It appears that my Honda 10 HP 4 Stroke is finally giving up the ghost (early 80's model) and I have found a 1995 Honda 8 HP that has little use and is priced well. Also due to Dam problems/maintainance issues, I plan on mooring on the Columbia River this year (instead of the lake). Do you know if the newer Honda 8 HP will be sufficient for my Catalina 25 (swing keel). The old motor seemed way more than adequate, but of course this was on a lake. I would appreciate any input or suggestions you may have. Thanks! Kirk
How much HP do I really need?
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HP on the Columbia
Kirk: I used to have a 24' Cal with a fixed fin keel which had an older 6 hp 2 stroke Johnson. I think the boat displaced about 4,000lb. The 6 hp was ok if there was not much current but not enough if the current got going. I put an 8 hp 4 stroke Honda on it and had plenty of power.
Kirk: I used to have a 24' Cal with a fixed fin keel which had an older 6 hp 2 stroke Johnson. I think the boat displaced about 4,000lb. The 6 hp was ok if there was not much current but not enough if the current got going. I put an 8 hp 4 stroke Honda on it and had plenty of power.
HP doesn't = HP
Ratings changed sometime in the 80's. For example my father-in-law's 6hp Johnson from the 70's performs just like my 4hp Johnson from the 90's. This is because the rating system was changed. The weight of current 6hp is much more than his older 6hp for the same reason.
Ratings changed sometime in the 80's. For example my father-in-law's 6hp Johnson from the 70's performs just like my 4hp Johnson from the 90's. This is because the rating system was changed. The weight of current 6hp is much more than his older 6hp for the same reason.
Engine
Eight hp works fine. Had an 8 hp Yamaha on my C25 fin keel...plenty of power, and the fin is about 400 pounds heavier.
Eight hp works fine. Had an 8 hp Yamaha on my C25 fin keel...plenty of power, and the fin is about 400 pounds heavier.
Honda 8
We had a Honda 8 (early 90's model) on our C25 fixed keel. If you examine the spec's of the 8 HP vs. the 9.9 HP version of these outboards, the motor is the same size in each, except the 9.9 HP had a different carburetor and possibly a different camshaft to allow the engine to max out at a higher RPM, and rate at a higher HP. We never motored anywhere near the top 6000 RPM of the 9.9, so the higher RPM potential of the 9.9 HP would be a waste. The 8 HP is rated at 1000 RPM less. What you want for a displacement hull is torque, which the 8 HP has equal to the 9.9 This information applies to the current versions of the motors also.
We had a Honda 8 (early 90's model) on our C25 fixed keel. If you examine the spec's of the 8 HP vs. the 9.9 HP version of these outboards, the motor is the same size in each, except the 9.9 HP had a different carburetor and possibly a different camshaft to allow the engine to max out at a higher RPM, and rate at a higher HP. We never motored anywhere near the top 6000 RPM of the 9.9, so the higher RPM potential of the 9.9 HP would be a waste. The 8 HP is rated at 1000 RPM less. What you want for a displacement hull is torque, which the 8 HP has equal to the 9.9 This information applies to the current versions of the motors also.
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