Best Power Option for 74 Sceptre 20 OB

[flyingfrizzle]

I am re-rigging a motor as we speak (reeding actually) on my 74 20' sceptre hull. Started with an inboard to a bracket outboard. I put a heavy 225 3.0 mercury on it first and now have 2.5 200 that I am rigging. Should be more than enough motor and still pushing the weight but with the forward weight on these models you can get by with more than what you can on a cc model. The 225 did 65+ and was scary at those speeds so a 115 would be a great economy cruse motor if you are not speed hungry. Try to stay under 400lbs and maintain the best balance possible. I will report back more if I can get my new motor rigged this weekend. It is an 07 power head that I just had new rings installed in. Should be a nice ride with a top of 60 plus but what I am after is a cruse speed of 40-45ish at 2/3 throttle. I can hit it to out run a storm if needed and pull back and still have a good moderate speed at half throttle if wanted also. Might not be the best fuel economy out there but I don't make far runs in my 20' anyhow.

If you are happy with the 150 now and wanting more economy and are not worried about loosing a little speed like mention any of the smaller motors will do great, I would love to try one of the new mercury 115's If I had the coin to buy new. If you go four stroke just watch your weight. If you go 2 stroke you should have no issues. With your model, im surprised you have issues with the 150 now. Even with the bracket and heavy motor on mine I was surprised how well it did. I needed lighter but a 380'lbs Johnson on the transom if you move the batteries up front and shift your tank forward you should not have any issues. I would check to make sure you don't have any water weight in you foam. If you do, drill some holes in the low points and let it drain out. That sometimes makes these hulls sit lower than wanted. The sceptre model seems more able to handle the larger outboards than my cc of the same year did. My 74 cc hull had wet foam and I think I took out 800 lbs when I removed it.