Twin f200 yammies
 

Thinking about a repower after the twin 150's die. I'm tossing around the idea of twin inline fourstrokes. I see where the new motors weigh roughly 100lbs more each than my oceanrunners. 385lbs is the dry weight that's assumed for the old motors. My boat is a 23 Sceptre with a bracket. I did just install a new 160 gallon fuel tank. A 165 quart cooler fits in the forward box allowing me to distribute weight forward. The boat now takes water on in the scuppers with 2 people in the stern. With the cooler full of ice and beverages is not near as bad. I wonder how the boat would roll and does anyone have twin fourstrokes on their older hull now? I guess I could plug the scuppers but I do like the self bailing I have now. Also, I'm not interested in a single motor. 50 miles to the fishing grounds is common. Or is there another bracket made for the heavier weight?

What bracket do you have now?

I don't know. It came with the boat. It's got a 27" setback. Very well made though.

Those new 200's are at 500lbs each. IMHO those motors still are too heavy for twins on a Hermco bracket. It can be done and someone will do it, but if you want that option go 200 Etec small block with a Hermco bracket.

Jeff, it sound like you already have weight issues and adding twin 4 strokes will likely make things worst. If you are not willing to consider a more weight effective single I would go with the lightest 2 strokes I could find.

The only other option I would recommend is a big single with an auxiliary motor that you could store up front. Much less costly and offers the same security. I went this option for a few years until I got tired of the extra weight and now it lives in the shed under a tarp. I fully understand your concerns for the distance you fish offshore. Like you my average round trip out into the lonely gulf is 120 nautical on a light day. In the end you have to be comfortable with your equipment but redundancy in power has a steep consequence curve on a small boat.

Has anyone on the board done twin 200 etecs on a bracket?

Yes look up skiblet(use the search feature)... On a non hermco bracket. 23SF not a Sceptre. CG is farther back without the cabin and not the largest flotation bracket. It seems to sit they way you would expect it to and he is happy with it. Very nice boat.

I'll probably go with the 175 etecs then. Only 60 pounds more than these 150's total. I didn't want to buy oil but there is no "cheap " when owning a boat of this age. Also buying American sounds great to me anyhow. Currently I'm getting 1.5 mpg with these 98 motors which I don't think is bad. Plus it moves pretty good when you throw in the corner. I would hope that the 175's would push it above 50 mph. Right now the boat tops out at 43. Top end is not what I'm after but outrunning a storm is always nice. I really haven't seen anything on the 2013 etec reviews but I'll save that for a later thread. Thanks everyone!

skiblet needs to post some pics :)

I agree... We may see him at Long Point

Good luck Jeff! And keep the posts and pictures coming.

Here's a shot of Skiblet's boat from the Long Point gathering in 2008. It does look to be sitting a bit low in the stern, but it would be worse with those 4-strokes! Current weight on the 25" small-block E-TEC is 433 lbs and would definitely be a better choice than the 4-stroke, with lower total operating costs (fuel + oil + maintenance) than any of the 4-strokes per this article
http://www.boatingmag.com/engines/ou...MjQ1NDU1MzI5S0. The article is a bit misleading because they only evaluated costs for 300 hours, and all the 4-strokes require a valve lash inspection/adjustment at 500 hrs which would add several hundred $ to their costs. If they had run the comparisons for 600 hrs, and E-TEC would save even more $ because the fuel costs were almost identical to the 4-strokes, so the significant difference is in the maintenance costs!

However a big single plus a kicker would be my choice - much less weight and cost and much less to maintain. I'd also question if a single 4-stroke would have enough low end torque plane the boat of one if them died! If it won't plane on one engine, you won't be able to run much faster than you could with a 15 hp kicker, which will push it to hull speed! Check out this post by DonV's brother, where he learned all about that torque difference when he replaced a pair of 225 4-strokes with a couple of E-TEC 200HO's: http://www.etecownersgroup.com/post/...00-hos-6556802

Here is a friend of mines 23' SeaCraft "Savage" model with twin 4 stroke 150hp Yamahas. The stern sits pretty low in the water as you can see. I imagine twin 200's would be about the same. As a point of reference, he has an Armstrong aluminum non floatation bracket. The tower probably also has an effect on pushing the COG to the rear. The best I remember, he said it is NOT self bailing at rest and need the plugs in at all times except when planing. Otherwise the performance is very good.