[Bushwacker]

Excellent question and the same one I had about 5 years ago! I put together a spreadsheet comparing all the motors in that size class which I can send you if you PM me with an e-mail address.

I considered the Zuke 140 because it's the lightest of the 4 strokes but ended up going with the 150 E-TEC (actually 165 hp @ prop) because of it's same weight with more displacement and mid-range torque and the much lower maintenance cost. Did not consider the 150 Yam, Honda or 150/175 Zuke because if you compare wet weight and include the cowling, they're almost 500 lb motors, which is WAY TOO MUCH for a boat designed for motors of about 300 lbs! Have made several long trips with very heavy loads (approx 3900 lbs total) and I'm glad I went with the stronger motor. Have had zero problems with it in over 330 hrs/5 years and it's only been to the dealer once for the 3 year service, although I do change the gear oil annually. I can cruise at 30 kts at a little over 4000 rpm and at that speed it's quieter than all the 4 strokes because it doesn't have to be wound up as much. Although I have seen 49.5 mph (GPS) with full fuel but a light load and the top down with a 14 1/8"x20" 4B SS Michigan prop, max speed is not a big deal for me. Easy low speed planing to handle rough conditions with heavy loads is my main priority. I normally run a 15x15 4B SS PowerTech prop which has an awesome hole shot that pops the boat on plane easily with max load at about 40% throttle (Throttle Position sensor reading on I-Command gage. Full throttle will nearly throw you out of the boat with a light load!) Max speed with this prop is about 39 mph with max load and both the Bimini and sun tops up. Optimum cruise per I-Command gage (fuel flow from ECM, GPS spedo) is about 37-3800 rpm at 27-28 mph at about 4 mpg with a heavy load and about 5 mpg with a light load and the higher pitch prop. The E-TECs run very lean below 2000 rpm, so mileage at hull speed (~5 mph) is around 10 mpg. Took a 700 mile trip last spring carrying a very heavy load, often cruising at higher than optimum speed and averaged 4.35 mpg for entire trip. On local trips with less load and cruising at optimum speed I typically average a bit over 5 mpg overall. I seem to use 1 gal of XD-100 full synthetic oil @ $35/gal for about 150 gallons of gas, so I only have to buy oil once or twice a year. Still not sure I have the optimum prop and I may be able to raise the motor a little more, but these are the performance numbers I'm currently getting.

Min planing speed, which is the most noticeable problem on these boats when running a heavy motor, is about 12 kts, which is the same as it was with the old 300 lb motor on the transom, but it was about 18 kts before I went to a 4B prop! You'll definitely need a good stern lifting 4B prop to do that!

With the Hermco bracket, static waterline is about 1" higher than it was with a 300 lb V-4 on the transom; boat is still self bailing at the dock, but I normally run with the plugs in or use the vortex check valve plugs if diving. Boat is original '72 configuration. Potter raised the deck 1-2" in the Seafari's about 73-74, but don't know about the CC's, as they don't have much gunnel height to start with and raising the deck makes that worse. (The recessed "cup" where the scuppers live is about 1" deep; it's 2-3" deep on the later models with raised deck.) However the Seafari is also better balanced than the cc to begin with (less stern heavy), so a cc would probably sit a little lower in the stern.