23' Sceptre Repower

[bmajvi]

Last year I had the lower unit and SS prop stolen from my 1995 200 hp Yamaha, hanging off an old (non-floatation) Armstrong bracket, as bolted to my (former I/O) '76 Sceptre. I'll be selling my other boat soon, and have been thinking about what to do with the Sceptre. Time to get her useable or pass her on to a new owner. Although when the Yammie was running good the performance was fine for me, I was never really happy with the motor (gas hog, smoky, noisy), so I'm not enthusiastic about dumping more cash on the old motor, or the bracket. Thought I'd put this out there and let you gents provide what you see as pros and cons.

Primary use would be just two people on short hops (under 10 NM) for snorkeling, and occasionally a little trolling. Most prevalent sea conditions 2-3' seas. Every once in a blue moon longer trips (40 NM).

Power priorities are: Reliabilty, Fuel economy, and bottom line installed and rigged price. Comfy cruise at 28-30 mph would be okay. Sadly, in my area there aren't any dealers of any brand that are stellar IMHO, so no deciders there. Thinking about a Hermco floatation bracket and a Suzuki DF 200A (the inline 4). I had a Zuke 140 4 stroke on an 18 SF for a few years (yeah, I know that was a ton of motor for the boat), and had great luck with it.

What do you guys think?

[DonV]

Well it will be a used Hermco, unfortunately Don is calling it quits. Not too familiar with the Zuke in line fours especially in the higher 200 HP version, I do know the Yamaha 200 in line four is kinda wimpy from what I read. Also I do not know the price difference from going from the I-4 up to the V-6 225 or 250, if it's real close in $$$ I'd go with the V-6. Good luck!

[Snookerd]

Hey bmajvi- Remember that 18 SeaCraft with the 140 Zuke. You were one of the reasons why we put the 140 Zuke on my parents 18sf. I would recommend a 250 for resale for your 23. A 200 / 3.0 4 stroke 150 Merc will get it done, but the 250 price and resale even in the islands has to be worth it?!

[bmajvi]

Hey Snookerd! Funny, but resale value hadn't even entered into my thinking - just looking for an ultra-reliable, (relatively) economical way to get out on the water when the weather is irresistibly nice. I've offered to buy back that 18 from the guy I sold it to a couple times, but he just grins and says "No way." How'd the 140 work out for your parents? I always felt like I was driving a Turbo Porsche or something, and the hull was very well mannered, even with all that weight out back.

[Eric B]

Hey bmajvi,

If your gonna go with a Zuke on a 23' you might want to consider the 300. I love mine and you will have that extra power in those trade wind swells, especially if you ever run over to St. Thomas or the BVIs. I run my Sceptre with one and hardly ever need all the power but I have been in situations where I needed it quick and it was comforting knowing it was there! I cruse at 27 knots and am under 10 GPH. The 300 is not much heavier and is only a couple/few K more than the 200. Lots of guys on CSC run them on brackets ( mine is stern mounted ) and they love the ride!!!

[Snookerd]

Originally Posted by bmajvi

Hey Snookerd! Funny, but resale value hadn't even entered into my thinking - just looking for an ultra-reliable, (relatively) economical way to get out on the water when the weather is irresistibly nice. I've offered to buy back that 18 from the guy I sold it to a couple times, but he just grins and says "No way." How'd the 140 work out for your parents? I always felt like I was driving a Turbo Porsche or something, and the hull was very well mannered, even with all that weight out back.

Parents love that 140! Very smooth and quiet. Their 87 hull seems to be very overbuilt and may have water trapped in the stringers.

On the Sceptre, I would recommend the 150 Mercury if you went for price and and not on horse Power. Big Shrimpin has made us believers on that power plant. It rivals many 200’s and is already become a favorite with the high use guys due to reliability at a price of around10-12K. Eric and I have 300 Zukes and love them, but to just swap your old 200, I would recommend the Mercury.

[kmoose]

Originally Posted by Snookerd

Parents love that 140! Very smooth and quiet. Their 87 hull seems to be very overbuilt and may have water trapped in the stringers.

On the Sceptre, I would recommend the 150 Mercury if you went for price and and not on horse Power. Big Shrimpin has made us believers on that power plant. It rivals many 200’s and is already become a favorite with the high use guys due to reliability at a price of around10-12K. Eric and I have 300 Zukes and love them, but to just swap your old 200, I would recommend the Mercury.

I agree. While having 300 is nice for the loads a distances I run, it is doubtful I use more than what the 150 Merc would provide most of the time. That said, there is a lot of value with the 300 AP as ~18k gets you double the ponies.

[bmajvi]

Thanks guys, appreciate the input. I find Big Shrimpin's 150 Merc experience pretty amazing, will have to chew on that a little...I thought my original idea of sticking with 200hp was kind of on the low side!

[ohreally]

Originally Posted by bmajvi

Thanks guys, appreciate the input. I find Big Shrimpin's 150 Merc experience pretty amazing, will have to chew on that a little...I thought my original idea of sticking with 200hp was kind of on the low side!

On the fence as well. My experienced mind leans toward the 150, but I've been aboard a few boats that required the crew to move towards the cabin or bow rail to help get on plane loaded (heavily) in the morning... Those days are with four strokes BTW, never with old two-strokes. Full throttle on all my old motors would overcome the "over the hump" as long as I trimmed the motors down.

[bmajvi]

Update: I pulled the trigger on a Merc 150 four stroke CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) back in November of 2018. Computer showed the motor had .5 hours, "the story" was that it was on a new boat and didn't run right during commissioning, so the motor was returned to the factory. Shipped it down here, got the old Yamaha off and hung the Merc... Then my Dr. told me I needed heart surgery :-(

Longish recovery went okay, but it sure slowed boat work down to a crawl. Recored deck hatches, finally got the new controls and rigging installed, new gas tank built and installed, along with all new hoses. Put an Enertia 15P on, redid the wiring, rebuilt the hydraulic steering, new nav lights, anchor roller, yadda, yadda.

Soooo... have had her in the water a couple of times in the past few weeks, only up to 4.6 hours, but so far I'm a happy camper! Once we're all broken in I'll run some numbers and post them. The boat still has a couple squishy areas in the deck, the cuddy overhead is yucky since I pulled the rabbit fur down, etc... plenty to keep me out of trouble for awhile anyway!