50 hp vs. 60 hp

[jwilkey84]

We have a 50hp johnson on a 14' runabout that will go 31mph with 2 people in it. It will run about 28-29 with 4 people. I was just wondering how much difference a 60hp would make. I have found a 60 hp johnson for sale and am wondering how much difference it would actully make. I mean, what is the difference between the two motors? I know a lot of the motors use a lot of the same parts, so how do they get 10 hp more? These motors would be in the 83' era of johnson/evinrude.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

50- 2cylinder, 60 3 cylinder.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

Some 60's are 3 cylinder, some are 2 cylinder. It depends on what year the one is that you're looking at. Obviously the 3 cylinder 60 will make more torque than the 2 cylinder 60. The 3 cylinder also uses a different gearcase / gear ratio and a bigger diameter prop.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

If the 60 you're looking at is a 2 cylinder I wouldn't do it if it were me. I doubt seriously you'd see any difference from your 2 cylinder 50. That is assuming you have a 2 cylinder 50. If you have one of the old, ancient "fat four" 50's, anything would be an improvement........

 

[jwilkey84]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

mine is a 2 cylinder 1983 model. The one I am looking at buying is a 60hp that has the same paint job as my 50, but I am unsure of the exact year and how many cylinders. Lets say that is was the 3 cylinder, how much speed would you think that would give me. 2-3mph more or like 5+ mph more?

 

[steelespike]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

I would think a little 14 might do better than 31 with 2 aboard.Its not unusual for a 50 to push a 17 to that speed.The 14 might struggle a little with a load
but with 2 it seems 32 or 33 would be possible.And it might not cost anything to get there.
You may be able to pick up a little by fine tuning your setup.Starting with the anti vent plate even with the bottom of the boat you may be able to raise the motor more under ideal conditions an inch more height might gain 2 or 3 mph.What is your present rpm and speed.Careful weight distribution/elimination,trim adjustment could help performasnce.
Once you are all set with present prop size and max rpm and speed you might be able to select a better prop.Certainly less than a motor swap.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

Speed gain from a 2 cyl 50 to a 3 cyl 60 depends on a lot of things. Hull design, how efficient your present set up is, how efficient your new set up will be etc.

If you had a 14 - 15 Allison I'd bet close to 6-8 mph good set up to good set up. Just going from a bad )inefficient) set up to a good set up may net 3-4 with the same motor. Lots of variables.

 

[jwilkey84]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

ok, I talked to the guy and this particular motor I am looking at is a 1971 johnson 60hp, 3 cylinder, as indicated by the model number: 60ESL71C. Will this motors controls match up with the ones I have for my 1983 50hp 2 cylinder johnson? So it is the 3 cylinder version, given that the compression is good and equal in all 3 cylinders, give me a guess on how much speed it would give me over a 1983 johnson 2 cyl 50hp on a 14' fiberglass runabout that moves at 31mph right now with two people on board. It sounds like a good deal to me, he wants $650 for the boat, motor, and trailer. The trailer is galvanized, the boat is a 17' runabout with new carpet and seats, with this 1971 60hp johnson on it. I figure I can buy the whole works and swap my 50 for his 60 and re-sell the boat.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

you have a much better motor, 71 hp is rated at the power head, 83 at the prop. you might gain 3 hp. due to difference in rating. none of the 83 controls will work. the 71 has a hydro-electric shift, with no longe available parts. i say, keep your motor and money. get your motor height, and prop correct.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

What do you have against the 17 it will carry 4 alot easier than the 14, plus lots more room.The 60 is 49 cubes the 50 45 cubes.both develope hp at 5,000 rpm.The 60 has 3carbs the 50 I think 1 . In my opinion I wouldn't go that for back for 10 hp I think the 83 50 has less wasted fuel.Obviously the 60 will use more fuel and more than say a 83 60hp.You may get the performance but I think at a cost.You might consider the boat and see how you like it with your 50 on it you may be surprised how it handles 2 extra people.
I've seen modern day 50s pushing 16+ ft aluminum fish and ski to 30 to 34 mph.

 

[rolmops]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

Probably your best investment would be a tilt and trim unit on the 50.If you can trim that boat out properly you will gain 4 to 5 knots at WOT. That way you still have the fuel efficiency of a looper engine as opposed to a cross flow and your horse power per pound of engine weight ratio is much better,while your plane angle can be adjusted to the ideal angle under any speed.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

The added weight of the older, larger motor will no doubt offset any hp gain, and like mentioned above, one is rated at the power head, the later at the prop, so you could actually be losing in the long run.

I had a 16' boat with an 85 HP 4 cylinder and downsized to a 70 HP 3 cylinder to save some fuel, which I did, but not only did I save a lot of fuel, I saved about 70 lbs or so of transom weight and gained about 6 mph overall. The boat handles so much better with the lighter motor which makes more HP per pound of motor than the old set up. I save about 4 gallons of fuel a day now, sometimes more. Both the 85 and 70 HP motors are healthy but the 70 is so much lighter and better suited to the light aluminum hull. The max HP rating is 85, but the boat feels better all around with the 70 HP on it now. (If fuel continues to climb in price, I may again downsize to a 55 HP and just deal with the loss of speed to save some gas.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 50 hp vs. 60 hp

correction, the 50 has 2 carbs. as mentioned above, the 70hp produces more hp per pound, than any other motor. why i don't know. commercial fisherman love the motor.