150 e-tec enough?

[sawger]

Hello, I am purchasing a 21' triumph that has a 150 e-tec. Boats weighs 2300 dry and I figure loaded up with fuel, gear, and people will be around 3500lbs. Will this engine be adequate? I'm not really concerned with performance as much as economy and not straining the engine and shortening its life. Any idea what RPM's I would be cruising at? Thanks for any help.

 

[j442w30]

Re: 150 e-tec enough?

Whats the maximum horsepower the boat is rated for? It should say on the capacity plate. A good rule of thumb is to not go less than 75% of that rating, the more the better though. Either way the Etec's are about as good as they get for fuel economy these days.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 150 e-tec enough?

Saw, I have a 150 Johnson on my 21' dual console. The boat weighs 2800# and I had eight folks in it and one on the tube. I had no issue with power.

My neighbor has a 21 CC with a 150 Optimax. Again he has no problem with power. I think you should be fine. That boat will cruise at 35-40 MPH and max at 45MPH, aproximately.

 

[sawger]

Re: 150 e-tec enough?

Thanks for the help.

Chris, does your boat weigh 2800 lbs dry or loaded up?

 

[Jdeagro]

Re: 150 e-tec enough?

The issue of HP always seems to stimulate a wide variety of responses. I am not a proponent of max HP as this usually affects the boat balance adversely.

Here is something to help you make your decision.

First determine where you want the HP. Low speed to get up on step, cruising speed, top speed, etc.

If it is a slower speeds and to get up on step then keep these things in mind.

The difference between a 150 HP motor, and a 200 HP motor is not 50 HP where you want or need the HP. The extra 50 HP does not develop until the motor is at the top of the peak power curve (5000 to 6000 RPMs).

At 2000 to 2500 RPMs when you are trying to get on plane the extra power is only 20 HP or less. To take this a step further, the 200 HP motor weighs more than the 150 HP which makes the balance worse. Your net gain may be marginal and your economy may be (it is likely) be less.

The old idea that a bigger motor works less hard and therefore use less fuel is not correct. The bigger motor has a bigger tummy to fill and eats more.

The best way to improve both performance and economy is to allow the boat hull to work. The design of the hull is more influential in boat performance and economy than the motor is most cases. Since the hull is rigid or fixed, what you get is what you get. Right? No! Add Trim Tabs and you can change the boat hull design on demand. The effects are significant.

 

[sawger]

Re: 150 e-tec enough?

Thanks everybody. I do plan on adding trim tabs. I just have to figure out how to mount them to the ropelene. I think I'm going to stick with the 150 after seeing evinrude's test of the 150 on this boat. It looks like it will be more than enough for my needs.

 

[ss5358]

Re: 150 e-tec enough?

If your engine has a hydo trim on it you will not need trim trabs. I have a 22 foot smokercraft with an Evinrude 110hp. Top speed 37 mph. I ocean fish with it all the time. Two strokes have more out of the hole power and better hp to weight ration than 4 strokes. Used to have much worse gas milage and pollution. Now withe etec thats not so much the case. My next engine will be a 115 etec but with a hydro trim feature as my old engine has. Your boat should be more than adquately powered by a 150hp. Etecs also wind up much faster than the older 2 strokes. I think you will be standing that boat on end if you try.

Steve