Eating my words :) 1972 25 Seafari Project

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by gofastsandman

BushWhhhakahh is credited with the F16 refererence. . .

Strick is actually the originator of that comment, following the first sea trial of his 25! Pretty accurate description though, so I wasn't shy about repeating it!

[Briguy]

Wow, what a score!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My Mom grew up in Cherry Hill.
I think I can speak for everyone saying "We're all jealous!"

Hope you make your dream come true with that one. I'd have nabbed that in a heartbeat. That 25 is sooooooooooo sexy, in a nerdy hot girl with glasses kind of way!

[gofastsandman]

Originally Posted by Bushwacker

Strick is actually the originator of that comment, following the first sea trial of his 25! Pretty accurate description though, so I wasn't shy about repeating it!

Ombudsman check?

Big, how did you get jacks under her to switch trailers. She looked to be in the weeds.
Swing low...

[bilgerat]

after looking at the motor pic again , unless the didtributor cap is just sitting on the front of the motor it aint a 350, if the dist is on the front as pictured, that is a ford, prob a 888 mercruiser 351ci. with a 2barrel holly, only rated at 188hp at the prop
or a 228 if it has a 4 barrel holly

[Bigshrimpin]

The trailer took some effort to loosen up. It had 4 flat tires and brakes on the front 2 were tight. The boat/trailer were on a bit of a slope (away from his house) and the bunks were termite condos. I put a giant strap around the boat and prayed it wouldn't flop over. My dad dug out the tires with a shovel. I put the jeep in 4 wheel drive low and dragged it to level ground (away from the house). 3 floor jacks and 2 Jack stands and we had it onto the new trailer.

[Bigshrimpin]

Originally Posted by bilgerat

after looking at the motor pic again , unless the didtributor cap is just sitting on the front of the motor it aint a 350, if the dist is on the front as pictured, that is a ford, prob a 888 mercruiser 351ci. with a 2barrel holly, only rated at 188hp at the prop
or a 228 if it has a 4 barrel holly

Bilge. You're right . . . it's an 351. This is my first I/O, so I've got no clue what I'm looking at. I'll post a pic of the Gimbal Housing . . . maybe I am wrong there too .

Do you think this will be enough power? The plan is to yank it and go through it.

[cdavisdb]

If its a two barrel, pretty minimal power. You would need to prop it for 20 knots cruise, maybe less. With a 4 barrel its closer to reasonable, but no speed demon. One good thing, torque is more important that HP, and I think, at cruising rpm, a 350 is a 350.

The boat is very sensitive to adding weight. Load it heavy, vacuum at cruise goes way down and I don't think the 2 barrel will work. For sure, get a vacuum gauge, or you are likely to eat the engine up.

My 350 is about 285 hp, with a duoprop and is near perfect for the boat if not loaded heavy. If I was going to load it down all the time, I'd need to reprop or go to a bigger engine.

[seafari25]

Congrats, Tim, on a great find, at a great price!

Connor is right. If you can get about 18-20kt cruise, I think you will be happy with that. Being at the low end of power options for the boat, I plane at about 15-16kts and top out at 27-28kts. I find that operating the boat above 20kts is more work and tend to keep it around 17-18, so as said above, I think you will be satisfied if you can get similar performance as ours. Ours is a 327 chev with a II drive. Honestly, I don't actually know the HP. I had always been told 288 or 290, however, that is what Connor is pushing and his is much faster. If ours is, in fact 290HP, than I assume our stern drive is geared differently. Nevertheless, I have always been happy with the performance.

Looking forward to your progress. When I first became a member, there was virtually no info on 25's. Now, thanks to guys like Dave, Connor and Strick, there is tons on here. I assume your thread will become one of my fav's as well.

Brandon

[76Red18]

Originally Posted by Bigshrimpin

Bilge. You're right . . . it's an 351. This is my first I/O, so I've got no clue what I'm looking at. I'll post a pic of the Gimbal Housing . . . maybe I am wrong there too .

Do you think this will be enough power? The plan is to yank it and go through it.

Come on Big, just pull out all tha old cast iron and build a couple of those black motors you like so much. Twin 2.5 280's on a bracket would be enough power...I think its been mentioned a few times that the 25 loves speed.

[Bigshrimpin]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

If its a two barrel, pretty minimal power. You would need to prop it for 20 knots cruise, maybe less. With a 4 barrel its closer to reasonable, but no speed demon. One good thing, torque is more important that HP, and I think, at cruising rpm, a 350 is a 350.

The boat is very sensitive to adding weight. Load it heavy, vacuum at cruise goes way down and I don't think the 2 barrel will work. For sure, get a vacuum gauge, or you are likely to eat the engine up.

My 350 is about 285 hp, with a duoprop and is near perfect for the boat if not loaded heavy. If I was going to load it down all the time, I'd need to reprop or go to a bigger engine.

It's a 4 barrel Holly carb. 99% sure a TRS gimbal based on pics. There appears to be some sort of electric shifter mechanism . . . big clunky thing that mounts at an angle.

Looks just like this one STERN DRIVE MC II-TR

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Mercrui...item19d6e64615