to lift the motor more which takes more grinding on the winch. As for motor size, I am actually going the opposit direction from Ed. I have been very pleased with both the reliability and performance of my Y9.9 but time is taking its toll and I am going to repower next year. Although the 9.9 provides more than enough power for most situations, it has been inadequate a couple of times. In both cases, I was caught out on the river during a squall in the dead of summer and was motoring into 30+ kts wind to get to cover. Given the windage of the PH, under those conditions the Y9.9 is only able to push the Arctic at about 2-3 kts. To add to the difficulty, the water temp gets into the mid 80's here and the motor has a tendency to overheat when run wide open for very long even though the cooling system is functioning normally. In order to get a better "bad weather sprint" capability, I want to replace my Y9.9 with a high thrust 15HP. Sadly, Yamaha no longer sells a high thrust 15 even though they used to. When they did, the 15 weighed the same as the 9.9. Honda makes a HT 9.9, 15 and 20. If I read the Honda spec correctly, the HT, long shaft, elec start, remote controlled 9.9 weighs 117 lbs. The same motor in 15HP comes standard with elec tilt/trim and weighs a whopping 136 lbs. You can get it in the 20” shaft without power tilt and that motor weighs 116 lbs. The longest shaft you can get on the 20 HP is 20” but you can get it without elec tilt and it also weighs 116 lbs. I have been very happy with my Yamaha and if they made a 15HP extra long (25”) shaft high thrust model, I would not even consider Honda. I have some measuring to do, but I do not think that the 20” shafts are an option. That leaves me with the Y9.9, H9.9 or H15 as options. The heavy weights of the motors do not bother me when it comes to sailing because I am pretty small and generally sail alone. On the other hand, the weight will make motor removal/re-installation more difficult even using my lift harness. At 108 lbs, the Yamaha is the lightest of the three choices. Another plus for the Yamaha is that the HT versions have a lower gear ratio than their regular motors. On the other hand, the Hondas use the same gear ratio as the regular motor with a four bladed prop to get the HT version. Two pluses for the Hondas are that they have a 12A alternator (vice 10A on the Yamaha) and they have below water exhaust.