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Folks,
I did a little experiment with my old Mako 17 that used to have a 90 horse Johnson on it. I have had this boat that was made in the early 1970s for a number of years, but have been dissatisfied with the weight of the rig and the size of the motor. This 90 hp. motor is 23 years old, is too heavy and powerful, uses way too much fuel, and pollutes more than I would like. So I decided to replace it with my Honda 15 four stroke that is light, doesnt use much fuel, and pollutes very little. The question was whether the Honda 15 is powerful enough to move the Mako 17 satisfactorily? The answer is an unqualified yes! The Honda 15 pushes the Mako at around 15 mph, which is more than fast enough for me.
I believe this is possible because I reduced the Makos weight considerably. I removed the Johnson 90 which weighs 400 pounds, the center consol with 39 gallon fuel tank which weighs another 200 pounds, and the helm seat which weighs about 50 pounds. So I removed about 650 pounds and added the Honda which weighs about 100 pounds. So the net weight reduction was about 550 pounds which is considerable in a hull that weighs about 1,100 pounds according to the Makos owners manual.
The boat is now totally open and is quite spacious. It will be an excellent tender for my 52 Malahide trawler Tsmyne Too and will be an excellent fishing boat. I usually troll while fishing at three to five mph. I also use my tender to ferry guests and our dogs to shore. It is very important to us that our tender is stable, dry and comfortable. But speed is not important to us. We like to tool around at 10 to 15 mph and enjoy the view. I realize this is an atypical use for a usually high powered Mako 17, but it works for us. We like the Mako 17's stability and seaworthiness, not its speed potential.
There were three other advantages to this exercise. First, the boat is now much easier to trailer and haul with my VW Passatt diesel station wagon. I have a small tandem axle trailer that works very well with this boat. The VW was not too happy hauling the Mako before I lightened the rig up. The 550 pound weight reduction was very noticeable hauling the boat on the trailer. The VW now has no trouble pulling the Mako.
The second advantage to the weight reduction was that the Mako now sits higher up in the water so that the self draining cockpit works properly. Before the weight reduction, the self bailing cockpit was tenuous at best. Now it works fine. The improved self-bailing will be a much appreciated improvement while Mako is being towing behind Tsymne Too. The Mako 17 will tow much better than my 15' skiff which is not self-bailing. The skiff tended to get some spray in it when the waves were more than a couple feet. The added weight of the water induced more water to come aboard and I had to rig a small pump to keep ahead of it. BTW, we do not tow anything when the weather is not good.
The third advantage of the weight reduction was that the Makos transom and stringers are not as strong as they were thirty plus years ago. The stress of the heavy and powerful motor was not good for the old boat. There is much less stress with the new, lighter motor.
I have reduced my fuel consumption from more than 6 gallons per hour with the Johnson 90 to less than 1 gallon an hour with the Honda 15. I have sacrificed speed for improved functionality, fuel efficiency and less pollution. In addition, I can tow the Mako with my small diesel powered VW station wagon which gets between 35 and 40 miles per gallon. The weight reduction will not be noticeable when the Mako 17 is towed by Tsmyne Too since she is such a heavy boat- 80,000 pounds.
Anyway, I am not saying this is the perfect rig and suitable for everyone, but it sure will work well for me. If anyone wants to see some pictures of my new/old Mako 17 tender, please email me off list.
Have Fun!
Dave
Tsmyne Too
52' Malahide Trawler
Thames Yacht Club
New London, Connecticut
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