posted 03-24-2009 12:34 PM ET (US)            

I have a rebel 19p prop, pretty intense, may be a bit much for the boat, but love it so much, didn't want to go down just to save a couple hundred rpms!

posted 03-25-2009 08:19 PM ET (US)            

As for a new E-tec 150 for $10K; I doubt that would happen here in Nova Scotia, even factoring in the exchange rate. Great price.

posted 04-07-2009 10:07 PM ET (US)            

I have the rebel SS prop with a 17" pitch. That is what the dealer recommended so I took his advice. The weather has been too cold here in CT to take it out so my opinion on performance is going to have to wait.

posted 04-08-2009 10:22 AM ET (US)            

The 2003 Johnson 150 that is on my 18 Outrage is turning 14 1/2 x 19 SST II. I have also run a Mirage 17 inch which provides similar performance but is more sensitive to sea state. I would expect the 17 inch Rebel to have similar RPM to speed performance to either of these two propellers.

posted 04-08-2009 08:33 PM ET (US)            

Not to derail my own thread, but how do you like your Etec 150 on your 18'? Is it everything you were expecting?

posted 04-09-2009 10:08 AM ET (US)            

I suspect you'd find a 115 Etec on your Outrage to be somewhat under powered. An Etec 115HO would be adaquate but an Etec 150 would, as discussed above, be a very good choice.

There have been several discussions on the best power for a Dauntless 16. When sold they were available with a 90 or 115 HP engine. Most owners reported far greater satisfaction with a 115 hp engine on the Dauntless 16. I realize these are not the same boats but the comparisons are similar.

posted 04-09-2009 01:04 PM ET (US)            

I repowered my 1988 OR 18 with a Yamaha F115 and put 760 wonderful hours on the rig without a single complaint, running the boat mostly in the lumpy ocean north of San Francisco. I got incredible "mileage", the motor performed flawlessly, and if I ever wanted to, I could just reach 40 mph/WOT (5800 rpm) on calm waters. I made Joe Kriz a believer the first time he rode with me in ol' Cetaceous--he too thought that a 115 would be weak on a classic Outrage 18, but after our cruise he seriously thought about repowering his OR 18 with the same motor (he was running a 150 two smoke at the time).

Again, everything depends upon your intended uses, Creeker, but I'd repower with a 115--four cycle or E-TEC--in a minute if I had an OR 18.

posted 04-09-2009 01:40 PM ET (US)            

While the boat can be run with a single 90 hp motor, and approach 40 MPH to boot, the time to plane with a single 90 HP motor is miserable and the motor is working very hard to hustle the hull up and out of the hole. (Experience with a single 90 HP E-TEC lugging a "dead" twin tilted clear of the water and running a 13.25x19 aluminum propeller).

I believe that this hull was under-rated and should have a 175 HP rating with 150 being a very good performer.

What do those 35 extra ponies buy in an upgrade from 115 to 150? About 10 MPH top speed (Approaching 50 MPH vs. around 40 MPH) and some additional ability to "oomph" through with heavy loads/passengers.

If your primary use is fishing where you will do a lot of hours trolling and then slog home through rough seas where 30 MPH is aspirational - then a 115 will be fine...but if you enjoy the howl of an outboard while you scream through relatively smooth water - the 150 is the way to go.

Somepeople are past that stage - others are not. I'm not yet, although the times I can open the boat up all the way to wide open throttle are relatively few, I love the feeling when I can and do get the chance.

Congrats on the new motor - I'd love to hear your economy under mixed running.

I achieve between 3.5 and 4.5 MPG - depending on load and use and conditions with twin 90's - Last summer on Lake Nipigon I got square on 4 MPG burning 60 gallons from the 63 gallon belly tank in mixed running over a few days in very cold water (38-44 degrees). The boat was [u]extremely[/u] heavily loaded with two guys and enough gear for a week of camping in the wilderness...and dragging a 11' Inflatable behind for two days (piggybacked the inflatable the remainder of the week). I was impressed.

posted 04-09-2009 03:23 PM ET (US)            

I judge that by what engine RPM is needed to maintain a 25 MPH cruise on the 18 Outrage not by how fast the boat ultimately goes at WOT. In the case of a 4 cylinder 115, if it was anything like the 1.8L V4 140 I had on my 18 Outrage, its going to be close to a busy 4000 RPM at 25 MPH. In the case of a V6 150, like I have now on my 18 Outrage, I get a nice and relaxed 3500 RPM or less at 25 MPH depending on propeller pitch used. It's much like the difference between driving an SUV with the buzzy struggling econo V6 or the powerful, smooth and relaxed V8 at the same highway speeds.

There is a 0.9 GPH difference between the 115 and the 150 in the ICOMIA duty cycle. May seem like a big difference to some until they consider that a 150 will travel farther under that ICOMIA duty cycle than a 115 will (more work is done by the 150 than the 115 in the same ICOMIA duty cycle) and so the hourly fuel consumption difference is actually less than 0.9 GPH if the same amount of work is done by both motors, in other words moving the same load from Point A to Point B at the same rate.

posted 04-09-2009 03:40 PM ET (US)            

One last thing: when I repowered my boat, I sought the advice of the dealer from whom I would be buying the new outboard. He's sometimes a cranky old cuss, but is a very experienced boater who owns an OR 18 right now (powered by a 115) and has owned several other Whalers over the years). HE advised buying the Yamaha 115 4/s, even though he would have made more money if I went with a 150. I think that says something.

Anyway...good luck with your decision, creeker.

Tony

posted 04-09-2009 04:43 PM ET (US)            

I think you and I are on the same page.....

and TWIN 90's weren't very much more expensive than a single 150....so it wasn't the choice between buying a Honda vs. a Mercedes. More like determining which trim level I wanted. The 18 is "optioned out", I would say.

Anyway...Agreed. You and I do very different types of boating. I'm typically loaded for bear on some god forsaken cold lake in the middle of nowhere.

if it weren't for that, I'd have a single 175 E-TEC on my boat. :)

posted 04-09-2009 07:31 PM ET (US)            

Tony