I have been looking at outboards up to 20hp - I obviously want to make the well big enough and strong enough to accommodate a wide range of engines. As you may know my back-up engine is a little air-cooled Honda 2.3.
It sips petrol and never fails to start. I also used to ride Honda motorbikes and my mower is a Honda - never been let down by one yet.
So I have been looking at the Honda long shaft engines - they do a 10hp, a 15hp and a 20hp
It looks as though the 8 and the 10hp long shafts are closely related
http://www.honda.co.uk/marine/23-10hp/compare/?code=BF8&code=BF10
the 15 and 20 appear to be more or less the same engine - same bore, same stroke.
http://www.honda.co.uk/marine/15-30hp/compare/?code=BF15&code=BF20
the weights are more or less the same as well
So far, so good.
but I am missing some crucial dimensions. I am sure there are some reasonably accurate profiles of these engines on the web some-where so that we can do the same cad trick we did with the Tohatsu
I need to know how big the cowl is relative to the top of the clamps and the distance from the clamps to the narrowest part of the leg, the width and length of the anti cavitation plate
Also, has anyone got any experience with the charging facility on these engines. My Tohatsu is 6 amps - these bigger Hondas offer 12 amps - does that mean it is twice as good - it does add quite a lot to the price. So it might be better to go for the lower charging and use that cash to buy solar panels - and who sells solar panels?
Plenty of solar panels on e-bay. I could buy a 100 watt panel here in New Zealand for $200 which is about 106 pounds, I think.
Hi,
I have only solar panel charging on my seawych into two 65ah car batteries, runs radio, depth, nav and cabin lights ( all led) and dvd player for two hrs each evening. Use the boat approx three days per fortnight. always had full batteries when I returned to boat after two weeks away. Panel and regulator form maplins. Panel folds in two for storage, and regulator prevents reverse current at night, prevents over charging and splits power separately to the batteries. regulator was less than twenty pounds. Not sure on the price of the panel, size is about 18″ x 24″ open. newer panels probably more efficient. Bright sunny day it has put in as much as 14ah. dark cloudy days maybe only charging at 100 ma.
(thank god for spellcheck!!! haha)
good luck
kev
An engine well added to a westerly pagent.
Saw this listing for a boat including this section in the listing
http://sailingtexas.com/201601/swesterly26107.html
“The motor well is unique, in that it mounts the motor on a track that can elevate the motor and prop completely clear of the water when under sail. The motor is lifted and lowered by a 12v internal winch powered by the motor’s starting battery and controlled by a switch in the cockpit. The motor is equipped with a 4-bladed Hi-thrust prop protected by a surrounding circular ring/shroud. This prop ring serves to push open a pair of spring-loaded �bomb-bay� type doors when the motor is lowered and the doors close up as the motor is raised to provide a smooth surface for less drag when under sail. The motor well is “wet” all the time and the cockpit floor”
Motor is a 20 hp nissan
Warren