Will 1hp motor push h260 on calm day??

[Davenport]

On calm day will 1hp push h260 around marina or if wind dies? Does anyone KNOW for sure from experience, not just guesses. Seems I rarely used even third to get to hull speed of my 8hp on my Ericson 25, or much of 6hp on my South Coast 23, so now I wonder how much of my 9.9hp on new h260 does nothing extra on calm days. Would 1, 2, or 3 hp get to hull speed?

Saiboats technically can use wind alone, so calm conditions is where motors matter --- though yeah in hi wind a motor will avoid scratching boat when trying to get in slip -- but the logic is there, why rarely go small motor in sailboat. At least as backup to hop marinas on calm day?

Of course outside channel here it often is 3 ft deep so really could WALK boat home but I'd look silly. Did Hunter ever test tiny motors on the boat and get results on what 1hp would do?

As kid I'd put a lil Tanaka outboard on duck boat and almost got it to plane. I've only gunned my motor for hours when fighting a river flood one spring, river was roaring with logs to dodge and even 5hp on Macgregor 17 barely was enough to inch forward. Thanks.

 

[rgranger]

Unless you are dealing with currents,… on a calm day you can push an H260 with a paddle. If you are dealing with currents we would need to know how strong the currents are before we could answer.

I had a tohatsu 6 on my H26 and hit hull speed at 2/3 WOT

 

[Stu Jackson]

Yes, it will - I had a Catalina 25, used a Johnson 1.2 hp, my "egg beater" air cooled engine to run it while the 7.5 was in the shop.

 

[patbratton]

I replaced an 8 hp Honda on my H240 with a mercury 5 hp propane sail pro. I could tell the difference backing out of the slip. When I kicked the motor in to forward she just set there and churned water for a while before going forward. It was a little dis-concerning but now it seems perfectly normal. I personally would not want to go smaller but based on your stated requirements a smaller motor will move the boat. Modern cabin boats have a good bit of freeboard which catches the wind when you are maneuvering in and out of close quarters.

 

[Rick Webb]

You need a 20" motor not sure you will find one smaller than a 5hp.

You also want to be sure you get one with FNR settings. Many of the smaller ones rotate around to get reverse. I don't think you want that either.

 

[jssailem]

Is this a theoretical query?

I wonder how much of my 9.9hp on new h260 does nothing extra on calm days. Would 1, 2, or 3 hp get to hull speed?

Your boat checks in at a displacement of 5,000 lbs.
Here is one Website offering help in calculations for an Outboard motor on a sailboat.

How to Calculate Outboard Motor Size for Sailboats

It seems so complex to pick the right engine size for your sailboat. I was done with complex calculations and tried to make it easier here.

improvesailing.com

Their Opinion:

To get the right amount of horsepower needed to efficiently propel a sailboat, divide the displacement of the boat (in lb) by 550. You need approximately 1 HP per 550 lb of displacement or 4 HP per 2200 lb. Most sailboats don't need a motor with more than 30 HP.​

​

Using their formula… 5,000lbs / 500 = 9.09 HP​

You don’t need all the HP on a calm day. It is just more efficient to use 40% of the engine HP to get it up to hull speed than it is to try and Max Out a smaller engine at WOT trying to reach hull speed.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@Davenport

The hull is designed for a max 10 hp. You have 9.9 hp which at full throttle, the bow of the 260 will raise up plowing or slowing the boat down. I use to teach my customers to never let the motor cause the bow to plow through the water.

I am not sure if you have a 2 or 4 stroke engine. The 2 stroke weighs less than a 4 stroke engine. Most 9.8/9.9 hp engines are nothing more than an 8 hp engine with the carburetor being larger for a higher hp rating. You probably have an electric start engine which recharges the battery while running.

As Rick Webb pointed out, many of the real small engines are of course smaller but requires you to bend way down to steer and/or to turn it around which can and will take your eyes off from steering the boat which can be dangerous. I am not sure if you have wheel or tiller on your 260 but there are no cockpit controls for the smaller engines.

Yes a 1-2 hp ca push your 260 but in a no wind, no current and no waves situation. If
you are trying to put the boat into a slip, you better make sure there is no barge, powerboat nor sailboat traffic going by as you could lose steerage damaging your 260. Also, if you had to back in reverse to stop the boat, forget it.

The initial 260 was tested with two small engines with Warren Luhrs (owner of hunter), engineer, hunter small boat representative and myself in St. Augustine, Florida on the ICW. We concluded smaller engines below 4 hp are not recommended

 

[Davenport]

Thanks all. This issue seems helpful to analyze from side. I partly asked about small outboard to analyze if a 1hp would be worthwhile as backup. I think a 3 hp would get a h260 to close to hull speed in calm sea, no one has said different. So I do wonder again, what speed will 3hp get a h260 up to in calm sea???? Are we talking 5mph vs 7mph?

Hmm. I think the important factor is IN A CRAMPED MARINA yes you need extra power IF THE WIND IS HIGH to easily manuever against the wind. But imagine no wind days. Or imagine a person with isolated dock, they could use high wind to get to shallows upwind and then hop out and walk boat from side into dock. Its cramped marinas that set half apart from the isolated dock people.

And, as a pure backup I think a 1hp is worth it, it'll let you putt home instead of being stranded out. In high winds you can just drag boat behind bend or island and anchor and wait for calm days. From experience I can push around river bends or walk the boat 2 miles, ha, but a lil motor would help if going 10 miles.

Someone should explore way to maximize MANUAL rowing from sailboat cockpit, just putzing with 1 oar is much less power than a real rig to row with 2 oars. A crazy long kayak paddle? Rig up seat to kayak paddle from ladder area of h260 and go backward? Yes whacky but options are good to explore before needed.

I do have a 9.9 4 stroke, but seems overkill and too heavy to easily lift off. I lifted a 8hp Mercury so I guess a 9.9 is liftable barely by 1 person?

Tanaka made a 3hp that was light but ok power, rebranded as Gamefisher.. Sigh. I should renew my Seatow policy for $200, that really makes one feel safer it avoids the $3000 noninsured cost. Much good thoughts, thanks!!!

 

[isaksp00]

Someone mentioned above the issue of the leg length. If the prop on a 1HP or similar won't clear the bottom of the transom, I wonder how much effective force you could get. I'm not sure how long these small ones are.

 

[heritage]

I rigged a 2:5hp Torqeedo on the swim ladder of my H27. I was curious if it would work as a backup to the diesel. It easily made over two knots in calm conditions. That was enough speed for steerage using the boats rudder.

 

[rgranger]

I think you would be very happy with a tohatsu sail pro 6 Hp

that is what many of us switched too.

 

[jssailem]

It would seem to me that a day sailor looking to get in and out of a marina when calm could carry a battery powered electric for those times they did not want to power up the "big" outboard.

With boats of less than or equal to 20 feet, back in the day we sat on the bow and used a paddle to move from dock to open water. Light of weight, easy to carry, powered by strong arms, it seemed like a proper fit to the boat.

 

[pgandw]

I switched from a 5hp Honda to an EPropulsion Spirit 1.0 (pretty accurately rated at 1000 watt/3hp equivalent) on my 19ft Mariner. Made some GPS runs both ways in my creek with the Spirit and averaged the results. At 500 watts (about 1/2 power), I got 4.1 kts. At 400 watts, I got 3.8 kts. At 300 watts (4 hr run time on 1275 watt-hour battery) I got 3.5 kts.

Sailed with a Mariner fleet (18 boats) in Long Island Sound (Mystic and Niantic Rivers). Most had 4-6 gas hp outboards. Due to currents and competitive nature, most were operating at close to max throttle and drawing very large wakes (at hull speed). At full throttle on my Spirit, I was about 0.2 knots slower, and not drawing nearly the wake. Overall, I would rate the Spirit as just sufficient power for the auxiliary on my Mariner. Which ties in with fleet experience - those with the small outboards (2.5 hp) can't quite reach hull speed, or buck heavy winds/currents. A 5hp gas outboard will do all that an outboard can do, without having to use full throttle.

Mariner has relatively low freeboard compared to more modern trailered mini-cruisers, so I'm not blown about as much as other boats - unless I forget to put at least some centerboard down.

I traded motor starting anxiety for some initial range anxiety. As I have gotten used to having a dependable 12 nm motoring range at 4 kts, the anxiety has gone way down. All the other benefits except cost belong to the electric.

just my experiences, yours may be very different
Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133 Sweet P
Yeopim Creek, Albemarle Sound, NC

 

[jssailem]

Great write up Fred.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Don’t forget the Hunter 260 is appx 26 feet long with a displacement of 3000 pounds and a higher freeboard

 

[jssailem]

displacement of 3000 pounds

Is that the weight before or after the owner has got his stuff on board.

 

[twalker H260]

That is before the water ballast is filled and owner, family and supplies are added! Ballast is 2000lbs, gear and people can easily add another 1000.

 

[pgandw]

Unless you are seeking full hull speed, displacement matters little in how fast a displacement boat will go for a given horsepower. Hull shape and propeller efficiency matters more at less than hull speed. BUT displacement will have a BIG impact on acceleration and deceleration for a given size engine.

Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 Sweet P
Yeopim Creek, Albemarle Sound, NC

 

[jssailem]

but why would you?

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Dry weight of boat without water ballast is 3000 pounds with NO water, motor gear and people. If one has to stop the boat in a hurry, forget that with a small engine. You are overlooking safety with a small engine. I sold nearly 20-25% of the production line through my dealership, American Marine and Sail supply.