Quote:
Originally Posted by cdavisdb
The 25 will balance much better with 1 engine, important in that hull. I don't think it will be very fast with the 250, depends on what you need. I run mine with a 5.7 v8 I/O duoprop that is around 290 hp. Most efficient cruise is around 25-26 knots with a moderate to light load, but it drops fast when you load the boat down. With another 1000 lbs loaded for a Bahamas trip, 21-22 knots is most efficient cruise(7-8 inch vacuum and I don't want to run any harder)
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Torque will be a significant issue. 2 stroke outboards often don't have near as much torque as I/Os of the same horsepower. It makes a huge difference if its real sloppy and you want to slow way down. A very deep hull like this one takes a lot of torque to stay on plane when going slow.
Just my opinion, but I'd stay with a single I/O in that hull, much better balance and CG, plus no torque issues.
During your rehab, check the stringers carefully underneath the bunks. Consider adding a bulkhead forward.
Connor
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Connor, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply in detail. I cannot wrap my brain around the I/O i not only hate them, I despise them, Especially after the mess I took out of 25 Beast Yesterday. The only Outboard Model I know of is the one with Twin 150 Mercs on it... I am really leaning towards a Single 250 Right now as thats what the budget will allow and then looking for a 300 Next year after I have ran this boat some.
as Bushwhacker said I know you are the resident expert on these 25 seafari's, Is the Difference so Much bigger between this and a 23' Tsunami that a 250 wouldn't cut it? Looked a bunch of boat specs on the evinrude website with real #'s on the 225 and 250 engines.
Right now I am Really leaning towards the 250 mercury EFI used of course and then doing the upgrade when i can... Total weight will be close to 700lbs vs the 1200 lbs i just took out. By using the Porta Bracket I am only using 17" of setback instead of the 30 traditionally used...
Any other thoughts...?
Thanks Robert
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushwacker
Congratulations on deciding to keep that boat! It's a rare and very special model that few people understand or fully appreciate it's capabilities! Forum member Big Fluke is a naval architect in Hawaii that has a Seafari 25 and says once you get CG location right, it's one of the most seaworthy small boat hulls he's ever tested!
Carl Moesly designed the Seafari 25 to have a ballast tank up forward, similar to what he used in his race boats. http://www.moeslyseacraft.com/25-seafari.html However he sold the company to Potter before ever building a 25, and Potter apparently never understood the ballast tank so left it out. Potter has been quoted as saying that the 25 Seafari is the one boat he could never get to "handle right"! Connor Davis is the resident authority on this hull, with lots of experience running his boat in some big seas on several Bahamas trips; he says it runs and handles much better with weight up front.
Although I have a lot of experience with a bracket, having adding one to my boat after running it for 31 years with an OB on transom, I believe going to a bracketed outboard on the 25, ESPECIALLY one with no flotation, is a big mistake. The last thing that boat needs is a rearward shift in CG; if anything it needs to shift forward, so I'd consider installing a big fresh water tank up front. Dave (Blue Heron) and Strick, who bought their 25's with blown engines, decided to stay with an I/O to avoid shifting the CG and I suspect Connor would recommend the same. Although a big outboard, especially an E-TEC, will weigh much less than an I/O, most of the I/O's weight is forward of the transom, so an outboard on a bracket will shift the CG aft in the wrong direction. Carl told me that the CG on the 140 I/O Seafari 20 is further forward than it is on the OB model. Forum member Tiny who once owned both an I/O and OB Seafari 20 said that the I/O model does indeed plane easier at lower speed than the OB model and he felt that it rode a bit softer. I'm sure a comparison between an I/O and OB Seafari 25 would be similar.
I would suggest that a single I/O with a duoprop type outdrive, with a modern EFI V-8 like Blue Heron and Island Trader bought, would be the optimum configuration for that boat, and it would be lighter and thus perform better than the twin I/O's than it originally had. |
Bushwacker... Thanks for the Lengthy reply and I appreciate it. Was not an easy choice to keep this bugger around... but at the end of the day everyone was lowballing and the condition of this hull is just too good.
As I told Connor, I despise I/O and guess I am gonna end up the 250/300 outboard guinea pig over the next year...
Expecting to have the Glass work done by Thursday and ready for a Bracket and Motor...
I guess the worst case scenario if it really ends up being a total Turd Bucket I can always Repower it with a I/O and sell it...
Thanks Robert