O'Day 25 Outboard

[Josh]

I need to replace my saildrive and was wondering what kind of experience people have had w/different size HP outboards on the 25? My first thought is that an 8HP OB should have plenty of power.

 

[TT]

9.9

I have a 9.9 Evinrude electric start. does fine.

 

[Don]

Should be OK

Josh, if you are not fighting monster tides, or down river currents, the 8 should be fine. I think that if your buying used you may find more 9.9's available. The difference in weight would be marginal, I would think, but make sure you invest in a good quality mount.Don

 

[Gary N.]

8 Horse is fine

I have an 7.5 horse Honda 4 stroke that does great! I can't see getting much more than an 8 and would highly recommend a 4 stroke, mine has been very dependable.

 

[Mark]

ODay 25' Motor

I have a six hp Evinrude on my 25' Oday centerboard and it does just fine. I am not a big proponent of large engines on sailboats unless you are doing significant coastal cruising.

 

[Gary B]

a better user interface

My outboard is a mid eighties 9.9 merc with electric start and alternator. It runs beautifully, but, I am not happy with the way my motor handles in the harbour.With motor down, I find the controls to be awkward and hard to get at. The motor is a long way down and to shift and throttle requires turning around fumbling. When docking and maneouvering you need to have heads up.  My first modification will be cockpit controls for the motor. The motor performs poorly in reverse, and adequate forward. I have still have the original general purpose prop which is designed primarily for aluminum runabouts. The second thing I plan on doing is replacing the prop with a steep pitch high torque "Barge Prop". Apparently the newer 4 stroke ouboards are much much better than the older 2 strokes for torque and control. I may decide to replace the entire outfit. Cheers, Gary

 

[Will]

4 Stroke

I replaced a mercury with a Honda 4 stroke 10 h.p. Due to the weight increase I ultimately replaced the mounting bracket with a dual arm bracket. The 4 stk is very quiet, fuel efficient and almost too powerful (and no mixing required). The weight is a trade off and required moving the battery to balance the boat. All in all, I'd do it again.