engine size

[Guest]

what horse power motor do you recommend for a 17' oday daysailer? thanks mike

mike d. (madhomer-at-home.com)

[Guest]

I have been using a Merc.3.3 and it provides more power than I have ever needed. In fact I have seldom used more than half throttle.

Dennis Mallach (Denmall-at-aol.com)

[Guest]

I have been using a Merc.3.3 and it provides more power than I have ever needed. In fact I have seldom used more than half throttle. In the past I used a 2hp evinrude and even that was adequate.

Dennis Mallach (Denmall-at-aol.com)

[Guest]

Back when I still used a motor, I had a 1 hp British Seagull. It did the trick.

Bob Hunkins (rhunkins-at-pdq.net)

[Guest]

I actually spend most of my time sailing my DSII, the Good Grief III. When the wind is not present, or I'm chasing down bass, I crank up my 5 hp Johnson. Just the correct amount of power to blast across the lake or fight ocean swells. It also weighs enough that in a pinch, I could use it as a anchor in a huricane. I would recommend no more than a 4 hp. I also have a short shaft 2 hp and found it underpowered for fighting a strong tide or wind. The purist may not like an iron sail, but when the wind stops and the tide is running, they may decide that a tow would be o.k.......this one time.

Joe Fram (jofram-at-zeus.kern.org)

[Guest]

I have used 3 different outboards on SUNBIRD, I started out with a short-shaft Johnson 2.3hp and found it worked ok, not perfect..but ok. The basic problem was that there were only 2 choices of propeller for that motor, and neither really allowed the motor to operate at it's designed rpm. I have since replaced the 2.3 with a long-shaft Johnson 4hp. This motor has the additional feature of a neutral clutch, a VERY worthwile feature. It also can run on either it's built-in fuel tank (1.9 qt) or a remote tank. A long-shaft is not mandatory on the DS I or II, but it does help. I have always mounted my outboard directly to the transom, an accessary bracket is not needed, although using one will make a short-shaft more viable.
The third motor I have used was a one time borrowing of my Dad's 1984 2hp Johnson, surprisingly..this motor actually seemed more powerfull than the 2.3hp, I suspect this is due to a better match of propeller size. The 2hp was designed to push a typical overloaded dinghy, and so is propped to do so.

Rod Johnson (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)