MacGregorSailors.com

Does anybody have experience/opinions on Honda 40 h.p.?? I am looking at a used Mac 26X with one. The 40 h.p. has same diplacement, wt., etc.. as a 50 h.p. Checked with a marine mechanic - he said it's same engine with slightly different carbueration and maybe a different cam (like the only difference between a 9.9 hp and 15 hp Honda - which is easily owner upgradeable!!) BUT he felt that any attempts to owner/user upgrade would probably not be beneficial !?!? He said that switching and trying different propellers would probably be best to find optimum power. He felt that, given the amount of freeboard on a Mac, one has to decide which is more important - power for "docking" and slow speed manoeuvering, or SPEED for the open waters.... Any opnions there ??
Two(2) props ????

Dennis, the forty will be okay but think about your resale value. 98% of the Macs have fifty's. All things equal, your prospective buyer is going to choose the fifty. You will have to discount considerably, like your seller probably has, to seal the deal.

Go a couple posts below and study the string on ideal motors for cruising.

Decide whether the forty is OK for you, factor the reduced HP into the price you're willing to pay, and use it as a negotiating point to get the price lower.

Forget the future resale value. You've already made that up in reduced purchase price. You didn't mention the year, but the boat's already at least three years old. By the time you get ready to sell it it will be five or more. By then the difference in resale won't amount to much.

Or be thankful that the negotiated difference will make it several $hundred easier to justify when you replace that puny 40 with the 70 or 90HP motor you really wanted. In fact, a nice 40HP Honda ought to get you a pretty nice dollar on eBay.

BTW, two props thinking you're going to switch them out frequently isn't reasonable. I've have two quite different props for my 50HP Tohatsu, and at low speed, neither is worth a hill of beans by itself. Rudders down: good maneuverability. Rudders up: forget it.

If you want to try a different prop, go ahead. Once you've found the "right" prop for your primary use, put it on the motor and leave it there. Keep the second as a back up for when you hit something.

For our boats, any motor that turns a 12" prop, a 40 and all the 50's except the big foots/high thrusts, will give the same poor preformance at low speed around a dock.

You won't see a real difference until you move up to a motor that swings a 14" prop. Every pitch 12" will be poor.

Go slow with all fins down, reverse early, when in doubt, go backwards, the control is much better and you can stop far quicker with a burst of forward.