Horsepower for your application

Hi Folks,
We bought a 2005 22 Cruiser last year with a tired Honda 90. Put a new 70 Yam on it and love it. Smooth, quiet, bow down where it should be without a wing/Ptrim due to less weight on transom. Boat will always be an inshore comfort cruiser. Long cruises at displacement to 15 knots are all this boat will see. Occasional WOT just cuz. Chesapeake, rivers, and ICW.
 
I ran a 75hp 4 cycle Yamaha on my 22’ for 17 years and loved it, there were a few times that I was wishing for a bit more horsepower but all in all was very happy with it.
Just re-powered with a 115hp 2022 Suzuki. Haven’t had a chance to even break it in yet, I’m sure I will like the fuel injection system and added Hp. Not so sure about the extra 100 pounds of weight in the stern though. Hope to get out on the Columbia sometime soon and find out.
Dave
Raven Dancer.
 
I have twin 45s and the only time I want more power is when it is fully loaded for a long multi-day cruise. And then, it really could use about 50 more hp as all it does is burn a lot of gas and not go very fast.
 
snhstahl@gmail.com,
While looking at the Troy Marine site this morning, I saw you and your boat in a photo. I have seen several others discuss the 70 four stroke Yamaha, for the 22 Cruiser, but never saw any feedback on performance data. When you have the boat loaded for a cruise, including passengers, do you know what your speed is a wide open throttle?
I had a 22 for 10 years and loved it and my minimum non displacement speed was abut 12 kts. My curiosity is what margin, without WOT, does the new outboard provide above 12 its?
 
3 more hours of break-in, then we will see if we reach rated rpm and have the right prop. Read reports of 27-28 with 70 HP and we will never be heavily loaded. The old 90 Honda gave us 28mph (gps, reciprocal course average), but it took a long time to get there. Had lotsa hours. It liked to pause and take a rest occasionally too. Hate that unexpected silence. Dealer actually ran the boat IN the WATER for a couple hours with the new one. Pays to repower in February when they have a little time on their hands. Last boat was a Maine-built single screw diesel and after 17 years wearing ear plugs we are cruising in peace.
 
Redfox, a Alaskan C-Brat going way back, went from a Yamaha 115 to a Yamaha 70 on his older CD22. This is his 250 hr report. He also did a extended cruise report several years back with his boat heavily loaded, but I couldn’t find it now to share.

http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=17279

On our Planned SE Alaska trip coming up shortly, there will be three CD 22’s. Mikes with a 70 hp Yamaha, Jody’s with 140 Suzuki and me with twin Honda 60’s. It will be interesting to see how they compare to each other & Bill’s 23 Ranger Tug with a a 200 Yamaha.

Jay
 
That will be informative. I have heard the 140 is very efficient from a number of folks. On a 22, it shouldn't even be breaking a sweat. I remember when Redfox did that and I was a little surprised because he loved the 115 as well. I suspect that all the boats on your trip will have very similar fuel usage if loaded the same and captained the same. I could be very wrong though.

Hunkydory":1yetqr65 said:
Redfox, a Alaskan C-Brat going way back, went from a Yamaha 115 to a Yamaha 70 on his older CD22. This is his 250 hr report. He also did a extended cruise report several years back with his boat heavily loaded, but I couldn’t find it now to share.

http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=17279

On our Planned SE Alaska trip coming up shortly, there will be three CD 22’s. Mikes with a 70 hp Yamaha, Jody’s with 140 Suzuki and me with twin Honda 60’s. It will be interesting to see how they compare to each other & Bill’s 23 Ranger Tug with a a 200 Yamaha.

Jay
 
Hunkydory":3saxi57q said:
Redfox, a Alaskan C-Brat going way back, went from a Yamaha 115 to a Yamaha 70 on his older CD22.

Jay

Redfox was truly the original "c-BRAT"! Greg Davidson's C-Dory was named "Redfox," and it was known by all back in the day!

Here is a little history I penned in May 2009 about C-DOGs (C-Dory Owners Group), the original MSN C-Brats, and the transition to our current site courtesy of Da Nag (Will Geise). The comments are worth reading too! There is also a very nice photo of Tyboo (Mike Barber) at Blakely Island that epitomizes the true "C-brat" spirit!

 
Hunkydory":2y57hqvq said:
Pat, thanks for writing up the original C-Brat history & sharing it again here.

Jay

Oh Yes, that is a great write up. Like it so much I have it printed and in my boat book on SleepyC

Thanks from me too, Pat.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

0_God_s_Pocket_Anchorage.thumb.jpg
 
What amazes me is that in 2009 there were 3,600 registered C-Brats, which at the time seemed like a lot for our modest little boats. Now in 2022, there are more than 9,900 C-Brats!
 
Pat Anderson":3igp9nki said:
What amazes me is that in 2009 there were 3,600 registered C-Brats, which at the time seemed like a lot for our modest little boats. Now in 2022, there are more than 9,900 C-Brats!

Have to take that with a grain of salt. A lot of C-Brat boat entries are duplicate (and some are probably inactive). My boat is listed 3 times. I've seen other boats that are in the list 4 times. Probably should be some automatic culling of the "Our C-Dorys" list if there is no activity by a username for some period.
 
Pat Anderson":11wjss8n said:
What amazes me is that in 2009 there were 3,600 registered C-Brats, which at the time seemed like a lot for our modest little boats. Now in 2022, there are more than 9,900 C-Brats!

That is a bit of a illusion. There are 5,006 "registered C Brats" who have never made a post!

Also look at the current statistics from the home page:

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A lot of folks just "join" to see what is going on. Some parts of the forum are only visible to "registered users"
 
HI,
I finally got the break-in hours done and ran WOT with -1/3 total fuel. 27 mph (turning speed) Filled (slightly overfilled) both tanks - 26. 13 1/2 X 10 1/2 - 6100 rpm. The shop made a good prop selection.
 
I too have a 2005 22' Cruiser that was repowered with a Honda 90HP after the original Honda 75 was removed.

I tend to travel with a fairly heavy load and the 90HP is more than adequate for me and my needs. I think you have to consider your boating style and needs as it is easy to overpower which in the end might prove more expensive than you really need.

My boating style is long distance cruising most of which I do at about 6 knots and once in a while I will go up on plane at 12-14 knots. I have never had my boat up to WOT and I am not sure I ever will have the need to. I like the fact that I can get to a higher speed when necessary, but mostly I like to look at the scenery and relax. Had I wanted a high powered, high speed boat, I don't think that I would have bought a C-Dory.
 
Peter & Judy":1eb3cgi9 said:
I tend to travel with a fairly heavy load and the 90HP is more than adequate for me and ......
My boating style is long distance cruising most of which I do at about 6 knots and once in a while I will go up on plane at 12-14 knots. I have never had my boat up to WOT and I am not sure I ever will have the need to.

Continuous suboptimal engine rpm (aka "putt-putting") ages engine life.

Modern outboard engines are designed to run WOT. Babying, starting at break-in
avoiding short WOT, can fail to seat your piston rings. Thereafter, occasional WOT
is actually good for the engine. Constant WOT makes no sense.

The goal is to find your engine's "sweet spot" for the long cruises. That sweet spot
can be somewhat customized to your usual boat load by selecting the best engine
power/propeller combo from the start.

Aye.
 
The goal is to find your engine's "sweet spot" for the long cruises. That sweet spot
can be somewhat customized to your usual boat load by selecting the best engine
power/propeller combo from the start.

There are two sweet spots for my boat and my boating style. I find that I cruise mostly at 2400 RPM (6 Knots) and 4400 RPM (12-14 knots). My typical cruise is 10 - 14 days long, so heavily loaded. This speed combo gives me the fuel efficiency that I want and the speeds that I enjoy. I boat primarily off Vancouver Island and I want to keep my speeds to a comfortable and safe level. In these waters there is a lot of logging activity and you need to keep a sharp eye out for floating logs and deadheads. I have had a few close calls, especially when the water is choppy and the logs are hiding amongst the waves. WOT is just too fast for my liking and safety.
 
I recently purchased a new Suzuki 2.5 hp 4 stroke OB.

Break in instructions for all Suzuki are:
1). Idle in gear for 15 minutes. (Always idle for 5 minutes before applying higher throttle.)
"Running at high speed without sufficient warmup may cause severe engine dam-age such as piston seizure. Always allow sufficient idling time (5 minutes) for the engine to warm-up before running at high speed". You should avoid running at one constant speed during the break-in peroid--vary the throttle.

2). Then for the first 2 hours no more than half throttle (3,000 RPM), next Hour up to 3/4 throttle ( 4,000 RPM),

3). The next 7 hours you may run up to full throttle for no more than 5minutes.

Running continuously at full throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time during the last 7 hours of break-in operation may cause severe engine damage such as seizure. During the last 7 hours of break in operation, do not operate at wide open throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Honda for the first hour, 15 minutes at trolling speed, then "Running continu:usly at full throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time during the last 7 hours of break-in operation may cause severe engine damage such as seizure. During the last 7 hours of break-in operation, do not operate at wide open throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time."
"Running continuously at full throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time during the last 7 hours of break-in operation may cause severe engine damage such as seizure. During the last 7 hours of break-in operation, do not operate at wide open throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time."

Mercury 90 HP: 1. For the first hour of operation, run the engine at varied throttle settings not exceeding 3500 RPM or at approximately half throttle.

2. For the second hour of operation, run the engine at varied throttle settings up to 4500 RPM or at three-quarter throttle, and during this period of time run it at full throttle for approximately one minute every ten minutes. (The only one advocating full throttle during first 2 hours.)

3. For the next eight hours of operation, avoid continuous operation at wide open throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Yamaha break-in is very similar to Suzuki.

Finding the best cruising RPM/Speed, also requires proper trimming of the boat. Many do not experiment to see what trim gives the best fuel economy and ride at cruising RPM. There are times when the bow needs to be trimmed down when going into chop, or up when going down wind/waves, to give best/safe ride, and compromise on the best fuel efficiency.

I find that there is not just one speed--it depends on conditions.
 
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