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Any ideas on the right power for a 15' Super Sport? I wasthink of a 50hp with stainless prop and flats jack foruse here in Florida. Or a 70 hp thats heavier.

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The with most motors the weight between a 50 and 70 is very close if not the same. I personally would stay away for 4 strokes because their power to weight ratio, and torque curves compared to a 2 stroke is less. Yamaha is the only manufacture still offering a 70 hp 2 stroke but it is a carb'd motor. My vote hole heartedly would be for an E Tec. Super light weight, great fuel economy, fuel injected, with great torque, and super quite to boot. Just can not go wrong. Though they do not make a 70hp only a 60 or a 75. I had a 75 4 cylinder merc on my 15 SS and it was a lot of motor for that little boat. I would say it was to much for the wrong person.

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I put a 60HP ETEC on mine and it pops out of the hole like a slingshot and WOT runs about 38. The ETEC motor is a lot lighter in weight than the 4 strokes. It's very quiet, sips gas and oil, no break in time and has a super warranty. You don't even take it in for service for 3 years. I couldn't be happier with mine.

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Dang Jeff...............Looks like I copied your sentiments! :) By the way not only is the 60 HP a lot lighter in weight than the 4 strokes, but it is also much much smaller in size. Believe it or not it is only a 2 cylinder motor. Look at my PP and you'll see how sleek looking it is on that size boat

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Take a look at the 50 hp 4cyl Mercury classic 50 2 stroke. 40 lbs lighter than the Etec and probably stronger. There's also the 90 Yamaha 2 stroke, nissan 50 tldi, I think Honda made teir 50 lighter this year too. If weight is your main concern, look at the carbed models that are still being offered. We're part of the 49 other states were they are still being sold, so don't sweat the emissions thing.

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I run the "Plain Jane" '04 left over in '05...50 H.P non-VRO Johnson, runs well, fast enough to catch some scary "air" in the chop, good fuel economy, quiet, reliable.
mw

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seem's to be the best power for the boat. let me ask you this.....does it fit? do the bolt holes on the engine fit a 1988 15 sport? someone told me it didnt without drilling a hole in boat and digging out foam. does that sound right? i took off the 40 hp merc. didnt want it. i want the e-tec. thank's

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I have nothing bad to say about any engine manufacturer but do the math when repowering the smaller Whalers. I agree with Jeff to a degree and I think the amount of use should determine which engine to purchase. I hands down would repower with a Yamaha 70 2 stroke unless I planned on really running the snot out of the boat. The cost of a new Yamaha 70=$5,895. That is a wonderful price for the performance you will receive not to mention the reliablility. I love the Evinrudes but roughly $1,500 more is a whole lot of gas in that horsepower range. How long would it take to get your money back out of it. Just a thought.

Mel

I apologize but I analyze everything to death before making monetary decisions.

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I repowered my 15 classic in sep. and have about 20 hrs on the motor. My top speed is about 36 to 38 mph. I am very pleased with the performance. I had a 70 hp evin before repower. I would say the preformance is about the same. I would like to compare my performance with other guys that have the same rig as mine. I would like to fine tune the prop a little more. The only downside to the E-tec is the price,but I paid it.
Greg

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captngrander,

What size E-Tec did you buy for the 15' ?
Just so we all know.

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sorry, I repowered with the E-tec 60.
Greg

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That is the exact setup that I have on mine. I'll check my prop info and get back to you with it

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my prop that came with the motor was a 13.5x15 with 60 E-tec on my 15 sport. With that prop I could reach a top speed of 33.6 mph. I changed to a 13.25x17 and the top speed went up to 37mph. The runs were done in a harbor with no current and very little wind or chop. Boat was trimmed with the engine to a good ride position. tach rpm was 5600 rpm. I was the only passenger and had a full tank of fuel (12 gals). I weigh 200lbs.
Greg

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Nissan is showing a 70 hp TLDI that weighn in at 315 lbs. That's with pt&t. I have the 40 and really like it. Sips gas, plenty of umph, smooth, pretty quiet.
Mike

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There are many wonderful re-powers for 15' Whalers. I have a 1988 15 CC with a 2006 F-60 Yamaha. Weight is not a problem 237 pounds vs 240 for 60 E-Tec, and since it spins a small diameter prop it saves even more weight with a ss prop. Fully trimmed out the boat runs 42 mph on both my Humminbird 383C and Garmin Plus III. I have gotten this reading in both directions on many occasions. It has a 15" pitch Solas SS prop and carries up to 18 gallons of gas. This speed is obtained with no handling problems with the F-60. It previously had a 1988 Mercury 70 and would run 43 mph but was extremely difficult to steer, requiring use of the trim to turn the wheel.

Because this is my first post here I would like to be considerate and polite and not create any conflict, but I do have questions. Therefore please help me understand why the reported speeds for the 60 E-Tec are consistently below 40mph. My other question is: does the 60 E-Tec on a 15' Whaler have so much torque that it makes the steering difficult?

I am interested because I have 2 neighbors looking at possibly re-powering 15 footers. Both boats curently have OMC power that the owners are very satisfied with. One is a 55 hp Johnson and the other a 60 hp 3 cyl Evinrude.

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I have never had a problem steering or controlling mine. I will say that it will get your attention the first time you pop out of the hole with it. The take off torque is pretty forceful and more than I expected. As far as speed mine runs right at the 40 + mph mark when I go WOT and trim it out. I'm just not that big on running my motor at WOT for any length of time. Had a bad experience with throwing a rod in a much older Johnson and the thought stays with me B) Bear in mind that a 60 hp ETEC is only a 2 cyl motor. :o

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The 60 E-tec does not have any torque steer at all. You can let go of the wheel at just about any speed.
There are a lot of parameters that effect the performance of a particular hull and engine combination. I am sure the E-tec 60 will push a 15 whaler over the 40 mph mark with the proper tweaking. ie. proper ride height of the motor, right prop, trim angle, weight distribution,etc,etc. The main thing to keep in mind is the job you want the boat to do. how often can you run the boat at 40+ mph. There are a lot of motors that do the job for a re-power on a 15 whaler. The question is, which is the best choice for your application

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Some other things to consider when comparing your boat/motor combination to other members.

1. Engine height
2. Water conditions
3. Prop - some people like the hole shot and others prefer top end speed
4. Salt or Fresh water.... I can float all day long in salt water but sink like a rock in fresh water.
5. Total weight in boat... Gear, people, etc....
6. Bottom paint or no bottom paint.
7. Other variables?

Interesting discussion here....... I hope we all keep the big picture in mind. We are all operating our boats under different conditions.....

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I've heard very good things about the Yamaha F60. Shay(Tarbaby) had very good results that echo the statements here. Has anyone repowered a 15' with the 75 E-Tec?

Mel

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Shay (Tarbaby) "kidnapped" my boat for my wife and took it to get the F-60 put on and had it set up similar to his. The only difference was we went 1 bolt hole lower on my mount. The performance is virtually identical. Differences are his was one hole higher, and had bottom paint. Mine is not painted.

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Hi Dave,

What prop are you running on your F60?

Thanks,

Gerrit

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Solas 15" stainless. I am very pleased with it.

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I find top end speeds interesting, not a huge difference when adding more HP.
I have a 1986 15' with 40 HP Honda 4-stroke with s/s prop and I run 34.7 on GPS with 1 adult 6 gal of fuel and full gear on board and able to get up on plane with (4) 250lb adults on board (and a 65lb rock).
Very happy all around

Frank

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I repowered my 1982 15 with an F60 after a complete refurb in 2005, along with Shay. I chose a Bob's 5" set back. Recently, I had a custom 18 gallon aluminum fuel cell built and love it. (In fact I have a spare for sale because I've decided to convert an 88 to a center console and no longer need it.) Anyway, the factory prop of 10.25 X 15 was bouncing off the rev. limitor constantly at 6300 plus. Replaced with a Turbo Hot Shot 10.5 X 15 and settled her right down, thanks to Tom W Clark. (Much heavier than the black powdercoated Yamaha SS). Tough to see 5800 now. The Garmin is showing 43.5 mph, but I can only obtain this alone, and I weigh 155 pounds. Oh yeah, and a full 48 quart cooler forward of the console.

Just picked up an 08 F60 for the 88, which will be bolted to a Vance 5" jack plate, and I'm sure I'll start out at 1.5" above the keel with the a/v plate again. This time I'd like to find a SS prop at 16 inches of pitch to try her out. Battery, and hopefully 18 gallons of fuel or so should all be located inside the console and centerline.

No reports of hole shots because I don't pull anything. And I "never" run WOT more than one minute. At least thats what my mechanic likes to hear. zotcha.