115 eTec on 20CC

[ocuyler]

Does anyone have any experience with an eTec 115 on a 20CC 20" with no bracket?

[PipeDreamsMarine]

Otto.. buy one and send it down, I'll put it on my boat and let you know all about it...

[peterb]

Don.... What, and give up that 88 Johnson of yours? Say it ain't so!!!!

[65Bowrider]

Otto,
Just put a new 115 Etec on our bowrider...you know what they are like

With 3 adults + 1/2 tank gas, ran 37mph ... Fast enough to get me out of the rain....
But it's nice to be able to cruise along AND have a conversation! It's a quiet running machine!

[eggsuckindog]

A 115 will be a little under powered but will push it, I had an inline 6 115 on my 18 and it did OK, the sf20 isn't much different. I do like my 200 Merc on my 20 MA though, real smooth with all the HP.

[pcfishslayer]

I do like my 200 Merc on my 20 MA though, real smooth with all the HP.

I have a 20 MA also. I am looking to put a new engine on it. What kind of speed are you getting from your 200 hp?

[dljohn69]

I have a 79 MA with an e-tec 175, wot is 50/51 mph and I personaly like the horse power. That being said I think that the E-Tec 115 would perform on the 20 footers. It gets down to what do you expect performance wise?

[Capt Chuck]

Otto

I also think the 115hp might be underpower for a 20' SeaCraft. I have the 1st generation eTech 115hp (1998) on my 18' flats skiff which of coarse is much lighter than the 20. I can get mid/high 40's @ WOT 5500 rpm slinging a 13 3/4 x 17 SS prop.

[Fr. Frank]

The 115 eTec will push it okay. No speed demon, though. But I really recommend more horsepower. Here's why:

I had a 1973 120 hp Chrysler on the back of my current 1972 20' Seafari when I bought it. It planed easily, and cruised at 23-24 mph, and topped out at 27-28 mph. It was also very dependable.

But in December 2001, I was caught by a VERY violent winter squall in the Gulf of Mexico that, because I couldn't make better than 28 mph, I just couldn't outrun it coming in from 20 miles offshore. I later figured that if I could have maintained just 34-35 mph when I first headed in, I could have outrun that squall, instead of having to turn to just 3 miles offshore to avoid foundering, and spending the next 3+ hours pointing up into 30-45 kt winds and 6'-9'seas, all with my wife and two small children aboard.

So the next week, I made arrangements to buy a remanufactured Merc 150, which eventually gave me a cruise of 35-38 mph, and a top speed of 46-47 fully loaded. (And I got better economy, too!)

I also had a 20' MA with a 115 Mercury "Tower of Power" back in the early 80's, which cruised in the mid 20's and I would guess topped out between 30-32 mph. Needed the trim tabs to plane quickly, though. I later put a '78 175 hp Merc on it.

It's like this: Marine HORSEPOWER is like a firearm. It's better to have it and never need it, than need it and not have it.

My 2 cents worth.

[Snookerd]

Father Frank-Happy b-day!