Outboard motor size for 22 's

docsears

New member
Hello again to your wonderfully helpful group! We are enjoying the educational aspect and the warmth, humor and kindness offered herein!
Next question we have, in the event we shift from the 16/19 ft idea to the 22 ft, and that seems to be happening, is what size of outboard does the best, and twins or singles?

Best wishes to ALL of you great folks. We are getting "onboard" as quickly and "prudently" ( from, Halcyon Days, so amazingly inspiring and useful) as possible.

Thank you,
Hayden and Cathy
 
Welcome aboard. Good questions. There are oodles of threads in the Search section on this one. It's all good. The 22 needs between 75-115 hp (max) to do it's designed mission. If you are going new you have some decisions to make. If used, not so many. What's available, how far away, how much etc. if you see something that fits buy it! The rest is personal choice. Ie. twins look cool, singles are sexy, singles with kicker are fishy , triples and quads are for Scarabs. We all have opinions but what really happens is the boats do get where they're going. Kerri On is a 22 with single 90 no kicker. Get home power is excellent maintenance, close eye on fuel condition and well done electrics. Back up is vhf and cell and food . Oh and a blanket for a sail! (Tongue firmly in cheek!). Enjoy the search. :smiled George
 
You have hit upon one of the "eternal" questions, which is often discussed and debated. To the good, you can find hours of entertaining and useful posts in the archives (search something like "single vs. twin" or similar).

In a nutshell, the 22 was originally designed for a 70hp 2-stroke and 36 gallons of fuel - a pretty light combo in today's world. Based on that, my guess is that keeping the transom lighter is better; however, that said, many people run with heavy engine combos and the boats still do well.

Singles vs. twins: I think there are equal number of ticks in the "pro" and "con" column for both, so it's more of a preference than a "best" thing.

Size: 90 hp seems to do well. Some folks are running 75hp and the 115's are getting more popular, but 90 is the most common now. It can be worth checking the weight and alternator specs for the various engines as they do vary by mfgr.

Twins: Seems most folks run 40's or 50's. Some, like Honda, weigh the same between them; others, such as Yamaha, are heavier in the 50 (next size block up in the range from their 40), so that's something to watch.

I wanted twins because I think they look cool; I ended up with a single and kicker because when I was shopping, the cleanest, nicest boat that matched what I wanted the closest had that (I "gave myself permission" to re-power with twins later if I really wanted to). As it turns out, I've discovered some unanticipated things I like about the single/kicker setup, so.... it goes right back to the "for every pro there is a con and vice-versa" thing.

Happy shopping!

Sunbeam
 
I had never owned a real power boat before, so I was not familiar with the "twins v single" scenario. Like a lot of buyers of used C-dory's I kept an open mind. Once I found a C-Dory within reasonable distance of my home and within budget, and if it all checked out ok, I did not mind what the power set up was. So, my new to me boat came with twins and I love'em. If it had been powered with a single, I would have loved that too.

Martin.
 
kennharriet":2vijttuz said:
Sure would be nice to have some real world data on the Honda 60 HP high thrust on a 22.

I'm somewhat interested in the concept of the Yamaha 70 on a 22, and the Honda 60 is similar in specs. There is one member, Redfox, who has a Yamaha 70, but he has a Classic, so a slightly different hull than a post-1986 22.

I'm not sure I can think of why one would choose the high-thrust version of the Honda 60 over the "regular" version of the same engine on a 22.... can you elaborate? I would have thought the "regular" thrust would be preferable for a main (?). (I do get why one might choose a high-thrust kicker.)

To the original poster: See? :mrgreen:
 
I can only tell you that my 22 with a 90hp OB gets about 4.5mpg+ around 22knots. My max speed is around 24-25knots (that I've achieved) and I usually cruise below 20 depending on water conditions.

Good luck :)
 
Back
Top