Outboard Question

[Indootime]

So I went to look/buy my New To Me CP-23 and found out that I will not be getting the outboard that was suppose to come with it.  I left saying I would have to price one out before making a decision.   What I'm finding out is outboards a lot more money than I remember!! 

What can I get by with as far as horsepower?   Seems to be a huge jump in cost, and I know the boat has a relatively low hull speed so I don't want to spend the money on extra hsp if its not going to make a difference either way.

Thank you,

Pat

[Cpy23ecl]

I had the Tohatsu 6hp ultra long shaft sailpro on my 23 and it was more power than I needed.  It would drive the boat at hull speed at approx 1/3 throttle or possibly a bit more but definitely under half throttle.

That's on calm water and no strong winds.  I think the answer depends on where you plan to sail and under what conditions.  With heavier winds and/or waves on the great lakes I would go with 6hp.   On a river with more than a slight current I would also go with 6hp.  On an inland lake I think you could easily get by with 4 hp.

Fred

[brackish]

Using the HP calculation formula the CP 23 requires 5.6 hp.  I can't tell you what that means other than WLL, displacement, and a few other factors go into the calculation and I'm making an assumption that is what is required to maintain hull speed with some reserve. My 23 came with a 9.9 HP fourstroke with 20" shaft and electric start.  For many reasons I felt it was inappropriate.  It was too heavy, caused stern squat, hard to lift up even with the spring mount assist, and difficult to remove for travel given the weight.  I replaced it with a 6 hp Sail Pro 25" shaft and life got much better.  I think it is perfect for this boat.

When you say minimum required that is somewhat subjective.  I once had a Columbia 24 challenger which was 3600 lbs displacement and used a 4 HP motor on it in a well. Would it move the boat?  Yes.  If conditions got bad say during a storm or high wind and chop was it adequate?  Not hardly.  But that was in the Gulf. So minimum is largely defined by your sailing ground conditions.

another factor is how clean are you willing to keep your bottom.  I usually do an in water cleaning once a year between bottom paint jobs.  I remember going out to my spot, one of the few on my lake that has a gradual grade where I can stand in the water to do it, and at WOT was not able to make 5 KN on the way out.  After the cleaning on the way back 6 kn with 60% throttle.  Makes a very big difference.

[Ken J]

I?ve used my Honda 2.3 just to try out and it actually did fine - noisy because the exhaust is out of the water though

[Bob23]

Hi Pat.

  I have a 1985 23/2 which I bought 14 years ago. She came with a Nissan 8 hp 2 stroke 2 cylinder 20" shaft which worked fine. But I eventually upgraded to a 6 hp Tohatsu 4 stroke Sailpro, 25" shaft which I like much better. A little more vibration but that's to be expected. Su sips fuel and with the longer shaft, cavitation in rougher water isn't a problem. I sail in tidal waters and never have had a problem motoring against the tide.

  Hope this helps, Pat.
Bob23