Thanks Yukon Cornelius that is the info I needed. I never thought about the 20hp before. How do you like it and is it to much to handle in the shallow rivers. I still run aground a few times each time I am out.
Thanks Yukon Cornelius that is the info I needed. I never thought about the 20hp before. How do you like it and is it to much to handle in the shallow rivers. I still run aground a few times each time I am out.
I was dead set on getting a 9.8 at 89lbs but no one I knew had one. Or no one was able to give me gps speeds. As I was looking for a 15 2 stroke or 9.9 I discovered that the tohatsu 15 and 20 weighed the same. Then it was a price comparison. $2k for a new 9.9 at 89lbs vs $2400 for the 20 at 95lbs.Originally Posted by Amazer
I second guess my decision when I’m thinking about solo trips. But then I remember that 89lbs is only 6lbs less than 95lbs.
I kept my 7.5 2 stroke for those solo trips. It’s just loud. Much louder than the 4 stroke. Doesn’t sip gas nearly as slow either. Or maybe it does, but the time difference in a trip is where the 20 shines.
I took the 7.5 on a 50 mile round trip last year. It took me 8 hours of run time and I burned 6 gallons of gas.
bought the 20 and did same trip. 3 hours round trip and burned 3 gallons of gas.
Yukon Cornelius, did you get any flex/twisting in the Kaboat with that much HP on it under power? Do you run a frame (rowing) or a wood floor under the inflatable floor?
I posted this on another Kaboat thread several years ago. I had two 16ers with rowing frames and Fish-On seats. I tested an 89# 18hp Nissan two stroke with two adults in the boat and max psi in the floor. I could only get 1/2 throttle before the floor started oil canning, raising up and causing the motor to cavitate. I settled with the 81# 9.8 Tohatsu for both boats. My conclusion was any more hp is waisted. Once the boats are full of moose it does not matter what motor you have because they become a barge. They are great boats for fly out hunts and hunting up stream. DonÂ’t expect to load it with a moose and then get on step with any motor. I had to run my 9.8s at 1/2 throttle in calm water to keep water from rolling over the bow.
it did surprisingly well with extra weight in it. We found that 1/2 to just a little more throttle was the sweet spot. Once I got around 3/4 it would burp on me. My floor was 13psi. Nothing but the inflatable floor. I use a bucket as a seat too.
Thanks, so it looks like a 5 to 10hp motor for me. The 5 hp may be OK but I think the 10 would be better. The 20 would be nice but I don't own anything else I can maximize that extra HP on I only have the Kaboat. The 9.8 hp seems to be the right number overall. KCB any numbers on mileage you get with your set up on the 9.8 hp / 4 stroke?
Around 10-12 mpg with the Kaboats as I remember and 16-17 mpg with the Clipper MAC 18s.
My recommendation is the 9.8 tohatsu. 89lbs. Should get close to 20 mph WOT I’d bet. A friend was running the 9.8 on his 10’ zodiac and was getting 19 mph and it weighs a little more than the kaboat.
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I upgraded to a 20hp Suzuki and couldn’t be happier with the results!
2 guys plus gear and a bear on step upriver against good current traveling at 13 mph and still had more throttle to use
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