2009 20hp,15hp tohatsu or 15hp suzuki

[jasper60103]

I read somewhere that you should buy the smallest motor that will do the job. That hp thing is mostly marketing. Others say, go as big as your wallet will allow. That kinda makes sense too, but I would also consider what your boat is rated for, and get close to that. 70% of the max hp rating is kind of a general rule. Light weight tinnies can get by with less if performance expectations are not so high.

Anywho, you probably won't notice much difference in speed, but I would expect it to maintain the same speed with a heavier load. 1-2 mph gain doesn't say much. Your actual performance is based on your particular load and setup. If you're buying a new motor from a dealer, they should be able to figure that out.

I have a 25hp and it pushes the boat just fine. I think if I took a buddy (or 2) along with extra tackle, I would loose some performance. Is it worth upgrading? No to me (unless I found a really good deal). I have a skinny 12 yr daughter that may fish with me sometimes. My wife has no interest, so the rig will meet my needs 99% of the time. Good luck with your decision.

JMO.
-jasper

 

[SwampThing]

If your boat is a NCS,its rated for 25hp,if you have the extra money I would go ahead and a buy a 25 hp motor of your liking.If you are going to be fishing with someone alot+tackle +any mods you may do to it in the future the 25 hp motor is the way I would go,but if you dont want to spend the money the 15 hp suzuki will make a find little motor.

 

[Whoopbass]

If your boat is going to be a plain unmodified rig and your fishing partner isn't HUGE then you can get by with the 15. The extra HP motors give you more torque to get you up on plane and throttle response is better. I've GPS'd 15 hp and 30 hp 2-strokes and the biggest speed difference I could get was no more then 10 mph but it was usually closer to 8 mph. The bigger motor jumps up on plane and gets going so much better then a 15 and they don't have a problem pushing heavy loads.

I don't know if online outboards is the same as internet outboards but the guy that runs internet outboards posts a lot on the iboats forum and gives excellent info. He should be able to tell you if you can buy a 15 hp Tohatsu and then perform a minor change to it to turn it into a 20 hp.
https://www.internetoutboards.com/

 

[DenisD]

I just went through the same dilemma a little while ago. My boat is rated for a 20hp but it has a 15in transom, 36in floor and I was set on a electric start four stroke, so I was worried about water coming over the back due to short transom and heavy motor. The 20hp by tohatsu/mercury and the yamaha 20 were something like 15lbs. heavier. I will have to take the motor on and off frequently so the lighter the better. I went with the suzuki 15 for weight, price and I had one on a 1448 mv a while back and it ran great and pushed that boat over 20mph with two people, and was pretty squirley wot with just me aboard. Man, I still kinda miss that boat it was built like a tank #-o Well that's my 2 cents I hope it helps, but you'll be fine with either of your choices.

 

[nbaffaro]

I would recommend getting the highest HP motor that you can put on your boat. But Tohatsu makes a good motor.