[pelican]

old saying my friend...

"there's no replacment for displacement"

a merc 350 magnum mpi - puts out 300hp,matched with a hurth/zf gear cost is approx $11k complete,drop it in...fresh water cooled,3yr warranty and a option for an extended warranty-parts readily available...

23' is alot for that ford engine to push-plus,1:1 gear ?

gonna cost a few bucks to get the same peformance with that 302...one thing i've never heard,is a boat owner complain of "too much power"...that engine trying to shove a 23' boat,full of fuel,and a couple of guys offshore,is gonna need to be ran almost full bore,and,with that small wheel-1:1 drive,that rig's gonna get passed by sea turtles,and,suck fuel like a jet...

that rig with that merc package-it's gonna give you great performance,as well as fuel efficiency-it's gonna push that rig at a real nice cruise speed-without laboring to put it on plane with a load...