75HP Honda versus a 90HP Honda on a 22' Cruiser

[Rabbits Hutch]

OK folks,

If my boating is mostly done mostly in lakes or very protected waters, and not open water/oceans.... do I want the 90? Need the 90? Will the extra HP of a 90 go to waste?

For now, I've selected the 75 and I cant justify the cost difference to upgrade given my type of boating.

I would love to see some pros and cons to both from those of you who have contemplated this already and made a decision accordingly.

Thanks,

Gary R.

[catdogcat]

I bought a 75 Yami last summer and it is more than enough power. I don't care what they say about the 90s. The 75 is perf.

[DodgeRam]

Gary R , take a good look at YAMI , alternator 20 amps versus 16 for honda , EFI for YAMI , you will love them when the start right away, hot or cold! And I believe they are lighter by a few pounds . Very quiet engines .

[Sneaks]

Love my 75 EFI Yamaha. Right at 30 mph WOT in flat water but who cares about WOT?

[Sea Wolf]

The Yami 75 and 90 actually have 25 amps (although some are used by the EFI, computer, etc). (The Suzi has 40!)

The 75 and 90 are probably indistinguishable until you get to that last 20% of the throttle, with the 90 yielding a few more mph and the ability to handle heavier loads. Outside of the fuel and ignition programing, they're mechanically identical, to my understanding.

Same should be true of the Honda carburetion and ignition systems and the mechanical details.

Joe.

[DodgeRam]

Wolf, wonder where you got 25amps for the Yami 75 and 90 , my manual shows 20 amps for 75 and 90 . Computer uses hardly any amps , I think that good old carburator chocke must be using a little more power(amps ) than EFI, ask some of our C-BRATS Honda owners on cold morning!

[oldgrowth]

Gary;

I have a 16’ Cruiser with a 50 HP Honda and I love it and do not have a starting problem. However if I were to replace it today, I would look at a Yamaha or Suzuki because of the small alternator on the Hondas. We have a lot of electronics on our boat and a 12v refrigerator/cooler all of which cause a lot of draw on the house battery. We also do a lot of stop and go and slow cursing. After overnight stops the house battery is drained enough so that the Honda will not recharge both batteries without extended running. My solution was to get a 1KW Yamaha generator to keep my batteries recharged. With the Yamaha or Suzuki I figured I would not need the Generator.

PS: I contacted you about your old boat last year, but it was sold a couple of days earlier. Glad you have another C-Dory.

Thank you for your service to our country and freedoms. It is people like you that keep this a great country.

[Sneaks]

[Sea Wolf]

Gary- I researched the amperage outputs extensively before buying my Yamaha, and the 25 amp output (300 watts) was a major factor in the motor choice decision along with the new motor having EFI and computer control. I've read a couple of articles where they questioned the net output of the alternator after sutracting for the computer and EFI power consumption, without giving any net quantitive data about how much you really have left. No real numbers here, unfortunately.

Don- Thanks for the verification!

Dave- As regards the Yamaha 1000 watt generator: I have a Honda 1000i genertor to back up my batteries, since I use a 44 lb thrust, 38 (max) amp, engine mounted trolling motor a lot for fishing. I also added two extra group 27 batteries for a total of four, yielding 460 amp-hours capacity. I've found that I can actually troll for 6 or more hours before noticing any drop off in trolling performance (voltage drop), and needing to start the generator for peace of mind, etc. Even at 6 or more hours, however, I've never had any hesitation with the main Yamaha engine starting.

With the C-Dory's great capacity to handle extra weight, an extra battery or two seems to do wonders in expanding your electrical capacity and staying out of trouble!

In retrospect, a generator like we're using costs about $700 or more, depending on the source, and, by comparison, two extra batteries, boxes, wiring and a switch can be had for about $200, or a little more. The extra batteries not only save you $500, but are a lot easier to use, requiring no hooking up, starting, re-fueling, storing, hiding from thieves, or worying about possible water intrusion.

Of course, the generator offers itself for a lot of other uses, both on and off the boat, but having been through it all, the extra batteries and an even an inverter ($200 or so)* make a lot easier and less expensive package than the generator.

Then again, you can have them both and have the extra capacity and security both ways.

Joe. (C-Dory Boats, Electric Boat Division, Surface Fleet)

* This weekend, Harbor Freight Tools here in California is offering their 700 watt (1800 watts surge) inverter that normally retails for about $150 for $49.95 (!) I bought two, one for the C-Dory and another for my 24 ft pontoon boat. One of these will run a small microwave, pulling down about 65 amps of current, and can be used for 5 or more minutes without pulling down a good RV battery very much at all, let alone 2 or 4 of them.

[flapbreaker]

I have an 8 hp honda kicker motor wired to charge the batteries when I'm trolling. It sorta works like a generator since it's so quite at idle. It did come in handy when I for some reason too low of voltage to start the main. I just ran it for a few minutes.

[DodgeRam]

Must have to do with USA engines and Ca engines , My 2005 phamplet show 20 amps , and also ,if you go to Yamaha.ca you will find the same numbers . We should really get rid of this fence between are border!. I also don't want to start a war between who has got the biggest, better, meaner engines, I personnaly love Honda ,but I own a Yamaha, but wish they would be E-TECH's . More Amps will almost be a great advantage on the water , with today's electronics, wallas stove , lap top, tv , in those cases bigger is better. Regardless of how good Honda is, I think the are missing the boat in small outboards, I am thinking carburation here! Lets get with the program. Every body else is doing it, must be some thing about EFI? Look at diesel. One advantage is if one injector goes bad you will know right a way, okay the are a little pricey, but I never had to change one ! , if you have problems with 2, 4 or 6 carbs by the time the tech finishes looking, changing,tuning ,and tuning again It might cost problably more money at the end .

GARY SEARAM