17' TDB motor question

P

P. Revicki

Active member
We have a 1998 17' TDB with a 50 h.p. short shaft Merc and are looking into getting a new motor. We are looking at a 40H.P. yamaha 4 stroke long shaft. Do you think a 40 is enough motor and is the long shaft going to be a problem. The transom of the boat is 20". We can't get a 50h.p with a tiller handle, and the old motor was more than enough power. Any info would be helpful. Thanks Pete
 
I had a 40 Yamaha 2 stroke on a 17' TDB and then put a Honda 50 on it. I would go with the 50hp. The 40 is enough but I always wanted the extra 10 and glad I had it a few times sea ducking. HHG
 
We have a 1998 17' TDB with a 50 h.p. short shaft Merc and are looking into getting a new motor. We are looking at a 40H.P. yamaha 4 stroke long shaft. Do you think a 40 is enough motor and is the long shaft going to be a problem. The transom of the boat is 20". We can't get a 50h.p with a tiller handle, and the old motor was more than enough power. Any info would be helpful. Thanks Pete
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Hey Pete,

I have a yamaha F40 on my snowgoose, which is a much lighter boat than the TDB, I would want something bigger.

T
 
look on the most recent classifieds here... a guy is selling at 17' TDB with a Honda 50 tiller.
 
Thanks for the info Andrew, Hank, and Tod. I think we are going to look for a 50 hp. Hank was that a long shaft or short. We have a short shaft on the boat now and it looks like it might be a problem finding a short shaft 50. I don't know about Honda (they are alot of $$$$). Thanks Pete
 
I paid $5,000 for my Honda 40, with electric trim and tilt 5 years ago... and tiller. The 50 is the same engine.

This is THE best time to buy a motor, both used and new. I'll bet you'll find one at a great price. I'm not trying to push Honda just because I have one and because it has worked flawlessly for 5 years... But it will take a tiller, I just am not sure about the other brands re tiller attachment.

I noticed that you live in Portland, I work in Old Saybrook. If you do buy a Honda 50 and you add a tiller on your own, I have the Honda shop manual, you are welcome to borrow it, and, or I can show you how to do it. It's literally plug and play from a wiring perspective (ingenious actually) and the mechanical attachment is really easy. They haven't changed the overall design for many years (I'm not sure about the internal engine components).

FYI... my Honda and my partner's Honda both start well in cold weather... Honda used to have a bad reputation for cold weather starting about 10 + years ago.

Good luck.

A>
 
I don't remember what the 17' tdb I thought it was a 20" motor. I would think that you could locate a 20". I would not want to deal with the extra 5" at 25" I think that would create some issues with you in low water situations. HHG
 
We hunt a TDB 17 with a 45 Honda, I wouldn't go any lower. Like Hank suggested, certainly would not go with a long shaft.

D.Heritage
 
the tdb 14 and 17 were designed for a long shaft according to the site,can a short shaft be substituded for a long shaft and have better results?
 
We have a 1998 17' TDB with a 50 h.p. short shaft Merc and are looking into getting a new motor. We are looking at a 40H.P. yamaha 4 stroke long shaft. Do you think a 40 is enough motor and is the long shaft going to be a problem. The transom of the boat is 20". We can't get a 50h.p with a tiller handle, and the old motor was more than enough power. Any info would be helpful. Thanks Pete
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You wern't on the West side fo the state today on the road at 2:15 were you? I passed a 17 TDB with a 50 Merc on it. I was towing my boat.
 
Tod, No, I was at work this A.M. and then to a D.U. lunch. Did you guys hunt geese? We have a short shaft 50 mec. on our 17' tdb and it runs great. If you look at the pictures of the 17'tdb thats for sale you can see that it is a 50 honda short shaft. The cavitation plate is higher than the bottom of the boat, but I think most 17' tdb's sold came with short shaft motors.The transom on our boat measures 20". I don't know about the new ones as you can't get any good answers from the co. that makes them now (at least about the older boats). Pete
 
Tod, No, I was at work this A.M. and then to a D.U. lunch. Did you guys hunt geese? We have a short shaft 50 mec. on our 17' tdb and it runs great. If you look at the pictures of the 17'tdb thats for sale you can see that it is a 50 honda short shaft. The cavitation plate is higher than the bottom of the boat, but I think most 17' tdb's sold came with short shaft motors.The transom on our boat measures 20". I don't know about the new ones as you can't get any good answers from the co. that makes them now (at least about the older boats). Pete
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No, not goose hunting, maybe scouting. Clamming was the order of the day.

That is weird about the transom height and cavitation plate. You know the 15 and 20 inch for short and long isn't necessarily consistant among makers - a Yamaha short shaft is 17.5". How much work would it be to trim the top of the transom to size? It shoudl eb easy if it is an old style transom, not a molded in type.
 
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