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I bought a 15' Sport last summer and probably overpaid. But boats for sale are SCARCE around here and it IS a Whaler, so I guess I'll survive.

It came with a 2010 Mercury 50 Hp EFI. It's a lovely motor, although judging by the holes in the transom, it's at least the third motor to power this boat.

But nice motor or not, it's also too heavy. The transom drain holes are well below water level when stopped. I almost feel like adding a big anchor and a whack of chain up front to balance things out, even though I'm sure I'll never use it.

So I'm THINKING about repowering with something lighter and therefore less powerful and am open to suggestions, hints or thoughts.

I've actually dreamed about an electric outboard but I'm afraid those are out of reach, price wise.

Primary use is for me and my dogs to puddle about the very large harbour here, all of it with a 5 kn speed limit.

So, thoughts? How small can I reasonably go and still get it on plane for the odd occasion I want to?

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I've seen most 15s of that year come with a 60hp merc from the factory with no problem. 50hp on a 15ft boat is far from unreasonable and downsizing probably isnt the right choice. It seems that structurally the stern is not sound. I have a 16ft dauntless with a 115hp.

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Ahhh, the factory lists the max HP as 35 and the Coast Guard plate says 30. These are in fact very believable numbers to me. With the 50 and two people and two dogs in the boat, it easily gets on plane at about 1/4 throttle. I've never had it above 1/2 throttle; 1/2 is FAST ENOUGH.

I was kinda wondering if someone was going to say "a 20 is lots".

There's nothing wrong with the transom. It's just got extra holes in it from previous engines, all well repaired.

But the motor weight is too high.

I added a little Torqeedo as a kicker. To install it onto the up/down mount, I have to get RIGHT to the back of the boat. When I do, I bury the transom and water spills in. Thank goodness for the bilge pump!

Now, I have the battery mounted more or less in the middle of the boat. And the fuel tank is built in and mounted forward of center.

My rough guesstimate is that this motor is at least 100 pounds too heavy.

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The motor you have is NOT too heavy. 247 lbs.
https://www.whalercentral.com/article...icle_id=77

The 15' hulls are rated for max of 70hp.

Many members have the Yamaha F70 which is only 5 lbs heavier than your motor at 253 lbs.

Apparently your transom is using different holes that do not conform to the BIA standard.
You may have to redrill the lower transom holes so any motor will fit.
https://www.whalercentral.com/article...icle_id=82

Are you positive this is a 15' hull?

Here are some 13' transom variations. Maybe this is what you have?
A 13' model is rated for 40hp with remote steering.
https://www.whalercentral.com/viewpag...age_id=155

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The MOTOR is a 2010, the HULL is a 1980. (BW still had the original info, telling me who it was sold to and when. Very cool they still had this and were willing to provide it.) Near as I can tell from the paperwork provided, it came from the dealer with a 30 HP 2 stroke Evinrude.

What makes you think that "structurally the stern is not sound" ? I see absolutely no evidence of any problem with the hull, nor did the surveyor hired pre-purchase.

Maybe this is completely normal, and the way BW designed this boat to float. But there's no question it sits stern down bow up, which just plain looks weird. Plus, it's very surprising to me that standing with one foot on the transom to mount the kicker put the transom below water level.

I kept thinking as the water poured in "they can't sink, they can't sink" and then thought "we'll find out! ".

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I had it in my head the motor was a whole lot heavier than that, although I'm not sure where I got that idea ...

The hull IS a 15, 15.3, actually, according to the BW plate and confirmed by BW when I contacted them about the HIN. And the USCG stickers says 30 HP, near as I can make out, although it's very scuffed and faded. Absolutely no doubt that the Canadian Coast Guard rating is 35 HP max; that number is embossed on their plate and clearly visible.

(Indeed, when I went to license the boat with Transport Canada, I got a bit of grief from them because it was "overpowered".)


You are correct, my transom holes do not correspond to the standard .. exactly .. but that's because they can't; the transom design of this hull does not allow this motor to sit all the way down in the well. The bottom two holes are drilled right (right right right) at the bottom of the well. I don't think they could be a millimeter lower. Even so, the top of the clamp is WELL proud of the top of the transom.

The other, older holes don't match any pattern at all. No way they could have been used with this motor, or another motor using this pattern. Mind you, 40 years ago, when this hull was new, who knows what motor was used. I think it was an Evinrude, but that might have been the second motor that went on. (What paperwork I have is very old and very faded.)

The issue for me is the stern down attitude, and I was hoping a different motor might fix it. The fact that the drain holes for the outboard well are below the waterline, when the boat is empty and tied up at the dock, just seems wrong.