Motors for a new Venture 23

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Igrant

New member
We are very close to finalizing the purchase of a new Venture 23. We have been told it is best to go with a Yamaha 150, less strain on the motor etc. Also we have an existing 6hp four stroke Mercury. Will this be enough HP to act as an emergency kicker? Any comment would be much appreciated.
 
The Venture 23 is a really sweet boat, and was my first choice, however the check book would not allow it at the time. Might want to look at the Suzuki motor, I love them. I had a 115 Yamaha on my previous boat, and while it had great power, I had issues coming into the dock as it would almost always stall when going from slow idol to reverse. It was always an adventure if you were going to slam the dock or it would go into reverse. It was in the shop numerous times and it would do the same thing for the mechanics. They never could get it right.

It was a great motor except for that. But I love my Suzuki's, I believe the Suzuki 140 is a bit lighter also.

Good luck on your purchase!
 
I think you will find the 6 a little underpowered for anything other than a trolling motor. It will probably get you home if weather/water conditions are good, but in any kind of wind or waves I think you will have trouble controlling the boat. Of course this is always going to be an issue with a kicker at some point. My solution, based on my use and my fears, was to go with twins.

Depending on how you plan on using the boat, the 150 will be just great or overkill. Twin 50's push my boat to 30+mph in good conditions with a light load. I have a Cape Cruiser built 23, so it may be a little lighter than the more tricked out newer ones. OTOH, I've done a 2,000 mile trip with a very heavily loaded boat in all kinds of water and weather and never really felt underpowered.

I might consider something slightly smaller than a 150 for a main, and something slightly larger than a 6 for a kicker if I was rigging with a single engine. Personally, I think you'd be fine with anything down to about a 115 as the main on a 23. Just my 2 cents worth.

Enjoy the boat. You'll love it whatever (within reason!) you choose to hang off the back.
 
I also really like Suzuki engines. I would go with a 150 over the 140 I own both currently. The 140 is not a lot more than the 115, and the 150 is on the same block as the 175.

I would think that the 6 hp kicker would be ideal. You may want to have a low pitch prop for it.
 
I have a 2006 Cape Cruiser 23 (like the Venture) with the Honda 150, and love it. Seems reliable, quiet, and plenty of power. In a few weeks I will be installing a 6hp Tohatsu for a "get to port" motor.

If I was equipping the boat originally I'd look Seriously at the Suzuki 150. we had a Suzuki 90 on our previous CD22 and it was fantastic.

Enjoy your boat!

Best,
Casey
 
Igrant":xr50fgmx said:
...we have an existing 6hp four stroke Mercury. Will this be enough HP to act as an emergency kicker?
Click to expand...

It depends on where you will be boating; any kicker will move the boat across a pond on a windless day.

During the maximum current, tide, and wind conditions that the boat might ever end up in:

1) Will it have enough power to allow you to maintain navigational control of the boat during the maximum current, tide, and wind conditions that the boat might ever end up in.

2) Will it have enough power to allow you to return to port against the maximum current, tide, and wind conditions?

In other words I would want a larger kicker if I might ever be near the Golden Gate, Columbia River Bar, or the Great Lakes, then if I would only be fishing in a local freshwater lake, during the summer. Very few people ever go out thinking that this will be the day that their primary engine will stop working, yet we know it happens all the time.

I assume that you have already considered twins, and decided that a single with a kicker is right for you. If not, just click here for a wide array of C-Brat discussion on the subject, as it has been discussed and rehashed many times over.

Best of wishes.

David
 
Whatever you decide on the kicker, I strongly recommend you test it out in a planned "emergency" situation. See what the boat does while you're attempting to go into or across a 15 knot wind with just the kicker pushing it. Make sure you have some idea what will happen in some degree of bad conditions. It's real unsettling to be surprised by how something does or does not work when you need it. I'm not saying don't get as small a kicker as you like. I'm just saying make sure you know what it can and can't do.
 
I can't speak for the kicker motor at all but having owned many boats I can honestly tell you I have never said "gee this motor is too big" :shock: . But I have been in many under powered boats. My personal preference would be to have twins just for the redundancy.
 
I have the Honda 150 on my boat. It will get up to the mid or upper 30s. I never go that fast. It will plane at less than 15MPH. I find mine comes up on plane and the bow really drops at about 25MPH. I really never go any faster than that. I like the 150 because it gets up and goes without much ado. A smaller motor would probably be just fine.

BTW, I have a 60HP Yamaha on my 16 ft Alumaweld. That is a sweetheart of a motor.
 
I see you are in BC Canada with your currents and wind conditions my choice would be twins 50-70hp
I have a cape cruiser 23 with a f-115 yamaha great motor good fuel economy tops out about 32mph lightly loaded with a 15pitch prop S/S 4-5 mpg. I am thinking about a get home motor maybe a 5-6hp You will love the boat it gets better fuel economy then a c-22(90hp) and rides so much better in a chop the only disadvantage is the weight about 1000 lb more then c-22.
If I was buying new or to repower I would go with twins especially living up there .Where you might want to go up to Alaska ,Desolation Sound etc

BTW I have had a c-22 with a 90 hp Suzuki here in Florida and have lived and boated up in Seattle area for over 10 years before getting relocated with United Airlines to Florida now happily retired [/b]
 
Hi,
I would ask the dealer about the newYamaha 70. They are lighter and a pair of them would be nice as you could run along at displacement speed on one motor. No need for a kicker. I have a 150 hp Yamaha witha Permatrim and all around it gets about 3mpg loaded fairly heavy, full fuel, water, wife, dinghy, dinghy motor, supplies for a week etc. Our boat does 40 mph loaded. I never run like that.I almost never use the trim tabs. We sometimes have to run some inlets on the east coast and it's nice to have the extra umph to be able to pick your spot riding the back side of a wave on the way the inlet in on snotty days. I cruise with 22' Cruisers between 18 and 20 knots slower if we encounter a chop maybe down to 12 to 15 mph. I enjoy going slowand don't usual run any harder than 4000 rpms. Your motor brand should be tied to who can give you good local service you can trust. As for the kicker we will go with a a Hi thrust Yamaha 9.9 when that time comes. They spin a bigger prop and are designed for pushing heavier boats than the standard 9.9. Have fun.
D.D
 
I have a 2008 23' Venture equipped with a Honda 135 and a Honda 15 h.p. as my kicker. The C-Dory factory recommended a 115 h.p. motor for the Venture 23. The 2008 Honda 135 actually weighed less than the 2008 Honda 115 h.p., so I chose to go with the extra horsepower. I'm really glad I did, but sure don't need any more h.p. I already had the new 15 h.p. Honda before I bought the C-Dory so I used it for the kicker. In my opinion, you really don't need more than a 9.9 four stroke. You won't go any faster than hull speed anyway.

I chose not to go with twins because I had a rear steering station installed and the extra expense and complexity with twins wasn't worth it. You might want to consider that option if you fish.

You'll :love your new boat!

Kent
MARCIA JANE
 
You might want to look at a Yamaha T9.9 ( 2 ) cylinder 4 stroke.They are a great little motor for trolling with plenty of power, if you need to use it to get home.Also has electric start ( a must ) with power trim and tilt. Tug
 
I have the Yamaha 9.9 4 stroke OB and the fuel line goes to the racor filter head with a shut off valve or can disconnect it and use a 6 gal portable. Nice motor
 
Wow, thanks for all the information. After reading through it all and checking the Yamaha website I think I will go with the Yamaha 150 as that is what the dealer supports and will use our existing 6hp kicker.
We had a small sailboat a number of years ago with a small outboard and so are quite familiar with only achieving hull speed and timing our travel to allow for currents etc.

If we are worried about the motor we can always sign up for a C-Tow membership.

Thanks all

Ian Grant
 
Ian, good decision. Reading the above posts, everyone was generally happy with what they had. So you made the right choice: what the dealer supports. The only way to go.

Boris
 
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