50hp vs 60hp early '90s Johnson

[richardgreen]

Looking for knowledgable opinions from the iboats family here...

I'm considering repowering from a 2 cylinder early '90s 50hp to a 3 cylinder 60hp of the same vintage. Both motors would be fresh rebuilds with power trim & tilt. The boat is a relatively light 16' aluminum runabout - a 16' Lund Pike model weighting about 400 pounds with a max rating of 60hp. Boat is mainly used for cruising not fishing.

How much more top end speed do you think the 60hp would deliver? The 50hp will push it now to about 30mph with four people in the boat. Any other considerations I should be factoring in like performance, reliability, etc? I'd really love to hear from folks with firsthand experience with these particular motors. Thanks in advance for your comments.

RG

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 50hp vs 60hp early '90s Johnson

The 60 will probably run a 3-4 miles an hour faster. It still is only 10 hp more that your 50. The thing is that you will have 1/3 more torque, since you've got that third extra cylinder. It will make a huge difference in holeshot and the speed you can run with a heavy load. I run a 92 60 hp Johnson on my boat.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: 50hp vs 60hp early '90s Johnson

I'd look at it from a hosepower to weight ratio myself. 50hp weighs appx. 180lbs, 60hp 3 cylinder weighs appx. 250lbs.
Add 60-70 lbs to gain 10 hp? The early to mid 1980 60hp 2 cylinder engine weighs same as 50hp. and 55hp.

Personally I think you'd only see a marginal improvement in performance either way. Is the expense worth the gain?

 

[boobie]

Re: 50hp vs 60hp early '90s Johnson

For just a 10 hp gain, I'd stick with the 50 and save the expense.