1974 20' sceptre transom replacement and i/o to outboard bracket conversion

[flyingfrizzle]

Got the power head on the midsection and got all the rigging done. Checked to make sure she trimmed up all the way with out hitting. All the way up she is about an inch and a half to two inches from the transom crown. I put on a cowl from another motor I had so I can paint the one that belongs with this outboard. Plans are a fresh coat of mercury black and new pro xs decals in matching hull blue. After getting it in the water it is sitting on her lines much nicer with the lighter outboard. The swim platform is much higher out of the water. I also have 20 gallons of double oil premix gas in the front of the tank coffin so it will balance even better once I add more fuel. Went 2 hours at idle to 2500 for ring break in at variable RPMs at 25:1 premix ratio. Then went 2 hours between 2000-3200 rpm. Changed the premix to 32:1 due to the plugs were starting to look slightly fowled from the extra oil then ran it 4 more hours between 1500-4500 variable rmp. It is not good to seat rings or break in a motor at a steady rpm. You should keep changing it up and down at different rates at least for the first 6-8 hours till everything gets broke in. Once I got some time on it I started to run it briefly at higher rpms for short periods. The second day out I ran it 30 miles or so and varied rpms and ran it up to 5000-6000 for brief burst. Even took it up to 7000 a few times just because I couldn't help myself. The acceleration with the low pitch prop was awesome. Cant wait to prop it up higher and see what it will really do. The low speed planning seemed to fall off around 18 mph so hopefully when I get more fuel wait in the front it will help with that. Overall the balance going from a heavy 225 3.0 to the lighter 200 2.5 and moving the fuel forward and getting the rear mounted oil tank gone seemed to make a day and night difference. I still have a rear mounted battery that needs to go up front and that will help too. I am really surprised how these hulls respond to balance and weight distribution. A little weight makes a big difference. I was able to raise the motor all the way up where the trim was maxed and surfacing the prop and zero porpoise. Before I would get a little bit if the motor was all the way up and it needed a little lower trim to keep it tracking straight. No tabs yet but Im sure they would really help the lower planning speeds. Over all going to the lighter outboard was a great move. Not to mention I will have more power and better fuel economy now as well. Great trade off.