How To Choose An Outboard Engine For Your Boat

There's lots of different things that you'll need to pick out for your boat, whether it's the boat style itself, marine fuel bladders, and more. One of the most important things you need to pick out is the outboard engine. Here's how to find the engine that suits your boat, so you can get the most from your trips out onto the water. 

Find The Capacity Plate On Your Boat

The first thing to do when choosing an outboard engine is to actually get on your boat, and find the capacity plate. This is a plaque that's installed by the coast guard, and will tell you the total weight limit for your boat, as well as the safe horsepower amount your engine should have. 

That's important to know, as even if you're at max weight with your fuel bladder for boats filled up, people on board and so on, you want your engine to be able to handle it. 

Typically, you'll find the plaque at the stern of the boat. If you can't find it, it could be because the boat was built before August 1st 1973, when they became mandatory. 

While you can go for the max horsepower you're safely allowed, you may not always need it. Going over the  limit is inadvisable, as too much will tip your boat and sink it motor first. Using the max allowed will be useful if you have fuel bladders marine and other equipment on board. If you're going down shallower streams or into more peaceful waters, you just won't need a ton of horsepower to accomplish this. 

How do you work out how much horsepower you need? A lot will depend on the size of your boat. For a smaller boat, you'll want to pick an engine that's in the mid range of your recommended limit. If you're allowed 20 hp for example, then the mid range is 11.25 hp, as that's halfway between 2.5 hp and the max amount of 20 hp. Of course you're not likely to find an 11.25 hp engine, so you can round up or down as needed.

Take Weight Into Account

We've already mentioned weight, but the amount of weight you're carrying on your boat will be important when picking an outboard engine. Again, that's where that capacity plate comes in. It will show your maximum weight in a couple of different ways, so you'll know what marine fuel bladders and other equipment you can bring on board. 

It should list the max weight and max number of people on board, such as '4 PERSONS OR 500 LBS', but that's not all. There should be a more in-depth number for max weight, including persons, motors, and gear. In this case, the max number should be 650 lbs. That will tell you how much you can carry in your fuel bladder for boats, how many people you can have on board, and so on. 

This information is important, as that will help you calculate how much your outboard motor can weigh. Once you find the total weight your boat can take, subtract the weight of the people on board, the cargo, the weight of fuel in your marine fuel bladders, and so on. The remaining weight is how much your motor can weigh. 

Picking The Right Shaft Length

Next, you're going to calculate the right shaft length for your motor and your boat. It's important that you get this right, as the wrong size shaft can cause real issues on a boat once you open up the throttle. 

To work out what length you need, you'll want to measure your boat's heigh from the back end from the top to the bottom, in the middle of the stern. Once you have that measurement, your shaft should be two inches longer than this. 

You do need to stick to this measurement as much as possible. Being one inch off isn't too much of a problem, and you may have to go for a shaft that's an inch off in some cases. However, going any longer or shorter than that will affect the way the motor works, and will cause real issues. 

Choose The Features You Need

There are lots of different features you can have on your boat. Some of these are cosmetic, such as a different paint job, and others are more practical, such as fuel bladders marine. Have you considered the different features that you can get for your outboard motor? There are some that may well be a must for you and your boat. 

Electric start is great for any boat, as you won't have to spend ages getting the engine going when you get on board. That's especially important if you're drifting towards hazards, such as rocks. 

Power tilt will also save you a lot of hassle. This is great especially if you've got a more powerful engine, one to be able to move your cargo, fuel bladder for boats, and more with ease. Manual tilting will wear you out over time, but power tilting makes it much easier. 

Power thrust is another extra to consider. It should give you up to 60% more thrust in reverse, and 15% more going forward. That's something that can help when you're dealing with adverse weather on your boat. 

Like all boat features, you'll need to consider whether these features are for you. When picking marine fuel bladders for example, you'll need to think about where you'll store them and how much you can carry in them. With motor extras, you'll need to balance how much benefit they'll bring you, alongside how much they cost. 

There are so many things to consider when it comes to your boat. While things like size, cargo, and fuel bladders marine are important, you'll also want to consider exactly what kind of outboard motor you need. Use these tips to help you get just the right motor for your boat, so you'll get the best performance out of them every time you go sailing.