power for 20' Master Angler

[Sailor Dog]

Seems that I have read that a 130 HP might not be sufficient power for a 20' Master Angler. Would appreciate input...looking at a 2002 with 130 Honda 4 stroke and hate to be underpowered. Thanks

[McGillicuddy]

I would be fine with it. You'll be fine. A little stern squat at rest but 130 with a righteous big blade area 15p prop will get your 36 to 38 mph and incredible economy.

Recent vintages probably do much better with heavy mid size motors than the old 20 " transoms

[WaveWalker]

just from experience, i've found hondas to be a pain in the arse to get parts for. Not a big fan of merc's, but theyre EASY to get parts for. The newer optimax get decent economy and are fairly reliable.

[FishStretcher]

I run a 4 stroke yamaha 100 on a 20 foot Master Angler. I can run 34 MPH. If I ran without the hydroshield and no bottom paint, I bet I could go 36 MPH. 130 is plenty. People have used a 90HP, and it is said that 75HP is the minimum.

[mrobertson]

Not a master angler, but i run a fresh yamaha 115 2 stroke on a 20' SF. No tabs, no foil, and plain and simple the boat will surprise you. The only thing it does not offer is top speed. I cruise at 25 - 27 mph 4000 - 4200 RPM all day long. WOT about 34 mph.

I was NOT a believer that the hull would perform well with the 115. My back was against the wall on an engine that i could not turn down, just too good of a deal. I have almost zero bow rise, the boat will pop right on plane and i can stay on plane as is to about 3400 RPM at 16 - 18 mph.

I am not at all sorry i went with the 115.

[Sceptre20]

When most of our boats were built they came with 115hp engines from the factory.

[jorgeinmiami]

I have a 78 MA and run a 150 Merc Black max Have not been out that much yet but from what I've seen I like the power

[red20]

225. For your area. Speed is nice on the bay When you can use it. The bay is usually pretty tame. I have a 175 on mine now but when I repower I'm moving up.

My last 20 sc had a 200 but could have used more.

[eggsuckindog]

Originally Posted by WaveWalker

just from experience, i've found hondas to be a pain in the arse to get parts for. Not a big fan of merc's, but theyre EASY to get parts for. The newer optimax get decent economy and are fairly reliable.

What I have heard as well and not so much the parts finding anybody to work on it, seen lots of posts around trying to somebody. The next issue is what does it weigh?? I have 400# with a 200 Merc and that is about all they can handle IMHO. I worked for the largest SC dealer on the west coast of Fla - 18 would go out 115's or 150 - 20's all had 150 inlines. The sales manager wouldn't rig a MA until the 175 came out and he helped design it - live bait is big around here hence the built in baitwell. The 200 is not needed and frankly my cruise speed at 3400/3600 at 29mph is a bit high, I can back it down to 3K/23-24 but the motor likes to be at 3400

I will say that I have to agree with WW, I would prefer an OMC but the Mercs seem to work better in general - a 175 would be perfect but a 150 is just fine and yes parts are easy, even used.

The Honda will work and people would trip over themselves to buy it, just not as well as a bit more HP - I'm sure the Honda goes over the 400lb limit and they will run forever just not the strongest horse in the barn. All 2.5 V6 Mercs are almost the same parts so year is not that important - EFI's will give 2 /2.5 mpg and are nice motors, Opti's will cost a good deal more.

[ehmarks75]

I ran my 2000 20' Master Angler with a Merc 115 EFI 4 Stroke (390 lbs) paired with a Mercury Vengeance 16P prop since 2007. It had a fair hole shot but was sluggish when loaded. It ran well once on plane reaching a max speed of 38 mhp according to my GPS and sipped fuel. I just repowered last week to a mint Yamaha 200 HP OX66. After running the 115 4 stroke for five years, I can say that it performed ok. A 130 to 140 4 stroke Suzuki at 410 lbs seems to be almost ideal. Remember, transom weight is very important especially if you added a bracket. A 150 Yamaha 4 stroke is close to 490 lbs for 10 additional horse power. Ultimately, these hulls were designed to run mid power 2 strokes.

Regards