Nice, I've had one of those motors for around 20 years, its never failed, pushes my 18 ft 4200 lb gaff cutter along quite happily, same with the RIB that belongs to the big motorboat I had, its a really great little engine.
Noisy, at least on camera, but it does the job! Boat is looking great. Nice to see there are places like there where you can get out on the water this time of year. We're in a deep freeze up here with tons of snow.
Noisy for sure. For local where it’s mainly in and out of the marina it’s great. I don’t think I want to deal with it for a 15 mile motor! Next up: switch it out for the 5 Hp and do some “lake trials” with it.
Great little outboard, used one my Sovereign 18 for a summer. Had it out in 2 to 3 ft waves and a head wind of 15ish mph and at about 75 percent throttle it moved the boat along at 2 to 3 mph. Not too bad
I would go with a 15 h.p Mercury 2-stroke, long shaft. You would get 10 -15 knots out of it. It is water cooled too. They are about 100 pounds, not too heavy and you can run an external tank.
Appreciate the comment. We’ve obviously got different missions and I’m sorry but you’re not gonna get 15 knots out of a Montgomery 17. A 100lb outboard is too heavy to manage and would list the boat unreasonably. You cannot trailer with that kind of weight hanging in the transom and it woudk be a gut buster putting it on and taking it off. Besides the 2hp Honda I also have a 6hp Tohatsu which will push the boat to hull speed at about half throttle. But it’s very heavy for the 17 at 60lbs. I had an M-23 for many years and even it only had a 9.9 on it.
My own Honda 2hp pushed my Hartley TS16 (360kg's) against 20 knts and rising seas . We made way. Albeit at close to full throttle. However. We made it.
Sean I have a 5HP but am concerned about bouncing around in Lake Erie lots of weight hanging back there stressing transom so am either reinforcing motor mount or going with 2.3 HP. Also I like your small bottle refill. What was the bottle? M17 SV/“Reef or Madness”
Don't worry about the transom on the water. The hardest work your boat will ever do is while being trailered, and you can sealy remove the motor and stow it in your vehicel or build a road mount on thetrailer tongue area. A 5hp is a good minimum for the Monty 17. See my assessment above. If the weight is something you can't get by, it's easy to reinforce the transom with stainless or aluminum backing inside. Super simple job. You will regret going under a 5.
Sean, I had two Monty 17's for years, that said, here are my pros and cons to using a 2hp anything for that boat - based upon owning the same motor for a long time. I find it a common thread that folks want to go as light as possible with their outboards for small boats. I get that. But... Cons: 1) There are no 2 hp OB's that I know of that have a reverse lever. Maybe I'm wrong? But the Honda does not. This can be a problem when docking or manuvering in a tight spot, or when the wind or tide is against your favor - or, if some moron does something stupid close aboard. The Honda must be physicaly turned at the powerhead by hand, requiring a complete lack of control at the helm if just for a moment or two. 2) They do not have enough torque. A Monty 17 is too heavy for the Honda 2. It's fine once your free and clear, but if you ever need to battle a contrary tide, the time of day, river current - like here - or MOST IMPORTANT: need to slam on the brakes, it will fail. You have to be able to stop the barge. 3) The Honda and some other top brands of 4 strokes, do not idle well, since they have a centrifugal clutch - like a minibike. Stalling at very low speeds is very possible even with a perfectly tuned Honda. It happens. Often, when you least want it to - sometimes while you are struggling to turn the head to reverse. 4) They are among the loudest small engines in the 4 stroke category, and are comparable to 2-strokes, except without the smoke. It's like having a generator or lawn mower hooked to the transom because to make decent speed, you have to run the tiny 2 hp at high RPMs. I had a 3 hp Tohastu 2 stroke that was much quieter - but finnicky. Pros: 1) they are great motors otherwise, but i would use it on a tender. When I had my Monty's, the first one came with a 92 Evinrude 8hp with a sailboat shaft. It was a 74 with the transom cut-out so the tiller was right inside the cockpit. Well worn, but ultra reliable, that motor beat any strong current going up river to the launch, and stopped the boat like a wall - a feature that saved me more than one collision because of weekend warriors. It also had enough torque to pull me free of a mud bank one time. 8hp got me full hull speed, was very quiet at 80% throttle, never cleared the water in a chop and never had the head pooped because it was mounted where it should be, instead of out board on a bracket down low. And, it sipped fuel. Is 73lbs heavy for a 2-cylinder? Maybe, but it never came off the boat after I used it, except to try the Honda a few times out. Finally, I don't recommend ANY outboard for the Monty or any other boat in that size/weight range less than 5hp. At 5hp, they all have reverse gear. That's my experience in Puget Sound, the Islands, Rosario Straits, Juan De Fuca, and Canadian waters.
Fair enough. And I don’t recommend it for waters with currents like the San Juan’s. For that I have a Tohatsu 6hp which is more than enough albeit heavy. For sailing locally the 2hp is fine for me. Yes it’s not as convenient with no reverse , and it is much much less powerful. For a sailor that drops sail in higher winds and motors it’s definitely not a good choice. All about your sailing style, conditions you sail in , and desire/need to buck current/wind under power. Appreciate your input. All valid. :-)
@@sailhavasu So true. The Tohatsu 6hp sail pro is a great motor. I had one on a Chrysler 20, which is a somewhat rare boat and very under rated. Cheers.
Nice, I've had one of those motors for around 20 years, its never failed, pushes my 18 ft 4200 lb gaff cutter along quite happily, same with the RIB that belongs to the big motorboat I had, its a really great little engine.
Glad to see you in boat vids again!
I've got the same motor on an Oday 19 and I can count on 5 knots. I had the newer 2.2 Honda on a Ranger 24 and that also did the job.
Noisy, at least on camera, but it does the job! Boat is looking great. Nice to see there are places like there where you can get out on the water this time of year. We're in a deep freeze up here with tons of snow.
Noisy for sure. For local where it’s mainly in and out of the marina it’s great. I don’t think I want to deal with it for a 15 mile motor! Next up: switch it out for the 5 Hp and do some “lake trials” with it.
Great little outboard, used one my Sovereign 18 for a summer. Had it out in 2 to 3 ft waves and a head wind of 15ish mph and at about 75 percent throttle it moved the boat along at 2 to 3 mph. Not too bad
I have the 2.3 and use it on my Hunter 23 and works great.
I would go with a 15 h.p Mercury 2-stroke, long shaft. You would get 10 -15 knots out of it. It is water cooled too. They are about 100 pounds, not too heavy and you can run an external tank.
Appreciate the comment. We’ve obviously got different missions and I’m sorry but you’re not gonna get 15 knots out of a Montgomery 17. A 100lb outboard is too heavy to manage and would list the boat unreasonably. You cannot trailer with that kind of weight hanging in the transom and it woudk be a gut buster putting it on and taking it off. Besides the 2hp Honda I also have a 6hp Tohatsu which will push the boat to hull speed at about half throttle. But it’s very heavy for the 17 at 60lbs. I had an M-23 for many years and even it only had a 9.9 on it.
Other that trying to push upriver against a steady 3-5 knot current or trying to steer in a storm, I don't see a problem.
My own Honda 2hp pushed my Hartley TS16 (360kg's) against 20 knts and rising seas . We made way. Albeit at close to full throttle. However. We made it.
Sean I have a 5HP but am concerned about bouncing around in Lake Erie lots of weight hanging back there stressing transom so am either reinforcing motor mount or going with 2.3 HP.
Also I like your small bottle refill. What was the bottle?
M17 SV/“Reef or Madness”
Don't worry about the transom on the water. The hardest work your boat will ever do is while being trailered, and you can sealy remove the motor and stow it in your vehicel or build a road mount on thetrailer tongue area. A 5hp is a good minimum for the Monty 17. See my assessment above. If the weight is something you can't get by, it's easy to reinforce the transom with stainless or aluminum backing inside. Super simple job. You will regret going under a 5.
A good funnel will help with spills
How fast do these boats go under sail?
Except for the noise..
Sean, I had two Monty 17's for years, that said, here are my pros and cons to using a 2hp anything for that boat - based upon owning the same motor for a long time.
I find it a common thread that folks want to go as light as possible with their outboards for small boats. I get that. But...
Cons:
1) There are no 2 hp OB's that I know of that have a reverse lever. Maybe I'm wrong? But the Honda does not. This can be a problem when docking or manuvering in a tight spot, or when the wind or tide is against your favor - or, if some moron does something stupid close aboard. The Honda must be physicaly turned at the powerhead by hand, requiring a complete lack of control at the helm if just for a moment or two.
2) They do not have enough torque. A Monty 17 is too heavy for the Honda 2. It's fine once your free and clear, but if you ever need to battle a contrary tide, the time of day, river current - like here - or MOST IMPORTANT: need to slam on the brakes, it will fail. You have to be able to stop the barge.
3) The Honda and some other top brands of 4 strokes, do not idle well, since they have a centrifugal clutch - like a minibike. Stalling at very low speeds is very possible even with a perfectly tuned Honda. It happens. Often, when you least want it to - sometimes while you are struggling to turn the head to reverse.
4) They are among the loudest small engines in the 4 stroke category, and are comparable to 2-strokes, except without the smoke. It's like having a generator or lawn mower hooked to the transom because to make decent speed, you have to run the tiny 2 hp at high RPMs. I had a 3 hp Tohastu 2 stroke that was much quieter - but finnicky.
Pros: 1) they are great motors otherwise, but i would use it on a tender.
When I had my Monty's, the first one came with a 92 Evinrude 8hp with a sailboat shaft. It was a 74 with the transom cut-out so the tiller was right inside the cockpit. Well worn, but ultra reliable, that motor beat any strong current going up river to the launch, and stopped the boat like a wall - a feature that saved me more than one collision because of weekend warriors. It also had enough torque to pull me free of a mud bank one time.
8hp got me full hull speed, was very quiet at 80% throttle, never cleared the water in a chop and never had the head pooped because it was mounted where it should be, instead of out board on a bracket down low. And, it sipped fuel. Is 73lbs heavy for a 2-cylinder? Maybe, but it never came off the boat after I used it, except to try the Honda a few times out.
Finally, I don't recommend ANY outboard for the Monty or any other boat in that size/weight range less than 5hp. At 5hp, they all have reverse gear.
That's my experience in Puget Sound, the Islands, Rosario Straits, Juan De Fuca, and Canadian waters.
Fair enough. And I don’t recommend it for waters with currents like the San Juan’s. For that I have a Tohatsu 6hp which is more than enough albeit heavy. For sailing locally the 2hp is fine for me. Yes it’s not as convenient with no reverse , and it is much much less powerful. For a sailor that drops sail in higher winds and motors it’s definitely not a good choice. All about your sailing style, conditions you sail in , and desire/need to buck current/wind under power. Appreciate your input. All valid. :-)
@@sailhavasu So true. The Tohatsu 6hp sail pro is a great motor. I had one on a Chrysler 20, which is a somewhat rare boat and very under rated. Cheers.