Horsepower requirement question

While I realize that generally "too much" power is seldom enough, I'm wondering what a reasonable amount would be for my 19' Bell Boy.

Currently it has a single 40 on it...have another identical engine...so would 40 or even 80 be in the ballpark? It's not my intention to set speed records and I certainly don't want to make our arab bestest buddies any richer, just want enough oats to get on plane without taking forever and to be able to maintain speed in less than ideal conditions.

Too low a power rating often results in worse economy than a more powerful engine(s).

Just found a 75 horse Evinrude that has the same style shroud as mine (Lark II) and the thought popped into my empty head that this equates to only 5 horse less than a pair of engines but offers the simplicity of a single engine. What does thou thinketh?

Twins look and sound neat. If you run one motor you will need a kicker for backup because I believe your boat is too big to row. One of my reasons for going with twins is that if one breaks the other will get me home quicker than a kicker. Of course my Bearcats will allow me to troll all day without a kicker also. While the size and performance are important I believe also that you need to be sure how and where you are going to use the boat and then decide what motor or motors will work. Getting on a plane is not that hard but then will you have to continue to run wide open to maintain the plane or can you throttle back to a more economical rpm and get good fuel economy and range? More questions than answers. Barry

Yep, you touched upon the kicker aspect which I had considered...and of course there's always the cool factor of twins! I've seen those engine synchronizers and while the principle (and surely practice) are sound I doubt that one would really be necessary in this application...unless someone with real world experience says otherwise.

You hit it on the head regarding needing to run at WOT with less power, that's the trap a lot of people fall into...especially with cars or trucks...they think that by opting for the smallest engine that automatically they'll get better economy: WRONG!

But as with power in general, absolute corrupts absolutely and if you have more than adequate power then the temptation is there to use it, and once you do, there goes your mileage!

But we're grown up so we wouldn't use the power just because it is there would we? Well.....maybe once in a while just as a test.
I like the sound of too much power just idling along. My 62 T-bird does that on the Hwy. Another restoration I haven't worked on in too long.
Actually the Bearcat gets double the fuel economy of the two strokes anyway so two of them sort of evens things out. If I ever get the 404 back in the water I'm going to try just one motor first to see how it does. That way I will be able to judge the improvement with two on later. I noticed on BillR's Power Cat using two tach's seemed to keep them in sync quite well.

I have a single tach but directly below it is a 3 position toggle switch that if I understand the markings correctly, allow for reading of either engine and perhaps a combined reading (when in the center position).

[BellBoyBob]

Any situation that would put you in open water would necessitate a kicker or second engine for safety reasons. Since you have two 40 hp (Evinrude Larks? ) I would mount them both. Aesthetically, they look fantastic and sound great too. This way you have your "built in" get home motor. 80 hp (40 x 2) would be more than enough power for the 404. We started life with our BB with an 80 hp Merc 800 installed at the dealership where my dad bought the boat new.
How's the progress coming? I get mine back from storage a week from this Saturday. Can't wait!

Best,
Bob

Yep, I keep thinking how twins will make me cooler than Huggy Bear (Starsky & Hutch)

Picked up a set of NOS twin throttle controls that while they're a touch more modern than the original Simplex, still have a vintage flavor to them...and by most reports, are more reliable or you can at least still get parts for them.