boats in the marina with outboard motors out of the water

Outboard Motor Top Speeds – HP 5-400

Outboard motor top speeds vary drastically depending on the type of boat, the load being carried, the surface and weather conditions.

This means that trying to gauge the appropriate top speed for an outboard motor you want to choose can be tough.

So, below are the average top speeds you can expect for an outboard motor by horsepower (HP), from 5HP right through to 400HP+. It’s interesting to note

Each adult is assumed to be 180 lbs in weight, with the top speed here being in good conditions with a boat of average size and weight.

Outboard Motor HPEstimated Top Speed (mph)Top Speed with 2 Adults (mph)
55-74-6
1010-128-10
1512-1510-13
2015-2013-18
2520-2518-22
3025-3022-27
4030-3527-32
5035-4032-37
6040-4537-42
7545-5042-47
9050-5547-52
11555-6052-57
15060-6557-62
20065-7562-72
25075-8572-82
30080-9077-87
35085-9582-92
400+90+85+

Remember that these values are general estimates, and the actual top speed for a specific boat setup can be higher or lower depending on various factors.

In windy or choppy conditions, you should expect to get considerably lower speeds than those listed above.

Outboard Top Speeds for Various Boats and HP

The table below shows estimated top speeds for various outboard

Outboard Motor HPSmall Aluminum Fishing BoatInflatable BoatSmall SailboatSmall Fiberglass Skiff
54-65-74-63-5
108-108-107-96-8
1510-1310-129-118-10
2013-1812-1511-1410-12
2518-2215-1814-1712-15
3022-2718-2117-2015-18
4027-3221-2520-2318-21
5032-3725-2923-2721-24
6037-4229-3327-3124-27
7542-4733-3731-3527-30
9047-5237-4135-3930-33
11552-5741-4539-4333-36
15057-6245-4943-4736-39
20062-7249-5347-5139-42
25072-8253-5751-5542-45
30077-8757-6155-5945-48
35082-9261-6559-6348-51
400+85+65+63+51+

Common Models of Outboard Motor by Horsepower

Evinrude outboard motor
An Evinrude E-Tec, still going strong.

Examples of the types of motor you can get by horsepower are below:

ManufacturerModelHorsepowerStroke Engine
YamahaF5SMHA54-stroke
Mercury6 MH64-stroke
SuzukiDF9.9B9.94-stroke
HondaBF15D3LHS154-stroke
Evinrude (BRP)E-TEC 25 HP (G1)252-stroke
TohatsuMFS30CETS304-stroke
YamahaF40LA404-stroke
Mercury50 ELPT Command Thrust504-stroke
SuzukiDF60AV604-stroke
HondaBF75D4LRTA754-stroke
Evinrude (BRP)E-TEC 90 HP (G2)902-stroke
TohatsuMFS115AETL1154-stroke
YamahaF150LB1504-stroke
Mercury200 XL Pro XS2004-stroke
SuzukiDF250APX2504-stroke
HondaBF300AK3LA3004-stroke

Please note that Evinrude (BRP) discontinued production of their outboard motors in 2020, but their models are still relevant in the used market. The other manufacturers in this table produce a wide range of outboard motors with different horsepower ratings and features, so these examples are not exhaustive.

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