Honda 135 outboard on a 25'

[thataway]

Also, please note the above speed is in knts, which sailors use. Mph is a bigger number but I use knts.

Just an aside (and I agree with Boris on power, but there are times in flat water when it is nice to be able to make higher speeds).

For many East Coast, Gulf Coast and Inland sailors, the mileage on rivers and intra costal water ways are in statute miles. Off shore in nautical miles.

Even the "distance between US ports" gives the inland waters in statute miles and offshore in Nautical miles. In the coastal ports, it will give both, since some go offshore and some stay in the ICW.

 

[Avidmagnum12]

My thoughts on horse power. It depends on how you use your 25. We travel with a LOT of weight on our boat. We always have our kicker, a full freezer, a Honda generator and a air conditioner. On Isle Royal trips we carry supplies for 5 weeks plus downriggers and other fishing gear. We may also carry a tender and tender motor. 50 plus mile crossings are not uncommon and speed is important to us at times. Our Yamaha 200 weight is not much different than a 150 Honda. It’s great to have an engine the allows us to get on plane easily and cruse at 25 to 30 mph without have to run at high RPMs. We have a fuel flow meter and we get our best cruising economy at that speed.

This is my second 200 on the boat. My last one was a 2 stroke and my wife hated the smell. When I first got the C-Otter and the boat was light it may have been overkill. The way I use it now it’s just perfect.

We don’t all use our boats the same and horse power needs are not universal.

 

[johnr]

My thoughts on horse power. It depends on how you use your 25. We travel with a LOT of weight on our boat. We always have our kicker, a full freezer, a Honda generator and a air conditioner. On Isle Royal trips we carry supplies for 5 weeks plus downriggers and other fishing gear. We may also carry a tender and tender motor. 50 plus mile crossings are not uncommon and speed is important to us at times. Our Yamaha 200 weight is not much different than a 150 Honda. It’s great to have an engine the allows us to get on plane easily and cruse at 25 to 30 mph without have to run at high RPMs. We have a fuel flow meter and we get our best cruising economy at that speed.

This is my second 200 on the boat. My last one was a 2 stroke and my wife hated the smell. When I first got the C-Otter and the boat was light it may have been overkill. The way I use it now it’s just perfect.

We don’t all use our boats the same and horse power needs are not universal.

Having spent my formative year in coastal Louisiana, I know many Cajuns who would scoff at putting a motor that small on a boat that big.

 

[smckean (Tosca)]

First of all it's 50 lbs more than the Honda and the C-Dory doesn't need more weight aft.

When I replaced my 2005 vintage Honda 150 with the 2014 Yamaha 200, the new engine only weighed 5 pounds more than the old one.

P.S. Earlier I stated that 4 adults on board is a heavily loaded boat by definition. Having thought about it some more, I retract that statement. Since most boats usually have 2 adults on board, 4 adults is only 350 to 400 more pounds. A full tank of fuel alone is about that same weight. Like Avidmagnum12, if I think of all the weight I load onto the boat when I cruise, a lightly loaded boat with 4 adults likely weighs less than a fully loaded boat with 2 adults. YMMV.

 

[Hunkydory]

On our extended Alaska cruises just the extra fuel, food, water, generator, dingy & motor put in an extra 1000 lbs. I agree, a extra person or two without all that, hardly compares & the difference in new more hp motor weight compared to the older heavy less hp motors really isn’t enough weight difference to not go with higher hp, when repowering. To me the benefits of more hp easily out way the little bit of weight difference. In my opinion the only real negative being the extra cost.

When repowering time came for us the several thousand extra dollar cost was eased by knowing all our future boating would be done at a much more quiet lower rpm, which is a very big deal to us. The power if needed a huge benefit too. Where the majority of our time is spent at displacement speed & when on plane 15 to 18 mph is pretty much the optimum for most conditions, increased speed from the additional hp for the occasional time it could be achieved was very low on the consideration for us going up in hp, though I like others, appreciate the ability to do so if needed or desired.

Unlike Boris & many of the old sailors here, I think in & for the most part use miles for speed & distance as boating came late in life & I’m not considering ocean crossing, so see very little need to do otherwise. I also don’t mind doing the small mental conversion jiggling, when others prefer knots.

Jay

 

[smckean (Tosca)]

....knowing all our future boating would be done at a much more quiet lower rpm.....

Totally agree. Here's my experience with the 200 Yamaha on my CD25 cruiser moderately loaded on flat-ish or light chop water:

I'm well on plane at 3600 RPM and achieve a speed of 20 MPH getting my best on-plane gas mileage of ~3.3 MPG.

My favorite position is at 4200 RPM achieving a speed of 26 MPH consuming ~3.0 MPG.

After 4200 RPM the engine doesn't sound as happy and is quite a bit louder.

P.S. Most of the time I run at either 1300 RPM doing hull speed, or 1800 RPM pushing the speed up to ~8 MPH (I find the boat is a bit more stable when running just above hull speed). I get 5 to 6 MPG at those RPMs. All this is with a 15" pitch prop. (Frankly, if someone gave me $500, I'd drop to a 13" prop and sacrifice some of that speed for even more torque.)