And now, the not-so-good news

[Fr. Frank]

I just pulled my lower unit, and my bearing carrier has shifted backwards about 1/16", which is what caused me to not have any reverse this past weekend.

And boy, let me tell you, it is not easy to anchor in a tight line of boats, in a current, with only 6-8' of clearance to the sides, without reverse.

especially with everyone there evaluating your seamanship as you approach. THAT could be a whole 'nother thread.

[eggsuckindog]

Good luck, thats why I spent a day and a half getting my reverse but you did great never even noticed.

[Miles Offshore]

"especially with everyone there evaluating your seamanship as you approach"

[Fr. Frank]

We ended up doing a complete rebuild with a new (old) gearcase as the threads on mine were too far gone. No nose cone on the new case. We put in new seals & bushings, new bearings, new pinion gear, new clutch dog cam & pin.

I figure I lost 2-3 mph with the lack of a nosecone. I actually ran 4-5 mph less, but I figure higher air temps & lower air density of summer accounts for half of that.

Top speed on GPS was 47 mph at 6050 rpms straight downwind in 20kt wind and a light to moderate chop, trimmed out and surfacing the prop at that speed.

Here are the stats:
Boat is a '72 Seafari
Motor is a '91 Mercury 2.4L 150 Xr4 carb model reman'd to produce about 190 hp w/ 20" shaft.
Fuel burn at WOT was 15.8 gph.
Gear ratio is 1.75 to 1 (off a Merc 3.0L)
Prop is custom PowerTech 15"D x 16.5"P
Hull has fresh Slickote bottom paint.
Carried one person and about 20 gallons fuel.

[LEVERETTE5]

Hey Frank im not a numbers guy but the numbers sound better than most posted the last few weeks.

[Fr. Frank]

It runs well. The engine was balanced to within 4 grams of reciprocating weight when remanufactured in '02. Best performance ever was on a cold day using my old handheld GPS, showing 46 kts, or 53 mph, using the same prop behind a Hydro-Flow nosecone.

I've seen a '78 20' CC reach a true and sustained 53 kts (61 mph)with a 2.5L 200 Merc on a jackplate with a nosecone/low-water pickup from Bob's in Ruskin, turning a 24"P overhub "chopper". Slow out of the hole, though.

And I know the 23' Seavette with twin 260hp 5.7L Mercruisers was capable of 68 mph, and with twin 235 Evinrudes, in '84 a SeaVette I was riding in hit an indicated 73 mph on a CMP/Keller speedo. (Very accurate water pressure speedo)

SeaCrafts can be very fast. They were designed that way. Yours can be, too.

[1bayouboy]

twin merc's in a 23 seavette.....is that the same basic hull as the 23' sceptre/CC?? If it can handle that weight I'm less concerned about the weight of twin O/Bs on a bracket on my Tsunami....???

[Fr. Frank]

yep. same hull.