25" shaft on 20hp?

[jimmythegreek]

does anyone past or present make a 20hp remote steering motor? I did some searching and I only see mercs pro-kicker 15hp as avail in 25" shaft, the rest of them are all tillers. I do see theres some companys that make 5" extension kits, but are there any new or used motors made that any of you guys know of, maybe from experience........thanks

[Hot Runr Guy]

What about the Evinrude 15 H.O., which is really a 25hp in disguise?

http://www.evinrude.com/en-us/engine..._ho/etec_15_ho

HRG

[PickeralPete]

Evinrude makes a 15hp HO that is 25" long and is 35 ci which is the same ci as their 25hp and 30hp. Mercury makes their 15hp Pro Kicker in a 25" and it is 21.4 ci. Honda makes a 15hp 25" which is 21.4 ci. The Evinrude is the only one of these that is fuel injected but it also weighs about 42 lbs more.

[Phil T]

I once put a 4" extension on a 10HP OB for kicker use. The extension helped, but not as much as buying a high thrust kicker OB designed for kicker service. The extension served for at least a decade with no problems.

[PickeralPete]

Jimmy, what boat are you putting this on? Most boats use a 20" kicker because of transom and hull shape.

[jimmythegreek]

This is going to be a main engine on a 17' walleye hull, remote steering setup not a tiller setup. Ive rigged alot of boats and engine swaps but never done one like this. Around me everything is 20hp max or electric only and the engine being centered as the main is much better control wise than a kicker tied to the main. Main on whatever rig I end up buying will be pulled and sold to offset cost. The more true HP the better, I doubt the hull will even get close to planing off, but theres a possibility of the right prop and some weight adjustment/hydrofoiltrim tabs it may get close and not just plow tons of water.

[jimmythegreek]

One thing about the etec is you could reflash the 15 and turn it into a 30hp, plus the fuel injection is so much better than carbed units. Not a big fan of them, I was checking out the suzukis, I have a 40 4stroke on my little boat thats been bulletproof and good power on a FM165 lowe

Originally Posted by jimmythegreek

One thing about the etec is you could reflash the 15 and turn it into a 30hp, plus the fuel injection is so much better than carbed units. Not a big fan of them, I was checking out the suzukis, I have a 40 4stroke on my little boat thats been bulletproof and good power on a FM165 lowe

Good luck getting it "reflashed".

[man164]

Jimmy,

I am assuming you live in PA. I am guessing this because of the 20 HP restrictions and the electric only lakes. I will speak from my own experience. I would not spend the extra money on a 20 over a 9.9 again.

On our first boat we replaced a "tired" 9.9 Evinrude with a 20 HP Honda. We only picked up maybe 1 mph or so.......kind of disappointing. The problem is you are not going to get a 17 foot deep V on plane with either a 20 or a 9.9. This being said I think you are looking at 7-9 mph with either motor. I am also going to guess you will want to be able to troll around .8 mph and up for that you will need a 7 pitch prop or so...that will greatly limit speed ability as well. I also recommend one of the high thrust models for better control, especially in reverse. I know a high thrust prop has improved my boat control.

On our current boat (Competitor Sport 165)we have that 20 HP Honda along with a 50 HP Yamaha. We only get maybe 7-8 mph running the kicker. I am willing to bet a 9.9 would get about the same.

I wish you luck in making your decision.

[jimmythegreek]

thanks for the great info, and yes im in NJ/PA and fish both. there was a newer lowe fm175dc on craigslist a few months ago and I talked to the guy about the setup. He was running a merc 20hp as the main and he claimed the boat was 13-14mph w the best propping he could do on it. Im actually looking for top speed/power out of this motor I troll w my terrova ipilot I never troll w the main unless im musky fishing. I had a hard time beleiving the guy but he had a screenshot on cell phone of his lowrance unit showing 13.6 SOG in that boat. Im sure you know theres a bunch of guys running around w 25, 30, even 40 hp motors with 20hp stickers on them, but im not really trying to go that route. I would much rather have an EFI motor than a carbed unit, but Im still kinda torn on whether to keep the main and tie in a kicker or just sell the main and use a 20hp for main engine