[Bushwacker]

I ran an old V-4 115 on my Seafari, which is a fair amount heavier than a MA, for nearly 1000 hrs with zero durability problems. Was still in good shape with good compression when I sold it. Used to cruise @ 4500-4700 rpm all day long. My dealer, D & D Marine in WPB who sold outboards since the 1930's, said "the crank in that motor is only about 6" tall and is good for about 7000 rpm, so prop it to rev and you'll never hurt it. Just don't lug it down." The old 115's were pretty rugged motors. When I bought mine in 1975 I was trying to decide between the 115 and 135 (this was before the V-6 came out), and had one old-time mechanic tell me that a 115 would outlast about FIVE 135's! I believe one key indicator of durability is HP/cu in; with the old carb'd 2-strokes, the less "souped up" engines tended to idle better and be less temperamental.

There is one other argument to be made for a small motor wound up pretty tight - I found that in big following seas with a heavy load, a motor that is already well up on the torque curve will require less throttle jockeying and tend stay up on plane better when you're going "uphill and downhill" than a bigger motor that's normally throttled back more.

Grady SF - I too was concerned with weight when I repowered, even though the Seafari is less stern heavy than a cc/MA. I also considered the 115 and would have probably bought it instead of the 150, but they weren't in production at the time. If you look at the HP curves in the BRP brochures, the "milder" (lower HP/ cu. in) E-Tecs are significantly under-rated - the 225 is really a 240, and the 150 is really a 165! I'd guess the 115 is really about a 125, which would have been a big step up from my old 115 which was really only 90 hp at the prop! 165 HP is a lot more than the 20' hull needs unless you run in flat water all the time and like to cruise at 40 kts!

That said, I'm sure you'll be very happy with the V-6. That exta power is definitely addictive! I have to admit that, although I'm not a speed demon either, it's nice to be able to cruise at 30 kts and carry on a normal conversation! (I have some test data that shows the E-tecs are quieter than the 4-strokes at high cruising speeds because they don't have to rev up as much!) It runs a little smoother than the V-4 at low speed, and might be a little quieter at cruise due to less throttle opening. The 115 is basically the 175 block with 2 cylinders sawed off. Since the cylinder designs are so similar, I suspect the BSFC (Brake (hp) Specific Fuel Consumption (HP/fuel flow) is about the same for both motors. That means at the same boat speed/HP setting, both motors will have about the same fuel flow rate. The smaller motor will have a slight edge because of less throttling loss with larger throttle opening at same HP, but I suspect that's a 2nd order effect that would be hard to find unless you did a dyno test! However, if you choose to use all that extra power in the V-6, you'll pay for it at the gas dock! At optimum cruise on mine, about 23-25 mph/2700-3000 rpm, the I-command gage says throttle opening is about 30% of max, so the V-6 is really loafing most of the time!