I recently purchased a 26S that has an older 15 hp Johnson. The motor is actually lighter than current 9.9hp motors. It pushes the boat onto a plane to 12-15 mph. I read somewhere that the maximum recommended outboard for this boat is 10 hp. Does anyone have any experience with this? The transom seems strong enough for this, and during 40+ years of boating I've seen and been on a lot of boats that had motors larger than recommended or rated capacity. The extra power is nice to have, especially if I'm in a 5 knot current, which isn't unusual around here. Other than maybe extra fuel consumption, are there any drawbacks to this?
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Larger Motor Than 10hp
Hi,
Sorry for the late post. I just reregistered after a year out.
Regarding using a motor larger than 10 HP, you might want to consider a couple of things. It is not just the weight of the outboard hanging off the stern. The Mac motor transome will handle the weight assuming you can balance it for sailing, etc. It is also not the HP or torque pushing the boat forward that will cause a problem. Again, the Mac can take it.
The critical issue is when you are backing down. The inside liner of the motor well is quite thin and rediily flexes. The motor tries to lift rather than pull the boat backwards, but it is retrained. Even through bolting the engine, you cannot really tighten the bolts well due to liner flex for a bigger motor. One boat (a 26D) had the inside of the motor well cracked and broken using a Yamaha 15. The torguing getting into and out of his slip eventually caused damage. Maybe a large plate on the inside to distrubte the forces could have avoided it. Don't know.
It my humble opinion, and the advice and experiences of others, stick to 10HP (9.9) max and change the prop for your purposes.
Good Luck,
Terry C
Hi,
Sorry for the late post. I just reregistered after a year out.
Regarding using a motor larger than 10 HP, you might want to consider a couple of things. It is not just the weight of the outboard hanging off the stern. The Mac motor transome will handle the weight assuming you can balance it for sailing, etc. It is also not the HP or torque pushing the boat forward that will cause a problem. Again, the Mac can take it.
The critical issue is when you are backing down. The inside liner of the motor well is quite thin and rediily flexes. The motor tries to lift rather than pull the boat backwards, but it is retrained. Even through bolting the engine, you cannot really tighten the bolts well due to liner flex for a bigger motor. One boat (a 26D) had the inside of the motor well cracked and broken using a Yamaha 15. The torguing getting into and out of his slip eventually caused damage. Maybe a large plate on the inside to distrubte the forces could have avoided it. Don't know.
It my humble opinion, and the advice and experiences of others, stick to 10HP (9.9) max and change the prop for your purposes.
Good Luck,
Terry C
Larger Motor
I have an 87 26D with a Johnson 35hp long shaft. I did not go looking for a 35, but the price was right and I wanted electric start. The weight is probably not much more than the current 4cycle 9.9's. I had to fabricate a mount to raise it and move it back for steering. I have had no issues with the transom strength and have run at full throttle on several occasions. I have had the motor for about 6 seasons now. The added weight aft makes trailering more difficult. Extra gear must be loaded up front or the trailer will fish tail. Some owners have modded trailers by moving the axle rearward by 14 inches to correct for this problem.
I have an 87 26D with a Johnson 35hp long shaft. I did not go looking for a 35, but the price was right and I wanted electric start. The weight is probably not much more than the current 4cycle 9.9's. I had to fabricate a mount to raise it and move it back for steering. I have had no issues with the transom strength and have run at full throttle on several occasions. I have had the motor for about 6 seasons now. The added weight aft makes trailering more difficult. Extra gear must be loaded up front or the trailer will fish tail. Some owners have modded trailers by moving the axle rearward by 14 inches to correct for this problem.
I don't have the old 26s or d but your claim of 12-15 MPH is very close to what I get with a 50HP Honda on my 26M! Personally I would be hard pressed to give up that kind of performance and I had no idea the old classics were capable of such performance. Since the performance is available and the only risks so far stated is transom stress, I would look for ways to reinforce the mounting so that I could have the extra HP safely without damaging the transom. Sounds to me like the old classics have the same potential as the new power sailers, they only require some modifying. That would be too tempting for me to pass up, I'd look for a way to make it happen, the only concern I'd have is weight, the same concern I have for my 26M. If it were not for the weight factor I'd trade my 50Hp for a 90HP.
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