My Devlin Snowgoose is 90% complete and I need to purchase an outboard, so I'm looking for any suggestions. 40hp vs 30hp considering weight difference of 50-70lbs. Carb or EFI? Power trim/tilt (consideration due to weight). I'll be hunting the lower Columbia River. Thx in advance, --Al
Outboard Suggestions for Devlin Snowgoose
- Thread starter Al Fonzo
- Start date
Dave M
Well-known member
Al,
My partner Andrew Built the Snowgoose , he has a 40 horse Honda hanging off the back the boat moves pretty good with it , I have the 30 Honda on my Cackler and we are about neck and neck as far as speed , Andrew will tell you his is faster but it is only because of my fat butt ,anyways they are both 4 strokes we are both happy with our decisions to go with the 4 Stroke Hondas never any issues starting in the cold here in New England . I have been a fan of Evinrudes for years but at the time the weight of an E-Tec Evinrude was alittle more than i wanted on the boat , they may have cut the weight down some , My 30 is about 150 lbs heavy but not to bad . Good luck with your decision!!!!
Dave M
My partner Andrew Built the Snowgoose , he has a 40 horse Honda hanging off the back the boat moves pretty good with it , I have the 30 Honda on my Cackler and we are about neck and neck as far as speed , Andrew will tell you his is faster but it is only because of my fat butt ,anyways they are both 4 strokes we are both happy with our decisions to go with the 4 Stroke Hondas never any issues starting in the cold here in New England . I have been a fan of Evinrudes for years but at the time the weight of an E-Tec Evinrude was alittle more than i wanted on the boat , they may have cut the weight down some , My 30 is about 150 lbs heavy but not to bad . Good luck with your decision!!!!
Dave M
Sean C.
Active member
Al, I built a Scaup a couple of years ago and have been running a Yamaha 30hp 2 stroke on it. Our two boats are very comparable as far as weight and what sort of power is required. If your wanting to go 4 stroke I would absolutely run a 40hp. A 4 stroke has significantly less "snap" on accelleration which (in my opinion) is where the difference of 10hp will make quite a difference. E-tec 40 is obesely overweight at around 240lbs, Yamaha and Honda 4 stroke 40hp (especially with manual start) are fairly lightweight motors, both around 185lbs. E-tec is coming out with a 30hp this year that will weigh around 148lbs (manual start). My 30hp is just barely enough. I had to have the prop re-pitched to make it flatter to get the boat, fully loaded, up on plane. The downside is that with a light load my motor hits its peak RPM at a much lower speed than boat is capable of. I have been borrowing the motor from my dad since he has been hunting with me, and even with all this said when I buy a new motor this year I will probably go with the new 30hp E-tec because of the weight and low end accelleration of a 2 stroke. Hands down I am a fan of the 4 stroke, but I am trying to keep this boat as light weight and with as much power at the same time.
If you are running only in deep water, then power trim/tilt is extremely nice to have. However, I run primarily on in estuary's and there is no way in the world I would have power tilt. I continuously hit underwater logs/sandbars/debris/etc. and with a manual tilt I can leave the motor in the un-lock position so it will just kick up when I do hit something. It is true that power tilt motors do have a relief that is supposed to let the oil free flow and allow the motor to "kick up" if you hit something hard enough......however they almost never do before there is damage done to the transom.
If you are running only in deep water, then power trim/tilt is extremely nice to have. However, I run primarily on in estuary's and there is no way in the world I would have power tilt. I continuously hit underwater logs/sandbars/debris/etc. and with a manual tilt I can leave the motor in the un-lock position so it will just kick up when I do hit something. It is true that power tilt motors do have a relief that is supposed to let the oil free flow and allow the motor to "kick up" if you hit something hard enough......however they almost never do before there is damage done to the transom.
Al,
I did extensive research on this subject 5 years ago and I think the issues are about the same today as they were then.
As Dave M stated, I ended up with the Honda 40. I've been very happy with it.
It was a tossup between the honda and the yamaha, and since the Honda was about $1,000 cheaper at the time, I settled on the Honda.
Power: do NOT go with a 30 hp. You need power to control your boat with a load, the 40 has plenty of power, and the 30 will be Underpowered.
Weight: The snowgoose sits high on the water. My honda weighs 215 lbs and the boat's transom is barely underwater when everyone is out of the boat... the boat can handle the weight of the 40 no problem.
I personally like the electric trim and tilt, it's a joy to use when under way and with my back, it's a lifesaver. Haven't hit a stump yet so I don't know if the motor kicks up or not, but it's inevitable.
Good luck and post pics, you built a great boat, you'll love how the SnowGoose handles.
A.
I did extensive research on this subject 5 years ago and I think the issues are about the same today as they were then.
As Dave M stated, I ended up with the Honda 40. I've been very happy with it.
It was a tossup between the honda and the yamaha, and since the Honda was about $1,000 cheaper at the time, I settled on the Honda.
Power: do NOT go with a 30 hp. You need power to control your boat with a load, the 40 has plenty of power, and the 30 will be Underpowered.
Weight: The snowgoose sits high on the water. My honda weighs 215 lbs and the boat's transom is barely underwater when everyone is out of the boat... the boat can handle the weight of the 40 no problem.
I personally like the electric trim and tilt, it's a joy to use when under way and with my back, it's a lifesaver. Haven't hit a stump yet so I don't know if the motor kicks up or not, but it's inevitable.
Good luck and post pics, you built a great boat, you'll love how the SnowGoose handles.
A.
John Robinson
Well-known member
My buddy put a two stroke 40 hp Mariner on his Snow Goose when we built it about five years ago and it seems perfect for this boat. BTW the electric trim and tilt feature is wonderfull in the water we run in which varies from deep, clean lake and rivers to very shallow back water sloughs. We tilt the motor up in the shallow 8"-18" sloughs and go slow. With all the discussion on porpoising I sometimes wonder if our electric trim is the reason why we don't porpoise without wedges.
Sean C.
Active member
40hp for most people, and almost everyone on this site will agree, is the right hp for the Snow Goose/Scaup boats. It is true that with the power trim/tilt you can tuck the motor in farther (negative trim) and that probably is what is allowing your boat to run without porpoising. But then again, I didnt put wedges on my Scaup and it does not porpoise, unless i'm in the boat by myself with no gear except 6 gal gas tank, battery, and my 280lb frame in the back of the boat. Once I ad another person in the boat, or some gear, it does not porpoise. Truth is the 40hp is the right motor. I am often caught dragging my boat across shallows and over mud/sand so the extra weight of the 40hp is not the right motor for me. The 30hp (2 stroke, not 4 stroke) performs admirably on my boat, even with 3 guys, dog, decoys, gear. There is plenty of power for me to control and manipulate the boat in any sea condition. I hunt everything from the Skagit flats delta to the completely open water of Padilla Bay in the San Juan Islands. So to each their own, and if you want to be safe in your engine pick and make sure you never lack hosepower, spend the extra $2,000 and buy the 40hp. When I run in shallows, which is almost all the time, I dont slow down for the most part. I keep the boat on plane and skim right over the 18" deep water. Occasionally I do hit bottom, which is no problem because I keep the motor unlocked so it will be allowed to kick up. Personally, I would not have the power tilt unless I did the majority of my hunting in deep water, which in that case I would have power tilt. Good Luck
Thanks for all the great advice. I think I'll be going with the Honda 40hp w/o PTT (I'll probably have the Gas Strut assists on it to make it easier to lift. The ETEC 30hp looked pretty good, but I'm always a little leery of a first year product. Thanks again and good luck this season. --Al
Buy and Etec. Look at the evenrude home page. Everything that they show in the demonstrations I have found to be true with my etec. I had a Honda and thought it was the best thing ever until I used an Etec. It is the best motor I have ever seen and it has less maintenance than a 4 stroke. John Bourbon put a 40 Etec power tilt and trim on his Snow Goose and I can tell you from personal experience that it is scary fast. Either way, Snow goose is a real nice boat. I think you will be happy with it.
Al,
whether you go with a Honda or an Etec, strongly strongly suggest you get the Power trim and tilt... On our boats (I have a Snow Goose too) we have those fat floatation compartments to deal with. In other words, leaning over the engine to pull it up will be a pain - literally - especially if you are an overweight middle-aged SOB like me ; )
Bourbon does not have the floatation compartments if I recall. He was the Snow Goose pioneer on this forum and helped me a ton with my boat build decision - 5 years ago.
I spent $6,000 for my Honda, it's a 2004 model and it had PTT and a tiller ($350 option).
BTW, I have a perfectly good tiller for sale --- cheap --- especially for a fellow Snow Goose owner ; ). THey haven't changed the Honda 40 one bit. Despite what the nice man said about repairs, I haven't had any problems with the Honda. It's not the fasted "hole shot" beast out there, but, the sucker starts every single time when I'm 4 miles away from the mainland on a 13 degree day.
Good luck,
Andrew
whether you go with a Honda or an Etec, strongly strongly suggest you get the Power trim and tilt... On our boats (I have a Snow Goose too) we have those fat floatation compartments to deal with. In other words, leaning over the engine to pull it up will be a pain - literally - especially if you are an overweight middle-aged SOB like me ; )
Bourbon does not have the floatation compartments if I recall. He was the Snow Goose pioneer on this forum and helped me a ton with my boat build decision - 5 years ago.
I spent $6,000 for my Honda, it's a 2004 model and it had PTT and a tiller ($350 option).
BTW, I have a perfectly good tiller for sale --- cheap --- especially for a fellow Snow Goose owner ; ). THey haven't changed the Honda 40 one bit. Despite what the nice man said about repairs, I haven't had any problems with the Honda. It's not the fasted "hole shot" beast out there, but, the sucker starts every single time when I'm 4 miles away from the mainland on a 13 degree day.
Good luck,
Andrew
John Bourbon
Well-known member
Cheech is right on about the ETEC 40 being scary fast. While I've only owned the ETEC for a couple of months now and haven't tried any speed runs with it since I put the blind on and deeks in, I still expect 30 to 35 mph out of it at no more than 2/3 throttle. I'm burning less than a gallon an hour tearing around in summer trim, and don't expect to burn much more than that in winter trim. Are they somewhat heavy? Yeah, but after moving the tank forward, and using the benefits of that long factory tiller, I really don't feel that its adversly effected the boat weight wise.
There is another issue to consider when hanging a heavy motor off the stern of a snow goose, that of transom thickness. When Cheech and I built my boat, I planned all along to use the 28hp Evindrude Special 2 stroke that I'd had for years. At some point in the build process, I'd heard Sam Devlin was going to be at the Maine Boat show in Portland, so I drove over to see him and to pester him with questions about particulars of building the boat.
One of my questions had to do with transom thickness, 120lb 2 stoke vs 240 lb 4 stoke (at the time was determined to eventually buy a Honda 40 4 Stoke). Sam suggested that if I was going to use one of the heavy 4 stroke motors, I add another layer of 3/4" plywood across the width of the transom. The biggest single piece of Okome I had left was a piece of 1/2" about three quarter of the width of the transom. So I used it. I centered the piece of 1/2", and beveled the edges of it and epoxied it in place. Where the motor is, the transom is a full 2" thick.
I'm not saying that transom as designed is incapable of handling a heavy 40hp 4 stoke, but that extra bit of thickness is a nice mental confidence builder.
John Bourbon
There is another issue to consider when hanging a heavy motor off the stern of a snow goose, that of transom thickness. When Cheech and I built my boat, I planned all along to use the 28hp Evindrude Special 2 stroke that I'd had for years. At some point in the build process, I'd heard Sam Devlin was going to be at the Maine Boat show in Portland, so I drove over to see him and to pester him with questions about particulars of building the boat.
One of my questions had to do with transom thickness, 120lb 2 stoke vs 240 lb 4 stoke (at the time was determined to eventually buy a Honda 40 4 Stoke). Sam suggested that if I was going to use one of the heavy 4 stroke motors, I add another layer of 3/4" plywood across the width of the transom. The biggest single piece of Okome I had left was a piece of 1/2" about three quarter of the width of the transom. So I used it. I centered the piece of 1/2", and beveled the edges of it and epoxied it in place. Where the motor is, the transom is a full 2" thick.
I'm not saying that transom as designed is incapable of handling a heavy 40hp 4 stoke, but that extra bit of thickness is a nice mental confidence builder.
John Bourbon
Charlie S and Titan
Well-known member
How about a 50 horse tohatsu tiller with power tilt and trim for $2k? Hint: classifieds.
Lighter than any 4 stroke out there...
Save the extra for a new shotgun and some hevishot.
Lighter than any 4 stroke out there...
Save the extra for a new shotgun and some hevishot.
Al, I don't remember if they offered the gas assist... I did a lot of research in those days and if I recall, the PTT option was another $500-600 or so...
Again, the issue with my boat was being able to lean over the floatation compartment and bring the motor up... at least 12 times a hunt. At low tide, our harbors are shallow (up position), get out in the bay (down position), coming to the hunting area (up position), go up the stream (extreme up position), and so on...
Tod Osier has a gas assist Yamaha on his boat and I think it works well for him... and he has a Snow Goose. My back is so-so and I didn't want to take the risk of doing something stupid to my back during a hunt, etc.
A>
Again, the issue with my boat was being able to lean over the floatation compartment and bring the motor up... at least 12 times a hunt. At low tide, our harbors are shallow (up position), get out in the bay (down position), coming to the hunting area (up position), go up the stream (extreme up position), and so on...
Tod Osier has a gas assist Yamaha on his boat and I think it works well for him... and he has a Snow Goose. My back is so-so and I didn't want to take the risk of doing something stupid to my back during a hunt, etc.
A>