Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 07-08-2017, 12:38 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Nimble1's Avatar
 
City: St James City, Fl
Vessel Name: Sweet Pea
Vessel Model: Nimble Nomad 25' Trawler
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 190
High thrust outboards

Anyone have any experience with them? I am going to repower my Nomad trawler and considering one. I presently have a 1991 Honda 45 hp that still runs but is starting to have issues(tilt/trim, oil leaks).
The one I am looking at is a Suzuki 50 hp high thrust. It spins a 14" prop vs the 11" on the standard engine and the lower unit is geared differently.
Not to much price difference but would like to hear from folks that have had experience with them.
Nimble1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2017, 01:03 PM   #2
Valued Technical Contributor
 
DavidM's Avatar
 
City: Litchfield, Ct
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 6,775
I don't have any personal experience with them, but a bigger prop with a lower ratio makes a lot of sense for trawler use. I always put a smaller pitch prop on my outboards used on a dinghy. It let it produce more thrust to get up on plane and would handle more weight.

You won't be getting up on plane -, but the larger prop will be much more efficient than even the smaller prop with less pitch.

David
DavidM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2017, 01:41 PM   #3
Guru
 
Keysdisease's Avatar
 
City: South Florida
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,083
I had a hi thrust 9.9 Yamaha on my MacGregor 36 sailing catamaran. Loved it.

My experience on small sailboats with outboards up till then was to drop the engine, open the throttle, open the cooler, rummage around for the coldest beverage, pop it, take a long pull, take a leisurely look around, and about then the boat would start moving.

With the Hi Thrust Yamaha when you put it in gear you had to be holding onto something because the boat moved with authority like right now

I would not hesitate to buy another for the right application

Keysdisease is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2017, 02:50 PM   #4
Guru
 
Vashon_Trawler's Avatar
 
City: St. Petersburg, Florida
Vessel Name: M/V Sherpa
Vessel Model: 24' Vashon Diesel Cruiser
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 598
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nimble1 View Post
Anyone have any experience with them? I am going to repower my Nomad trawler and considering one. I presently have a 1991 Honda 45 hp that still runs but is starting to have issues(tilt/trim, oil leaks).
The one I am looking at is a Suzuki 50 hp high thrust. It spins a 14" prop vs the 11" on the standard engine and the lower unit is geared differently.
Not to much price difference but would like to hear from folks that have had experience with them.
I would most certainly go with a high thrust outboard. I was planning to purchase a new Nomad several years ago and had done considerable research on the best outboard for it. I was planning to go the high thrust route (different gear ratio and prop).
__________________
“Go small, go simple, go now”
― Larry Pardey, Cruising in Seraffyn
Vashon_Trawler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2018, 08:12 PM   #5
Guru
 
Vashon_Trawler's Avatar
 
City: St. Petersburg, Florida
Vessel Name: M/V Sherpa
Vessel Model: 24' Vashon Diesel Cruiser
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 598
What was your final decision regarding the outboard?
__________________
“Go small, go simple, go now”
― Larry Pardey, Cruising in Seraffyn
Vashon_Trawler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2018, 10:03 PM   #6
Art
Guru
 
Art's Avatar
 
City: SF Bay Area
Vessel Model: Tollycraft 34' Tri Cabin
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 12,569
This thread on "High Thrust" outboard interests me. So... I went net surfing.

Utilizing same powered engine: Larger prop being geared to turn slow is what provides added thrust efficiency to move bigger [and heaver] floating items at rather slow, yet somewhat respectable speeds through water. As compared to a smaller prop geared to turn fast that churns/whisks the water providing little "bite" in the water and therefore greatly less efficiency for forward speed of bigger heavier items.

The above analogy, regarding High Thrust outboards, seems somewhat equivalent to engines/props on displacement boats... being that a big prop geared to turn at slow rpm is more "thrust" efficient than small props geared to turn quickly.

This brings me to the point of gear ratios and prop size in regard to planing hulls. In this case... it incorporates elevated instances of hull-to-water friction and hull actuated water mass movement and how "on top" of the water the boat hull bottom can get... creating less hull to water contact. Thus, less friction via less water movement and reduced water contact by the hull establishes opportunity for smaller props turning at higher speeds to become more efficient as the general means of "screwing through the water", and, much less apt to churn/whisk the contacted water.

Yea Boats!!!

Happy "Boat/Water-Movement" Daze! - Art -
Art is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2018, 09:04 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Nimble1's Avatar
 
City: St James City, Fl
Vessel Name: Sweet Pea
Vessel Model: Nimble Nomad 25' Trawler
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 190
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vashon_Trawler View Post
What was your final decision regarding the outboard?
I went with the Suzuki 50hp High Thrust and couldn't be happier. The extra thrust is amazing and the larger lower unit really helps with the way the boat tracks. It was a good decision.
Nimble1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 04:58 AM   #8
Member
 
City: PARRISH
Vessel Name: Calypso
Vessel Model: Nimble Nomad
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 12
Nimble1, do you also notice increased thrust in reverse?
CaptDon01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 10:16 AM   #9
Guru
 
Keysdisease's Avatar
 
City: South Florida
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,083
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptDon01 View Post
Nimble1, do you also notice increased thrust in reverse?
A Hi Thrust Outboard is still an outboard. With my 9.9 Yamahas they still have thru hub exhaust so the prop is eating exhaust in reverse. I'm sure its more thrust than a conventional outboard because of the larger prop diameter, but in my experience it's typical outboard in reverse performance, meaning: put it in reverse, throttle up, see lots of bubbling and hear lots of noise, eventually boat starts to move in reverse.

Keysdisease is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 10:29 AM   #10
Guru
 
alormaria's Avatar
 
City: Trenton
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,521
I had a 9.9 Yamaha high-thrust outboard on my 22' Catalina sailboat. That motor was such a joy that I dumped sailing and went over to trawlers.
__________________
Al Johnson
34' Marine Trader
"Angelina"
alormaria is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 11:07 AM   #11
Guru
 
Nomad Willy's Avatar
 
City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,738
Nimble1,
I chose the 60hp Suzuki (older - the first S 4-stroke) as it had the lowest gear ratio and biggest prop clearence. All other things being equal (in this regard they are pretty close) that’s about all there is to thrust.
__________________
Eric

North Western Washington State USA
Nomad Willy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 12:29 PM   #12
Member
 
City: PARRISH
Vessel Name: Calypso
Vessel Model: Nimble Nomad
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 12
The reason I asked was because we had the 6 HP Tohatsu Sail-Pro, (which comes with a high thrust prop), on our wing keeled Catalina-22 MK-II. There was a HUGE difference in reverse thrust. I notice minimal thrust with the 50 HP Honda on our new to us Nomad.
CaptDon01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 01:40 PM   #13
Guru
 
Nomad Willy's Avatar
 
City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,738
Nimble Nomad,
Proeller design changes reverse thrust considerably. Props that are symmetrical or/and have no cup or are the same pitch throughout the blade are better at reverse thrust. Also lightly loaded and perhaps high aspect ratio helps too. Blades that look a bit like ping pong paddles would probably be good.

Just some thoughts.

Nimble Nomads are usually over powered and if so frequently a prop poor at fwd thrust will be good in reverse.
__________________
Eric

North Western Washington State USA
Nomad Willy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 04:40 PM   #14
Member
 
City: PARRISH
Vessel Name: Calypso
Vessel Model: Nimble Nomad
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 12
Thanks, yes, the blades do look like ping-pong paddles

Don
CaptDon01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 04:57 PM   #15
Guru
 
Benthic2's Avatar
 
City: Boston Area
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 2,605
Also, a boat hull is designed to go forward. It is considerably harder to move a hull backwards so the gearing is going to be different.
Benthic2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 06:26 PM   #16
Guru
 
Nomad Willy's Avatar
 
City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,738
MP Propeller

The prop on my Willard is constant pitch and w symetrical blades.

Fishing boats and other commercial boats like that older design prop for it's good reverse thrust. I decided it would be good on the Willard as I have a little excess power. Don't need maximum efficiency in fwd gear. 2-5% less is not an issue.

I also think it may be good at shedding various lines (fishing 3 strand ect) and weed like kelp. Don't remember who said that though. The shape of the blades go w the curvy lines of the hull .. for whatever that's worth. Thought it may be smoother but I don't really know about that either. The whole system is quite smooth to very smooth.

Don't use the grey cold galvanize anymore.
Attached Thumbnails
DSCF1587 copy 4.jpg  
__________________
Eric

North Western Washington State USA
Nomad Willy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 06:27 PM   #17
Guru
 
Nomad Willy's Avatar
 
City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,738
Quote:
Originally Posted by Benthic2 View Post
Also, a boat hull is designed to go forward. It is considerably harder to move a hull backwards so the gearing is going to be different.
Not the case w FD hulls.
__________________
Eric

North Western Washington State USA
Nomad Willy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 09:50 PM   #18
Guru
 
Nomad Willy's Avatar
 
City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,738
Quote:
Originally Posted by Benthic2 View Post
Also, a boat hull is designed to go forward. It is considerably harder to move a hull backwards so the gearing is going to be different.
Yup planing hulls and many SD hulls w flat transoms are like bull dozers in reverse. But FD hulls back similar to going fwd. Usually the biggest difference on a FD boat is the lower efficiency of most props in reverse. And if one gets up 3 knots or more tremendous forces can be put on the rudder. SD hulls usually have smaller rudders and steering backwards is very iffy.
The edit function goes to sleep way to fast on this forum. That’s why these two posts seem too much the same.
__________________
Eric

North Western Washington State USA
Nomad Willy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 10:41 PM   #19
Guru
 
Benthic2's Avatar
 
City: Boston Area
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 2,605
I spent a lot of time on a Pearson 26 with a 9.9 Johnson. The motor was great in forward.....was just a noise maker in reverse. It had a massive rudder, but was barely controllable in reverse. I always attributed it to the design of the hull to be super efficient in forward, with no regard to reverse.
Benthic2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2018, 04:17 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
TomandJeri's Avatar
 
City: Lake Ontario
Vessel Model: Trawler Shopping 35-40'
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 107
Quote:
Originally Posted by Benthic2 View Post
I spent a lot of time on a Pearson 26 with a 9.9 Johnson. The motor was great in forward.....was just a noise maker in reverse. It had a massive rudder, but was barely controllable in reverse. I always attributed it to the design of the hull to be super efficient in forward, with no regard to reverse.
Only laterally related, but here's a 'standard' prop I had for my old Evinrude 9.9 that I used on a 23 ft trailer sailor (it's actually a MW prop, but looks the same), and the Mickey Mouse-eared high-thrust prop Evinrude also sold for them. The so-called high-thrust did have more oomph than the stock item, and marginally more in reverse. The original I believe was a 10x8 or 9" pitch, and the high-thrust is a 10x7", but with sort-of big ears.

Maybe someday I'll have another Evinrude/Johnson 9.9 or 15 to use them on.



TomandJeri is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:48 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012