Hi All,

I'm a sailor, through and through, but sometimes, well... you need a motor.

I'm looking into trolling motors, rather than a Torquedo, mainly because of price - the motors would actually be used for the club's boats, and the budget is limited. At the regionals at Miramar YC (Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY), a couple of the guys had trolling motors, but I didn't take note of which ones they were. Would anyone be able to suggest a motor that would be good enough for the ensign.

I saw on one post that 80lb thrust would be needed, but your collective real world experience would really be great, especially if it leads to a less expensive motor.

I should note that we are pretty much in the ocean, and there is current. The intention of the motor isn't to fight the current (we always sail out against the current so that we can ride it back just in case) but to move when there isn't much of anything, tricky moves in the mooring field, and emergencies. Your recommendations are much appreciated.

Also, any recommendations on a battery would also be helpful. I don't see us running the motor more than an hour in any given day (maybe 2 hours if we really didn't read the forecast right).

Thank you

I am looking for similar advice. I sail out of The Nyack Boat club on the Hudson River, where we are always dealing with tidal currents. Last season was my first season of sailing our Ensign, after years of sailing a Pearson 26. Our Ensign came with a 2hp Honda motor, but was advised that it will not give us much thrust for those times we might be going against the current, so I used my very reliable 6hp motor that we used on our larger boat. It was more power than I need and I’m concerned about weight since I’m seriously considering racing. It’s hard to give up on a reliable motor, but should I consider using the 2hp or buy a 4hp?

This is kind of an older post, but I don't see any reply. I raced a J24 for many years. We had a 5HP 4 stroke outboard. It was heavy and a bear to wrestle off and on the transom mount for racing. I hated it. Some boats had 4 or even 3HP outboards, mainly to get a lighter weight set up. We were always first back to the hoist with a 5HP outboard. 😊 The 3HP were just barely suitable IMHO.

I'm new to Ensigns, but the weight is similar to a J24 but with more wetted surface. (friction) I expect that except for the calmest and most current free areas, you will need at least a 4HP motor or the electric equivalent.

Regards,

Mike Vining