Devlin Black Brant 3 build - motor suggestions

J

Jason Dismukes

Member
Hi all,
I in the middle of my boat project and started looking at motors. The BB3 is rated for a 30hp. I've been planning on a short shaft etec 30hp but it does not some in the config I want. Mainly e-start and tilt/trim. The place in planning on buying the motor from suggested I consider the Tohatsu 30. It can come with those options with out a problem. Does anyone have experience with these motors and/or boat. Also about the 30, I've read other post that said the Devlin ratings on other boats were "ideal minimums". 30 is about all I can get in a short shaft and in a reasonable weight. I appreciate any advice. Thanks.
 
If I remember the calculations correctly, you should be able to put a 36 horse which rounds to a 40 horse on a BBIII
 
there is a sweet yammi 40horse 2 stroke tiller for sale in haddam. it is on a 16ft g3

check it out on the eastern ct craigslist.
 
I'm not familiar with either of those motors. I run an older Evinrude 35 hp on my BB3 and wouldn't hesitate to put a 40 on it.
 
I was considering a 40. But can't find a short shaft 40. There's about 15" from top of transom to the keel. If I go with a long shaft wouldn't I need to shim that up so the cav plate is about even with the bottom. I appreciate all if your input. The is very helpful.
 
I ran a short shaft Evinrude 25HP on the one I built a few years ago. The performance was very good with top speed in the low 30's with a load. I had to cut the inside corners off the motor well to get the full turning range on the motor when it was tilted up for shallow water. I would stay with a short shaft.
 
Hmmm. I've worried about having to do cut/grind the corners out. I'm hoping I want have to do that. The newer motors look a little smaller.
 
Had a 40 hp Tohatsu motor on an 18 foot Gruman roughneck v-bow. The motor was brand new on the boat around 1989. I finally sold the rig around 2003 (stepfather owned and i bought the boat off him after college in 1999) The only problem I had during its use was in about 2000 there was water damage to one cylinder which was rebuilt and back on the water in no time. That is when i learned the hard lesson on storing gas properly and Stabil and sea foam became my new friend. Never had any other problems with the motor. I also always ran aluminum props given the backwater duck hunts on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and many of lakes around the area I grew up in . They are great motors. Hunted around 20+ days a season and took the scissor blind off and fished 30+ days a year for crappie, bass, and catfish. Now that i can remember some of the situation I placed myself in with 4 or 5 guys running the Ohio in the middle of the morning laying on decoys to keep decoys from falling out of the boat, the motor still had more than enough power to push us on plane. Barebones when fishing with a friend or two and gear it would push us along at very scary speeds. One thing about the motor I can speak of is that the boat only saw fresh water. Not much salt water in Kentucky. As for the boat you are planning or are building I can not give you any advice but have heard nothing but but positive things via this site. I plan on building a broadbill this year with the 9.8 tohatsu. They are solid motors from my experience.

Regards,
Kristan
 
Definitely don't go with a long shaft motor, stay with a short shaft. If you try to put a long shaft on it the motor will stick up way to far above the transom, just won't look right. Also the cav plate should be slightly below the bottom of the hull to prevent cavitation. 40 hp short shaft electric start motors are around but are rare - I sold one just last year.
 
Thanks Pete, I agree. It looks like Tohatsu makes a 40hp with e-start, power tilt/trim, in a short shaft. I think this is the ideal configuration. So far it's the only short shaft 40 I can find.
 
My buddy has the exact same 40hp Tohatstu/Nissan on a 16x54 Go-devil boat. He loves it. Power tilt is great.
I had an 18hp Nissan 2 stroke for 11 years and never had a single problem with it. And I used it hard. 25+ days each duck season and just as many fishing. Didn't baby it.
 
Ok after looking into the Tohatsu 40hp, it looks like this motor has everything I'm looking for. Furthermore, it comes in both 2 and 4 stroke and short shaft for either option. Tiller/power tilt-trim/e-start. Amazing.
 
Jason

I run a 40 hp Merc on my Black Brant II after originally equipping it with a 30hp Johnson. The II has a CONSIDERABLY slower hull than the III. I have been in a III powered by a 25 hp Merc and it was plenty fast with two grown men, say upper 20's or maybe even in the 30s. The only reason I repowered mine with a 40 is I was making 7 miles runs one way and with a two cylinder 30 pushing it loaded with me, a friend, and my young son (he's 16 now) plus decoys etc. it felt like it was working to death.

If I were in your shoes I'd stick with a 2 stroke 25/30 hp motor. Buy used if you must to get a 2 stroke If you need a 40 on a Black Brant III then you probably need a bigger boat. You didn't mention your typical load but if it is you and another a 25/30 will be fine. If you like to hunt over a large spread, a dog, and a buddy you might want to consider the Scaup for that load.

I do like the power of the 40 on my boat but is considerably heavier making it sit low in the back making backwash a problem that I never had before. Also, a 40 does not turn near as sharp and therefore cuts down on maneuverability in tight quarters. You won't like that, I don't.
 
Thank Eric,
I just went and looked again at Tohatsu. The smallest 2 stroke is the 40hp at 207lbs. The 30hp 4 stroke starts at 157lbs. But that's going to go up either-start and power tilt-trim options added. The 40hp 4 stroke is 209lbs with e-start and power tilt-trim standard. So the three motors are going to weight fairly close with maybe 25lbs difference between the 30hp 4 stroke and the 2 40's.
 
Eric,
I went back and forth to the point of paralysis over whether to build a BB3 or Scaup. There will be times I'm hunting alone with my 85+ Chessie. There will be times it will be me and teenage daughter and dog, and other time me and another guy and dog. We dont usually have to hunt over large rigs. 2 doz typical, 4 doz would be the top end.
 
See if this link works. I'm trying to share the photo album from iCloud. Phil,I'll add some pics of my dog Cody also.


https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0KJtdOXmTXHww
 
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