My A4 only gets about 1500 RPM at maximun, according to the manufacturers chart that gives me around 9 hp. I want to keep my cost to a minimum and am now rethinking going from a 20 to a 16hp engine. Question, the 16hp engine is a direct replacement but gets its max rating at 3600 RPM and 14hp at 3000 RPM. What is the cruising RPMs on the BZ602? What is idling RPM? What prop is recommended?
The Beta 16 is actually the right engine for the Catalina 30 but most people want the extra horse power for their own piece of mind.
If you use a 12"x9" three blade propeller (50% blade area ratio), you can expect about 6.5 Knots and a comfortable cruise of 5.5knots. I guess that about 2,700 will be a good cruise speed with very little fuel usage. The engine will idle at between 900 and 950 RPM and is really happy running at any speed up to 3,600.
