Questions regarding adding an outboard....

I have heard about the "Cheata" brand brackets that are made to add a small outboard but, I have yet to find a picture of one. Does anyone have a pic of these or any other types?

Also, I couldn't find much searcing the forums about adding a small outboard (not electric) to a 16' Hobie. Are there any resources or info spots about this? I'm wondering what max HP would be safe on there?

I am wondering about this mainly for launching off of the beach, and trolling shallow water fishing off of my cat.

Cheata Brackets

Page 42 of the Hobie Parts Catalog.

http://static.hobiecat.com/2010_archive/support/pdfs/42_43.pdf

Max HP? Weight is a big factor and it takes very little to push a cat along at a good clip. I would stick with 2 HP and under. We used a 2HP on the Sport Cruiser. It would reach max rpm without problem. You don't need more HP.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Has anyone used like a 10HP or 15HP motor? Any idea what speed you can get with a 2HP, 5HP etc??

You would need a better mount than the cheata. They are designed for light and low HP.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I will most likely build my own custom motor mount. Now all I need is some advice on motor size vs. speeds.

Anyone???

I have a couple of motors, and having just gotten my H16, I have yet to try them out. I have a 2.5 Merc that weighs 29 lbs. with built in tank, and a 9.9 Gamefisher that weighs 65 lbs, and has a 10 gal detached gas tank.

I have learned a few lessons the hard way re boat motors. The 2.5 would have no problem moving the H16 at 5 kts. I had it on a 17 ft mono hull and have been to the marina where you can see lots of them used as kickers. How fast do you want to motor?

My first motor mount made out of oak, was broken by the little motor and boat trying to go opposite directions at the same time. The lesson was that there is alot of force involved in moving even a 16 ft boat. So any mount that you make, needs to be very strong so that you don't tear up your boat, motor, or yourself ! Even with a small motor.

Secondly the motor weight becomes detrimental as the motor gets larger. The size that you are talking about, could weigh quite a bit. I would do some checking with adding weights to the back of the tramp, or even further back. Temporarily put a 2x8 across the hulls, where you would likely hang the motor, and add the weight. Add your weight as if you were at the helm, and then check your balance.

After this is all set up, remember that the torque of the motor is going to try to fishtale the boat and go over backwards. If your balance is very far off, you could have the boat flip over backwards with you eating the propeller. Not good! And righting the boat with the motor attached is a gamble!

Go slow and careful with the experimenting. If it works, let me know how the bigger motor works, and I may try my 9.9 ! Thanks in advance.

I've used the cheat mount on two Hobie 16s. The mount isn't bad for the money but because of the way that it is built I would only put an engine less then 50lbs on it. I used a tanaka 3 HP. The key to the power on a Hobie is that a 3hp engine will make it go just as fast as a 5hp depending on the weight. Another key is don't use an engine in heavy surf, it will be a waste of your time. None of these small outboards have enough bite to propel a Hobie in heavy surf. On flat water the brackets are great. My Hobie can run at full speed with little wake and its great for fishing the flats of florida because the draft is less then a foot with engine down.

Hey Slim, or anyone else. Do you have some pics of the way yours is set up??? [email protected]

I'm sure someone know's about what the likely (mph/kts) speeds obtainable under sail would be? so I'm wondering, what size outboard would get that same speed?

I'm trying to decide if a 5hp would be a better fit than a 10hp or 15hp? I'm still not sure... Plus I'm still not sure about whether or not it's a viable option to mount the motor in front of the tramp with a pulling type setup or, maybe even in front of the rear crossbar and in between the tramp??

If you mount the engine just below the front crossbar you'll have much better weight distribution and you could use the rudders for steering while keeping the motor pointing straight.

I've seen on my GPS a maximum speed of 22.3mph. That is very unusual; however 15-18 isn't uncommon in a stiff breeze. I don't know how much HP would be required to generate those speeds; but I'm kind of curious why you want to use a motor to move a sailboat that fast. Hehehe

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Warm regards,

Jim

If anyone knows what the hull speed of the 16 is then you will know how fast you can go no matter what size motor you put on it.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

Nah; catamarans are weird and the hull speed calculation doesn't really apply to them. The hull speed on an H16 would be like 5½ knots and we all know we can go faster than that WITHOUT a motor.