This bulletin board, hosted by the CDSOA, Inc., is the on-line meeting place for all Cape Dory owners and groups. We welcome everyone's questions, answers and comments about Cape Dory sailboat
Paul Clayton wrote:Well, we''ve heard a lot of different opinions on remotoring a CD25, so let me throw in mine. I just bought a Nissan 8hp 4 stroke to replace an elderly Yamaha 6hp 2 stroke. That old Yamaha moved my boat just fine and was reliable to boot, but it was extremely loud and would suffocate itself if I ran it with the lazarette cover closed. The fumes were enough to give me a headache.
I decided that if I was going to buy a new motor, I wanted a 4 stroke with an alternator to keep my battery up. The Nissan 8hp was the smallest engine I could find with an alternator, and it sounded from some of the posts to the board like it would fit, so I ordered one from my favorite outfitter.
Let me say that this motor is quite a bit bigger and quite a bit heavier than even a 25 year old Yamaha 2 stroke. Shoehorning this monster into a CD25 lazarette required removal and replacement of the motor mounts as well as removal of the wooden panel at the front of the lazarette along with its associated trim. In addition, the lazarette cover won't quite close now and I will have to make an extension for it. All in all, I probably put in 16 hours of work so far in addition to finding a metalworker who could make me a new motor mount. Now I'm not real handy with this kind of thing and you could probably do it quicker, but just know what you are getting into.
Would I do it again? Probably not - I'd drop a new 6hp 4 stroke in and find some other way to keep the battery charged. But do I regret it, now that all (most) of the work is done? No way. I've got a big, powerful engine that will serve me well fighting the currents of the Cape Fear river, something that will be seriously understressed as I motor for hours down the ICW. If I had the luxury of keeping the boat on a good sailing ground, it would all be overkill, but in truth my boat (like many others) has to serve as half sailboat, half powerboat - for every open bay or sound there are 20 miles of narrow canal. So there's my two cents worth - everyone has his own situation, and one size definitely doesn't fit all.
pmc
Paul,
The Nissan 6hp 4 stroke comes with an option for an alternator/rectifier. I have it installed on mine. Total weight is 55 lbs.
Paul, This past summer I bought a Nissan 6HP 4 Stroke for my CD25, a 1977. It replaced an 8hp Yamaha that was a great fit but had too many hours on it to be dependable for Maine waters. I shopped around and determined that if I found one online I would jump on it. The best price was from Porta Boat (sp?) and I believe it was about $1100.00 freight included. They sell Tohatsu also and I believe they are virtually identical.
The only adaptation I need to make is to lower the mounting board some so the hatch closes completely. Other than that the motor is fine and the price was great.
Greg Phillips
CD25 Linda Lou #469
Seasprite 34 #2
Brooklin, ME
Apalachicola, FL
I've finally installed the Thruster on the 2003 Honda 5 HP, four-stroke, long-shaft as one of the upgrades to GE. I believe photos are on site below.
I had similar experience as some others as far as space to install this puppy but we managed. PO had already raised the hood for us by 2" so that wasn't a problem. We do need to keep hood raised about 2" to 3" though when underway so she can properly breathe. Once that was learned, our fuel economy really jumped up along with the power. We can't wait to see how the Thruster is going to work, also. The Honda gets us up to around 5 knots or so.
We seldom, if ever, use it in the Pacific except when seas are flat.
Thanks,
Dana
As befitting a guy with a really big motor, I prefer rum and orange juice. But I agree, there's no place like a CD25 for it - after the anchor is down for the evening, of course.
I don't have a really big motor, just the 9.9 Sailmaster that came with my CD25. Every year I expect (hope) for a fatal report from the guys who service it so I can upgrade to a 4-stroke. But it keeps hanging in there, and does a fine job as infrequently as it is used. So I invest the money instead in Bombay Sapphire to keep crew and guests happy at anchor. (We like to be very happy.)
