H216 Motor

[Ranger Paul18578]

I had been using a 9.9 Nissan outboard which is much more motor than the H216 needs...but I got the motor for free! Trying to lose boat weight for racing the boat, I tried my old trolling motor coupled with a 14 amp hour lithium battery. I am very pleased! My Nissan w/half gas tank weight in at 120 pounds. My tolling motor with lithium battery weighs in at a mere 17 pounds, as savings of 103 pounds.

Initial testing with my trolling motor with speed settings of 1-5 showed a current draw of 5 amps at setting 1, 10 amps at setting 3 and 16 amps at setting 5. This means my lithium battery will last 3 hours at setting 1, 1.4 hours at setting 3 and 1.1 hours at setting 5. Setting 3 moves my H216 along at a tolerable rate.

When racing, I'll accept a 17 pound penalty for the trolling motor/battery for the extra convenience...like being able to hot launch/land and move the boat under no wind conditions.

I did buy a second lithium battery for non-racing use. This gives me 3 hours of power for things like returning from Feather Falls where one has to tack 95-100 times to get back under sail power alone...provided the wind holds. I will still use my Nissan for things like taking the grandkids on the lake to swim.

 

[Benny17441]

Free trumps sizing adequacy. Just make sure the motor mount is rated to carry that weight and that the engine is correctly propped for the boat. As for as the trolling motor just hope you do not run into the need to outrun adverse weather.

 

[chuckwayne]

the Nissan is way above the design horsepower for the 216 - I wouldn't run above half throttle because you might damage the motor mount and/or stern structure. Also, as Benny said the trolling motor is fine for fair weather but might not be adequate in heavy weather. Redo your calculations - a 14 amphour battery will die quickly if you take out more than 50% without recharge - and heavy use will reduce its capacity over time. I wouldn't plan on more than 7 amp hours for your calculations.

 

[Jackdaw]

Wow. IIRC, that little motor mount on the 216 is SCREWED into the APC deck. No way I would hang a 100 lb motor off it.

 

[Ranger Paul18578]

I checked directly with Hunter and they said the actual strength of the motor mount was much more than it was rated for and it could easily mount a 25 hp motor on it. This was back in 2003 when the H216 was fairly new and I did quite a bit of interfacing with Hunter customer service.

 

[thurter]

I checked directly with Hunter and they said the actual strength of the motor mount was much more than it was rated for and it could easily mount a 25 hp motor on it. This was back in 2003 when the H216 was fairly new and I did quite a bit of interfacing with Hunter customer service.

What brand/ size motor would you suggest if I need something for my H216 that could get me around Tampa bay or motor back if seas weather get bad? I feel like a trolling motor could not get me to safety in an emergency

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Ranger Paul 18578; I do not know whom you spoke with at Hunter saying you could hang a 25 hp motor on the outboard bracket, they were smoking whacky weed. Chuckwayne I will handle this one.
The motor mount is screwed into a wood block below the ACP (plastic) deck material encapsulated in the construction foam underneath. I can tell you a 25 hp, 9.9, 8. 6 and so on is not only overrated but that mount will fall off along with your motor into the water. The five with an internal tank is still too much weight to handle the boat but if you are still hung up on a motor 5 and above, then be warned and even with the 5 hp, I would not run it above half throttle. The only motor I considered selling with the Honda 2 hp or the Tohatsu/Mercury/Nissan 3 hp. which would suffice for the boat as a dealer. You have been warned.

I was involved very much when this boat was designed and tested. Hunter use to come to me for advice on repairing. Like I said whoever told you that you could hang a 25 hp on that bracket was NUTS. Even the larger boats with a transom mounted outboard, the max is only 10 hp. You have no idea who I am .

 

[Ranger Paul18578]

Ranger Paul 18578; I do not know whom you spoke with at Hunter saying you could hang a 25 hp motor on the outboard bracket, they were smoking whacky weed. Chuckwayne I will handle this one.
The motor mount is screwed into a wood block below the ACP (plastic) deck material encapsulated in the construction foam underneath. I can tell you a 25 hp, 9.9, 8. 6 and so on is not only overrated but that mount will fall off along with your motor into the water. The five with an internal tank is still too much weight to handle the boat but if you are still hung up on a motor 5 and above, then be warned and even with the 5 hp, I would not run it above half throttle. The only motor I considered selling with the Honda 2 hp or the Tohatsu/Mercury/Nissan 3 hp. which would suffice for the boat as a dealer. You have been warned.

I was involved very much when this boat was designed and tested. Hunter use to come to me for advice on repairing. Like I said whoever told you that you could hang a 25 hp on that bracket was NUTS. Even the larger boats with a transom mounted outboard, the max is only 10 hp. You have no idea who I am .

Sigh... I am amazed at how my posting with my success of using a lithium battery with my trolling motor as propulsion for hot launch/landings and around the launch ramp (btw: I am an inland sailor) got responses about burning up batteries and the foolishness of using a 10 hp outboard on my 216.

1. The trolling motor/lithium battery works like a dream for my usage. I am not trying to outrun weather, motor for long distances, or any other heavy usage.
2. In 2004, I actually had a Hunter VP in charge of the ACP boats come from Hunter to my home in Northern California to personally access the damage done to my boat by my dealer. At this time I asked him about using my Nissan outboard on my 216 and he told me that the actual strength of the motor mount was far in excess of the designed strength and the "joke" on the factory floor was that the mount could easily handle a 25 hp motor. I later checked with the customer service rep (I forget his name, but he was the very popular and knowledgeable guy that had been there forever and everyone liked) and he verified the VP's comments. So I have used the 10 hp motor for 14 years with no problem. Mounting a 25 hp motor in a 216 is a ludicrous concept. The 10 hp was ok because it was free to me, but I often dreamed of having a 3-4 hp 4 cycle instead. Just because I hung a 10 hp on my boat does not mean I would recommend it to anyone else.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I was involved with the boat from design, test, introduction, and sales. Hunter came to me on how to repair. Anyone who said he was a VP from Hunter in California obviously misled and misrepresented himself as no VP ever traveled unless the fellow was short in statue and even then that person did not know the ACP boats.. I know everyone.. You are very fortunate that your motor mount never fell off with that heavy motor. I am the one who had to teach hunter how to repair.

 

[Ranger Paul18578]

Dave, do you remember

I was involved with the boat from design, test, introduction, and sales. Hunter came to me on how to repair. Anyone who said he was a VP from Hunter in California obviously misled and misrepresented himself as no VP ever traveled unless the fellow was short in statue and even then that person did not know the ACP boats.. I know everyone.. You are very fortunate that your motor mount never fell off with that heavy motor. I am the one who had to teach hunter how to repair.

Dave...do you remember where the Hunter headquarters were in 2003? Florida? Somewhere on the east coast for sure. I did not say a "Hunter VP from California" came to my house in Northern California. The Hunter VP actually flew across country to visit me about my dealer problems. Frankly, I was blown away that someone from Hunter would actually fly across country because of my problems I have always assumed he combined my visit with other business.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Whoever it was obviously did not know what he was talking about and there is only one person; therefore describe him or give me a name. Like I said I know the ACP built boats and the best person who taught me was the individual who started that process plus being the top dealer for every model not to mention the advice to Hunter how to repair them. Funny thing, folks have listened to me. I have nothing else to say other than we can agree to disagree.

In 1996, Warren Luhrs, owner of Hunter, asked me about the continueance of the H19, I stated for a $1,000 more you could purchase the 23.5 which is why the 19 was not a good seller advising I would discontinue that line. Warren stated he would based on sound judgement in front of the entire dealer network at the dealer meeting. You have no idea what I contributed to this industry.

 

[isaksp00]

Related to your original comment about the use of the trolling motor (which seems safer than a 120 pound motor in any case, assuming it has enough power)...
I was not aware there were 12V batteries that were lithium. While it is much lower than the amp hours of a lead-acid battery, I assume it is a lot lighter? And also more expensive? If I recall, you can discharge a lithium battery to a much lower % than a lead-acid without damaging it - maybe even to near 0?
EDIT: I googled these. I saw a 100AH lithium 12V battery that weighs about 28 lbs. A whopping $1300! While it likely lasts more recharge cycles than a lead-acid, I doubt I'd invest that much.

 

[Ranger Paul18578]

Related to your original comment about the use of the trolling motor (which seems safer than a 120 pound motor in any case, assuming it has enough power)...
I was not aware there were 12V batteries that were lithium. While it is much lower than the amp hours of a lead-acid battery, I assume it is a lot lighter? And also more expensive? If I recall, you can discharge a lithium battery to a much lower % than a lead-acid without damaging it - maybe even to near 0?
EDIT: I googled these. I saw a 100AH lithium 12V battery that weighs about 28 lbs. A whopping $1300! While it likely lasts more recharge cycles than a lead-acid, I doubt I'd invest that much.

Agreed, large capacity 12v lithium batteries are expensive. I purchased a smaller 14 amp hour battery for $106 which is about the size of three wallets, will give me about 1.5 hours of motive power at half speed on my trolling motor and will not draw current too fast out of the battery. It only weighs a couple of pounds.

 

[Jackdaw]

Agreed, large capacity 12v lithium batteries are expensive. I purchased a smaller 14 amp hour battery for $106 which is about the size of three wallets, will give me about 1.5 hours of motive power at half speed on my trolling motor and will not draw current too fast out of the battery. It only weighs a couple of pounds.

Be careful. At large draw rates (and that motor IS) the amount of available power in given battery is much more complicated than TIME = Ah_capacity / A_draw. Google Wilhelm Peukert.