Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
I have an 8hp 4 stroke on my navigator 165 (the 2005 model which was widened substantially). I have a big eared solas prop on that in 5" pitch so I get good umph, but can troll down to under 1mph with it. Tops out at about 5.5mph which is all I need for my purposes.
I'm guessing your navigator is what they now call the 165 "classic" which had a maximum HP rating of 75 in console and 60 in tiller if memory serves me correctly.
I would say with that rig, a good 6hp motor would do just fine. I would assume you would look at a 4 stroke, so in many cases, the 6hp might weigh the same as an 8 hp as many are made off the same engine block. I would bet you could get away with a 5 hp as well.
If you are looking to troll with the kicker at those speeds, it will be louder than running your big motor as reaching 5 to 7 mph puts the kickers at their upper limits. Even a 9.9 will be louder as it will be running around mid to upper throttle and weight then gets up there too.
A good kicker is handy, though... windy conditions, walleyes if you choose, and if the big motor goes down, it gets you off the water.
Steve |
