Quote:
Originally Posted by DoozleD
I have a 1977 master angler with a 2002 yamaha 115 4-stroke...I hate the yamaha, its heavy and has no mid range, i think the boats slow, i cruse it a 4000 to 4300 and im getting 17kts. i feel like you have to put it in the corner to get faster cruseing. Its not the prop!...i guess my question is what are the quys that have 20's with e-techs running for power and what are u getting for numbers?..
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Doozle, check out this search I did for
"115 or 150?" on the E-TEC Owners Forum. If you're thinking about buying an E-TEC, I'd suggest you join that Forum and maybe make the same post over there, as you'll get good advice from some very knowledgeable techs! I'd post a picture of your boat or some specs on it, as one of the best techs is in Australia and won't know what a SeaCraft is! For what it's worth, here are my own thoughts on the subject.
I ran my Seafari, which is 200 lbs heavier than your MA, for over 30 years with a 1975 "115" Evinrude which was probably about 100 hp at the prop, as they were rated at the prop back then. I cruised at 4500 all day long on numerous Bahama trips, running about 20 kts with a very heavy load and burning about 8 gph. WOT was 28 kts with the heavy load and a little over 30 kts with a light load. Although loud and smokey, that old motor only weighed 300 lbs and was very well matched to the boat, with enough mid-range torque to plane easily at only 12 mph and a little over 3000 rpm, even with a very heavy load. I think I averaged about 2.8 mpg over 6 trips to the Abacos with it in the late 70's.
I considered the 115 V-4 E-TEC when I repowered in the spring of 2006 because I wanted minimum weight with a bracket, but they weren't yet in production when I was ready for a motor, so I went with the V-6. The "115" is really about 125 hp at the prop, plenty of power for the 20, depending how fast you want to run; I'd figure on WOT of close to 35 kts with the optimum prop and engine height. It has a 2-position valve in the exhaust that switches to a shorter exhaust path at around 4000 rpm and gives you the sensation of a turbo kicking in when it changes position!
The "150" V-6 is actually 165 hp at the prop and should push your MA over 50 mph or about 44 kts. My optimum cruise seems to be about 3700-3800 and 24-25 kts and 6-7 gph. At 5 mph, I only burn 0.5 gph, which is probably less than your 4-stroke, so overall average mpg is actually over 4 mpg. In 2010 I made a 700 mile circumnavigation of S. Fla., and averaged 4.4 mpg for the entire trip. I'm running a 4B 15x15 prop optimized for mid-range hole shot, so it's really not optimized for max WOT speed.
The V-6 is 28 lbs heavier than the V-4 and will burn a bit more fuel with 33% more displacement, but it will idle a bit smoother than the V-4 and it doesn't have the 2-position exhaust valve, which has been known to stick if you allow the engine to carbon up. (Caused by over-propping, running too cold, and running cheap oil. BRP has added grease fittings to the exhaust valve shaft on the new motors, which has probably minimized this problem.) Optimum cruise speeds may actually be similar for the V-4 and V-6 because the V-4 may be a little more efficient over 4000 rpm when that exhaust valve opens. I think Terry England said the 115's on his 25 Bertram seem to really like running higher speeds than the I-3 90 hp E-TEC on his 19 Bowrider. Although most folks would probably think that big Bertram would be underpowered with a pair of 115's, I think he's been pleasantly surprised with their performance!