Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | The US Coast Guard. Horsepower ratings are set by a formula (length, beam, exact height of the transom where water enters first, etc) and a set of performance tests the boat must pass. Usually, the tiller rating will be less than half the console rating. I spoke with them several times about power tiller steering and possible tiller HP changes, and Po Chang, the guy in charge, assusred me those would not change due to two main factors:
1) Tiller steering can be and is much more 'abrupt', creating top speed turn test failure with a big motor
2) The seating in a tiller creates problems with seeing around passengers, so the USCG wants tiller boats under their control to rate (boats under 20') lower and run slower to decrease the possibility of accidents.
Here's a backyard boat builder synopsis:
http://www.boatinghowto.com/downloads/info/backyardboatbuilders.pdf
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