What Motor for 13' Whaler

[green0322]

My father in-law purchased the hull of a 1971 13' Whaler for my wife. I need to buy the outboard for it. I have no clue what to get. I know I dont want to over power what the hull can safely handle. I'm looking at buying a new outboard, not used. I have been told a 30HP is the best option. Someone recommended a 2 stroke instead of 4 stroke because it would be a lighter engine and allow for more weight in the boat. Any guidence would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[MikDee]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

Hey green, Welcome to iboats!!! Now there should be a tag on the boat somwhere that tells you your maximum horsepower. I believe it's 40hp on most Boston whalers. Yrs ago my friends all had 40hp motors on them. Yes, a 2cycle motor is the best horsepower per pound. I would say a 30hp motor would move it along nicely

 

[JB]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

That hull is rated for 40HP, max, with console steering. For tiller operation it is 20HP, Max.

You need a short (15") shaft engine for the '71. They didn't go to the 20" transom until 1973..

I tried a lot of outboards on my '73 Sport 13. I settled on a JohnnyRude 25 as the best allround, but I think a 30 would be just about right.

Honda makes a lightweight 30HP 4 stroke that should be ideal for that hull and not too heavy. We are going to be knocking our heads on bans against carbed 2 strokes pretty soon.

 

[MikDee]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

Thanks for filling in the blanks with more, & better info from an actual owner JB

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

My 13' has always had a johnnyrude 40HP on it. Were I to repower with a modern engine, I would go with less HP, only to do with weight.

 

[green0322]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

You guys rock! I checked out the Honda 30HP and was comparing it to the Mercury 30HP. The same pretty close in weight. Any thoughts the Honda vs. the Mecury? I see a lot of Mercury outboards when I poke around the docks. Thanks for all your help.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

id go with merc. but mainly depends on u.

some points to decide it price and where is the closest dealer. u dont want to drive 30 miles just to go to a honda dealer. so u mean if a dealer is like 2-5 miles away id go with that one

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

My 40 weighs about 145 lbs. I wouldn't go any heavier than that.

 

[Sea Schaul]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

I had a 40hp Evinrude back in 1980 when I had a 1975 Whaler. That baby could really move and it could even pull me up on ski's when weighed 230lbs.

 

[56 rude]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

you might want to concider the evinrude e-tec.you get the best of both worlds(2and 4stroke ).its just as clean as any 4 stroke.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

The E-tec 25 and 30 HP, manual start, no trim, 15" (E25DR, E30DR) comes in at 146 lbs, which is the same as my old 40.

The old 40 (when new), probably put out about 35-37 HP by todays ratings, so if I repowered with a new E-Tec 30 I probably wouldn't lose that much top end, if any.

 

[green0322]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

I've been doing some checking and found that a 30HP motor with all the rigging and installation will run 6K. That's more than I can afford right now especially since this is the first boat I own. What are your thoughts on a 25HP or even dropping to a 20HP tiller control. I can get a Mercury 20HP for under 3K and install it myself. I only want to putz around and not pull skiers or tubers. Changing to a tiller control would allow me to take the console out an provide a little more room in the boat. Thank you for your time and consideration on this.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

Look for a good used Evinrude/Johnson 28SPL. I've seen that motor on that boat and it performed great.

 

[JB]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

What are your thoughts on a 25HP or even dropping to a 20HP tiller control. I can get a Mercury 20HP for under 3K and install it myself. I only want to putz around and not pull skiers or tubers. Changing to a tiller control would allow me to take the console out an provide a little more room in the boat. Thank you for your time and consideration on this.

If you go to tiller control don't even consider anything over 20HP. That is really a bad idea.

Because you have the console I suggest that you hunt up a pre-loved '70-'90 JohnnyRude 25 like the one I used. She would pull a small skier and top out at about 25mph if needed, but I used her to fish and gunkhole around strange waters.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

The 20 is too small. You need at least a 25 and I would suggest the Etec(just writing that hurts) in that size. Or, I would skip any brand 4-stroke in the 25 or 30 range and go to a 40 in anything. That boat is deceptively stern heavy and the 25-30 four-strokes don't have enough hole shot to make up for their weight. They work, but not well. Also keep in mind that there will probably be some minor transom modification needed for the steering to work on a modern engine. The installer may also have to add in some transom wedges as the stern angle is fruity

Keep on mind that this is based on it being a remote installation.

PS How old is your Grey Ghost?

 

[singinout]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

Look for a good used Evinrude/Johnson 28SPL. I've seen that motor on that boat and it performed great.

Hey! That's the exact outboard I bought several weeks ago for my boat! My boat is not finished yet so haven't been able to test it out. I did fire it up and it snapped right off. Mine is a 1987 according to a chart I saw online.

 

[green0322]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

After calling numerous shops in the area I only had two choices. It was either a 20HP Yamaha or a 25HP Mercury. Both were about the same price. I chose the Merc for two reason, more power and according to the sales guy the Merc adapts to the ethanol fuels better than the Yamaha. I am picking it up this Friday afternoon. What kind of insurance should I get on a boat and motor like this?

TOHATSU GURU - My grey ghost is 12, he was about 3 in the picture your seeing.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

for insurance, consider the liability the most.

Not that you should second guess your choice but here's some more info; I have my 1964 13' that my dad bought new. We ran the 18 Evinrude for many years and it got us around fine, esp. for 2 people, and especially for children to operate alone. When it gave out after 35 years I got a 20 merc, keepnig the power low for children. However, the 13 was a popular boat, still is, on my river and the best I thought was the old 33. Some guys had 40's, still do, and I think they are too fast esp. for childen/teens.

Due to the low transom you may find it hard to run a steering bar. I have cable/pulleys per the original. I saw one modified by cutting out a section of the port trasnsom to accomodate the bar.

Due to ethanol, and weight, I'd prefer a 2 stroke.

Mine are pull starts and used to self-bail but it's a little low now so I rigged a D-battery sump pump with a float switch. If it fails, no problem b/c the boat will float adn I keep it inthe water at the house. If you have a battery start, you can't leave the plug out to self bail so get a pump and switch.

It's a great boat adn there is a lot of restoration info, esp. at a site called Continuous Wave.

 

[v12mac]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

I might be a bit late to this post but these are the 13? whaler setups I have run over the years. All were the 20? transom and 2 stroke

1980?s Rude 7.5hp on a tiller: Great for 2-3 small kids learning how to run a boat. The best part was that you could pull the plug and the boat would drain out completely.
1980?s Rude 35hp remote steering: Good for knee boarding but a bit mousey for skiing
1980?s Johnny 25hp could keep up with the 35 since this kid ran it wide open all day very closely related to the 28hp and 30
1970?s Rude 40hp older motor without through hub exhaust ran about the same as the 35hp
1980?s Suzuki 30hp 3 cyl Faster than the 35rudes as I think it was prop shaft rated when the Rudes were not, I could barefoot behind this one not with the 35 Rude
1990?s Yamaha pro 50 I think this was the perfect motor for the 13? whaler smooth 3 cyl power great for a heavy load but a bit stern heavy.
1990?s Yamaha 55c 2 cyl plenty of zip a bit too much in fact tried to prop walk. The boat ran great with bags of concrete up in the front anchor locker.

 

[JB]

Re: What Motor for 13' Whaler

Ther is no excuse for putting 50HP on a Sport 13. The boat is dangerous.