90HP on 19 SR HT

[JamesB]

I friend of mine has a 19 SR HT and wants to repower.  He may be able to get a good deal on a 2 year old Mercury 90HP with Command Thrust.  The CT is a great benefit as it allows you to get more low end power and high torque and allows a smaller engine to be able to perform well against the larger engines. THe downside is obviously a hit on top speed.  For those who aren't familiar with the CT option on Mercury engines, it has a larger lower unit(larger gear case) and higher gear ratio.  It allows the 90HP(or 115HP as this also comes with a CT option) the ability to use a larger prop(same size Prop that is used on the Merc 150HP Outboard).     I realize owners of the 19 SR HT have stated the perfect engine size is the 115.  For those of you who own the 19 SR HT, do you think the Merc 90 CT will do just as well as the 115?

[ATGEP]

It depends on your use. If you are going stay light, the 90 could work out but expect to run 5k rpm to plane in the low 20's with top speed in the upper 20's. If you are going to run heavy, on the coast with big waves, or higher altitude, you be out of power wishing you had a bigger engine.

[Threeweight]

I know nothing about them, but your post made me curios to go look at the specs.  Maybe the gear case is built heavier, but the gear ratio doesn't seem like anything special to me.  Merc lists it as 2.38:1 on their 90 with Command Thrust.  For reference, a Honda 90 is 2.30:1 and a Suzuki 90 is 2.59:1.

It is a 2.1 liter block, which should give it a torque advantage over the smaller 1.6 Honda and 1.5 Suzuki.  The flip side is both of them feature variable cam profiles and 4 valves per cylinder, which should give them a flatter power curve and better fuel economy.  I'd be curious what size props they equip them with... the Suzi's run 13 3/4 and 14" inch diameters.

I've known a few folks who had Honda 90's on 19' soft tops, and found them adequate.  Hard top is heavier... IMO he'd be better off waiting and looking for a deal on a 115 (or a Suzi 140).

[rasslingref]

Wait for a deal on a 115 unless you would be happy cruising under 30 and needing more time to get to plane.

[La-Z-Buoy]

If he goes with the 90 for sure add trim tabs. Will definitely help getting on plane. Might be a hindrance in heavy seas though. Would need the adjustable ones not the Smart Tabs.

[daheechang]

I had a 90hp on a soft top 19SR. It ran well if i was fishing alone, and with no crab pots, or heavy gear, but anyone else on the boat with me and i'm making sure we're both at the bow. If we had 3+ guys, i'd occasionally have to have my fat friend go in to the cubby to get onto plane. If you're going to reinvest in a new outboard, going with more power and the right setup will not disappoint. Underpowered setups will inevitably disappoint.

Upgraded my power to a 140 suzuki few weeks ago and absolutely love it.

[JamesB]

so you were using your friend as a weight ballast... very creative.    Sounds like the consensus is pretty clear to go to the 115.  I am glad you like your Suzuki 140.  However, I've looked into the differences between the Suzuki 115 and 140 in the past and didn't find that the extra HP was that beneficial.  Both engines are based on the same block size and so you aren't getting any more torque from the 140.  What the 140 would give you is higher top end speed but we all know that Arimas were never built for speed and that a comfortable cruising speed is mid to upper 20s.   Curious to see whether you have had a 115 on your 19 Sea Ranger in the past and whether there was a huge difference with the Suzi140.  If you went from a 90 to a 140 yes I would image there would be a huge difference.

[beancounter]

Well I had a 19 Arima with the previous generation 90 four stroke which was only 1.7 litre displacement. That was a hot 90 much faster than a carbed 90 Honda. Gotta think the new generation is even better with 2.1 litre displacement. I currently have a 19 Chaser skip tower with a 2006 carbed Honda 90. Running a 15" pitch prop it is great out of the hole with 900 lbs of fishermen plus coolers,ice and tackle. That is with a full tank and 60 lb kicker and 2 batteries. Top speed is only about 27-28 mph. I generally cruise at 4300-4500 rpm at 18-20 mph. I think the new Merc should do better on all counts and would expect avgs of 4-5 mph faster than my setup. Just my  :twocents:

[Arimaway]

I have a Merc. 90CT on my SR 17.  Great motor on that boat. 
But on a 19ft. I think it will be a little light. 

[amazing grace]

There is some great first hand knowledge in this thread. If it was not a ht and it was a great deal and money was very tight. It "might" be worth a try. Like beancounter.  But not in this senario.
Sounds like a great motor for a 17' Arima.
Needing more power and being out of it, is a terrible feeling. Don't let him go down that road.

[Markshoreline]

I had a bit of experience with a 19 Ranger/ old Honda carb 90.  Ran great, but the boat had no weight in it- if she had a full payload it would be a different story.  With the light weight of the new Suzuki 115 and 140 I think those are the way to go.

[Mooch]

Friends don't let friends drive underpowered.   (Especially if they're boat ho'ing rides. )

[Omega3]

Sounds like the answer is no.Ask the guys who have went up in HP if they wish they had less HP.The answer will be no.Part of owning a boat is the fun factor.Constantly saying,"thats all shes got" is no fun in my opinion.For all the guys that say an Arima is a slow boat thats because they have made it that way.They think that because their boats are slow that is the boats fault.90 hp to 140 hp should be a huge jump in performance,thats 1/3 more hp.For me the jury is still out on the 140Suzi until we hear the final numbers on it.

[Fisherdv]

Last night I read an article on a another forum where this guy claimed his Arima would do 40, and up to 50 mph! I think it was a 19 but don't remember. If I can find the article again I'll take note of the boat length and motor he said he had. I can see 40, but 50 mph? In an Arima???

[Omega3]

46 mph with a tired old 2 stroke when the conditions are right.40 whenever I want if its not to lumpy.Pretty sure the 150 Etec would get me to 50.

[gfakkema]

I can see 40, but 50 mph? In an Arima???

My boat does 45mph pretty easily and with flat water can get up over 50mph. Shawn (WEDOCQ) gets 45mph with his boat too.

[Chief of the Boat]

[mustang65fbk]

The only experience I have in this area is that my parents had an older 1989, I believe, 17' SC with a 90hp 2 stroke Yamaha on it.  The thing was pretty quick and didn't take long to get up on a plane, when it ran well and was properly maintained.  The boat didn't have a speedometer on it but would say it probably did at least 26mph, maybe even more.  I don't think I'd want anything less on that boat and don't think I'd want a 90hp engine on something that weighs 500lbs more than than did, and that's when it's empty.  If you plan on fishing with multiple big-boned friends, gear, coolers, ice and so on, I'd definitely look for a 115hp engine. 

[mustang65fbk]

My uncle and I test drove a brand new, at the time, 2015 21' SR HT with a 150hp Yamaha engine on it.  It was pretty rough that day but we test drove it out of Everett and just past the buoy, where it was still rather flat, we got it up to 45-47mph quite easily.

[polarbill1999]

I have no personal experience with a 19 at all but based on people that have provided personal experience here is my take away:
-the 90 command thrust should be fine if: you plan on running light, don't care about running fast (sounds like should be able to get 30 out of it which is probably faster than you can run in an arima 90% of the time)  and avoid big water/ocean usage.  This is making an educated guess that the 90 CT has at least as good of low end power as the 90 Honda carb.  Seems like it should with low gearing and good displacement. 
-the CT 90 likely won't be fine if: you run the boat loaded/with more than 2 people very often, plan on crossing bars or just want a boat that has great low end and good top end.

That said I personally would want a 115 or what I think is the absolute perfect motor for that boat in the 140 zuke.

[JamesB]

Great info and feedback everyone.  Thank you.  I agree with the sentiment around the 115.  Be more patient and wait for a 115 rather than jump on the "available right now" Merc 90CT.   I was in a 21FT aluminum RH Boat(Formerly RiverHawk) with an extended transom.  It had a semi-hardtop(hard top but sides and rear were plastic).  We had 3 adults in the boat.  It was powered by a Merc115 CT.  While we were leaving the dock, the sales guy who was driving it put it into neutral and ran to the back to get the bumpers back into the boat.   While he was doing this the boat started to drift sideways towards the end of a Pier that we were travelling parallel to.  I grabbed the wheel and put it into gear and VERY lightly pushed the throttle forward to give me power to turn away from the pier.  The guy at the back flew backwards if it wasn't for the high sides and rear transom height he may have fallen overboard.  I could NOT believe how much torque and how fast the power was engine in that 115 CT.  It was a definite shock to feel how fast and powerful the throttle response was on the CT engine. 

Here's a youtube video showing a Stabicraft 24ft Aluminum boat with full enclose running the Merc 115CT.  The dry weight of the boat is about 2800 lbs.  This is about the same weight as the Arima SL22.  Take a look at the performance with it running a single Merc 115CT.  Very impressive.  Like I said, I have felt the power and thrust of this engine first hand but it was in a 21FT aluminum boat rather than this 24 ft Stabicraft.   I am surprised this engine is not being used more often on Arimas as I see the majority being Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki... which all 3 are obviously very good engines indeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrU3C4AJaSM

[Chief of the Boat]

Here is 19 with a Mercury 150
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqKQPY83VCY

[mustang65fbk]

From what I've seen on the Arima Owners Forum and it's members suggestions, classified ads, boats in person while fishing and the Arima Boats website the general consensus seems to be this or close to it for Arima boats and what size of engine to use:

15' Sea Hunter/Sea Sprinter 45-60hp Engine
16' Sea Chaser/Sea Explorer 60-75hp Engine
17' Sea Chaser/Sea Pacer/Sea Ranger 75-90hp Engine
19' Sea Chaser/Sea Ranger 90-115hp Engine                     Hardtop's/Skip Top's usually have a 115hp Engine
21' Sea Ranger/Sea Explorer 115-150hp Engine                 Hardtop's/Skip Top's usually have a 130-150hp Engine
22' Sea Legend 200-250hp Engine                                    Hardtop's usually have a 225-250hp Engine

Obviously you can change the engine over to what you want and if ordering new you can go up to the maximum hp possible for the boat.  These are just what I tend to see the most of but then again I'm no expert and just observation or my  :twocents:

[mustang65fbk]

Here is 19 with a Mercury 150
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqKQPY83VCY

Cool video, wish it was in English though lol.  I like most of the things about that boat but wish it was a 21' with no Alaskan bulkhead and finally... I don't know why Arima doesn't make the roof a bit taller.  My uncle, buddy, brother, father and I all fish/crab from my boat and are all over 6'2" tall.  My uncle and I took a 2015 21' SR HT with a 150hp Yamaha for a test drive a couple years ago and both of us had to slouch over underneath the cockpit area because it wasn't tall enough for us.  That would drive me crazy.  I guess it's the trade off for having the Skip Top that I've got.  It doesn't have heat and you can get a little wet if you're in rough conditions without the see through curtains but you've got about 7' of standing room under the Skip Top.  If I could stand underneath the regular Hard Top version, I'd likely sell my boat for one but at this point I'd hate to be slouching over all the time and I'd be worried I'd hit my head on the roof everything I have a fish on.  It'd be great if they made it 8" or so taller or at least gave you the option to do so. 

[mariner]

Yes that is a cool video.  I like the rocket launch rod holders with the curved base to mount flush with the curvature of the HT.  Anyone know the manufacturer for that rocket rod holder or another company that offers a similar option?  I am used to seeing them with 2 bases that attach the hard top.