Smallest Motor Effective for Bahama Crossings

[Larkin]

we currently have a 15hp (fifteen) outboard motor on our 27 ft. catamaran.....often times it is a "nail biting" adventure......i.e. bucking the gulf stream.....timing excursions in order to arrive before dark.....what would be the minimum hp suggested to comfortably sail the bahama waters.

[boatman61]

Whats the cat...?

[Cheechako]

I would think a 15hp would do it. But it sounds like the one you have is marginal. They make "high thrust" 8-15 hp engines now that are real slick, big props. Maybe a lot different than an old 2 stroke small prop 15..... Where is you engine mounted, on one hull or midships?

[barnakiel]

IMHO you are having a prop issue, not a motor one.

b.

[Kettlewell]

I sailed all up and down the East Coast, over to the Bahamas, out to Bermuda, and down to the Caribbean with a 9.9 HP Yamaha on the back of a heavy 32-foot cat for many years. Not ideal, but we always got there. Personally, I look at any outboard as primarily for use when the wind isn't blowing. They are just not efficient when the wind and seas are up and the boat is pitching through the waves.