Review: Honda BF150 Marine Outboard Motor
Sydney dealership and powercat specialist Webbe Marine recently received the 2016/17 Honda National Dealer of the Year Award in recognition to its success with the range of four-stroke outboard engines. Most are fitted to its Sailfish and Stabicraft fleet.
POWER TO US
Webbe Marine customers Ian and Yanti Fairgrave selected a pair of Honda BF150 inline four-cylinder four-stroke outboards for their big Sailfish 2800 Platinum, and that proved a perfect match for the big catamaran.
TECH TALK
The Honda BF150 features Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC), Multi-Port Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI), BLAST for acceleration, in a powerful, compact 24-valve DOHC design, with dual-stage induction, 40amp charging, and NMEA compatibility.
Among the long list of features is the patented ‘double sealed’ multi-layered paint process of its Corrosion Protection System, plus added sacrificial anodes and stainless steel technology, along with waterproof connectors, all enhancing corrosion protection.
PERFORMANCE
On a glassy Botany Bay aboard the Fairgraves’ 2800 Platinum, I planted the throttles on the twin 150hp Hondas and the whole package jumped easily to attention with a minimum amount of fuss or noise and very little bow rise.
There is an ever-so-slight harmonic at a fast lure speed of around 8.6kt at 2500rpm where the outboards drink a miserly 8.1L/h per side – and that is the worst I can say of the whole boat-motor combination.
The Sailfish is comfortable at around 4000rpm and 18.5kt, but just feels like a magic carpet ride at its ideal speed of 25kt and 4500rpm, where you can travel comfortably and economically for a long distance drinking well under 50L/h total.
If you want to get silly occasionally (and who doesn’t) the 2800 Platinum reached a speedy 36.7kt at a redline 6100rpm, drinking 50L/h per side, which still gives a 159 nautical mile range, with 10 per cent reserve, for those fast dashes home when things are about to turn for the worst.
HONDA BF150 SPECS
MAKE/MODEL: 2 x Honda BF150
TYPE DOHC: four-cylinder four-stroke with VTEC
RATED HP: 150 (each)
DISPLACEMENT: 2354cc (each)
WEIGHT: 220kg (each)
GEAR RATIO: 2.14:1
PROP: Solas 17in three-blade stainless steel
SEA TRIALS
Sailfish 2800 Platinum w/ twin 150hp Honda BF150 outboards, four passengers, and 320L of fuel from 480L capacity.
RPM | Fuel Burn (L/H)* | Speed (KT) | Range (NM)* |
650 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 576 |
1000 | 2.1 | 4 | 411 |
1500 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 347 |
2000 | 5 | 6.9 | 298 |
2250 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 257 |
2500 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 229 |
3000 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 203 |
3500 | 15 | 14.7 | 212 |
4000 | 16.8 | 18.5 | 238 |
4500 | 23.4 | 25 | 231 |
5000 | 29 | 28.5 | 212 |
5500 | 41 | 31.3 | 165 |
6100 | 50 | 36.7 | 159 |
*Performance data supplied by the author. Fuel burn is per engine and fuel range calculated with 10 per cent reserve.