Help choosing new outboard ?

I have a 1986 aluminium 14' Sea King by smoker craft. IIt came with a 1990 Gamefisher 15hp 2 stroke. The motor doesn't shift into reverse , shifter is very stiff. Lower Unit had no oil and some water came out when I first replaced the lower gear oil. The Motor goes into forward, and usually goes into neutral. I only say this because I don't plan on fixing up this motor. I paid very little for it. The first month I owned it, it would take a bit to plane the boat, but it would go 17mph with 2 adults , group 27 battery and gear. Alone I could easily hit 20mph.

Well it now floods, won't start at times and seems to have lots power and won't get on plane. I do love that it only weighs 65lbs (weighed it) but don't trust it enought to pay someone to fix it up.

So now what do I replace it with ?

I use my outboard to search alot for stripped bass and whites, so I may run at 2-5mph for extended periods scanning with sonar. I still need to get on plan and hit 16mph to cross the lake when needed, but don't need to go over 20mph.

I think I am sold on a quiet , clean 4 stroke vs another used 2 stroke.

I am struggling with the weight difference of a 9.9 85-90lbs to a 20hp 115-120 lbs. Merc/Tohtso and Yamaha see close in weight.

Do you think a 9.9hp new 4 stroke will have enough grunt to get me on plane ?
Am I being to worried about the weight ?
Is the extra 30lbs worth it to go from 9.9 to 20ph ?

My 1986 boat sticker says rated to 25hp, the 15" transom is solid and had a trianle brace in the center, but how much did a 25hp motor weight in 1986 ?

Any thoughts ? or advice from a boat similar to mine ?

Also any thoughts on how hard it would be to close off my transom so it 21" all way across to less chance for waves or wake swamping back of boat?

-thanks

here is my boat

This pic is with the battery at the back, so 60lbs for the battery plus current outboard of 65lbs is probably how she would site with a 120lb 4 stroke, but I will have to move the trolling battery midship for sure.




here is a pic of the transom and my cute wife


here is the boat


Here is a video when reverse still worked and it had a large hydro fin on the outboard. i took the fin off and gained 4 mph on top end. It does nose up and wallow a bit more without it.

I would direct you to OnlineOutboards.com, I would opt for either the 9.8 or the 20 horse based on your specs.

Prop the 9.8 properly and you will be fine. I skip the 15 because it is a de-tuned 20- always buy the motor that has the highest hp rating in it's cc' family. The 20 that boat should wake up.

There is no tax, and delivery is free. (Why pay for Merc to slap their sticker on it?)

(Sorry I couldn't tell for sure if you were, or were not buying new.)

The Tohatsu's have adjustable idle speeds for trolling.

Those doel fins are really good... At lowering your speed and increasing fuel consumption.. I found the same thing you did, pulled mine off and a motor I had came to life!

For long life,dependability i would consider Honda or a Yamaha....but that's just me !.....don't get too worried on weight...but get worried when you find yourself in the middle of a lake and your ....ury or your ....ude...doesn't start !

DanMC said:

For long life,dependability i would consider Honda or a Yamaha....but that's just me !.....don't get too worried on weight...but get worried when you find yourself in the middle of a lake and your ....ury or your ....ude...doesn't start !

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I agree on the weight- its not like you are going from a 10 up to. 50 horse, aand the location on the hull where you probably will be adding weight is where the hull wants to carry its load anyway. We have a Yammahamma 150 Pro-V that we have had since 1998. We have changed exactly zero, nada- plugs and impellers just for good measure. But I wouldn't hesitate a second to own a Tohatsu.

i have a yamaha that i love,but i would buy a tohatsu in a second for the price the're asking for them.i'm seriously considering a 25 horse tohatsu for running rivers,and keeping my 15 yami for lakes.the etecs are nice but up here they want your first born for one.just not worth the money when there's such better deals out there

I replaced an old but still great shape 1975 25hp Evinrude with a new Merc 20hp 4-stroke and actually gained performance. Had the Merc for a little over a year now and am very happy with this motor (Made by Tohatsu) Do some searching on Ebay and the web and you can often find the Merc cheaper than the Tohatsu now because of Mercury incentives. The Mercs also have a couple of features the Tohatsu's don't have. The nice thing about the 20's and less is that they will be shipped staight to your door also. Most 25's have to be shipped to and installed by a certified dealer.

still worried a bit about the weight .. adding 55lbs to the transom is going to sink it a bit.. have to go out tomorrow and put some weight in the back to see.

The picture above with me leaning over the motor was when I had the trolling motor bat in the back, so that is like adding 60lbs .. the water was closer than I would like especially when the waves pick up a bit.

WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK getting a 20" shaft motor and closing my transom up so I will have more protection from water swamping in the rear of the boat ?

maybe thinking of a mini jack plate and then use clear plexi to fill in the gaps and keep the water out.

-rob

if not buying new id go with an 80's era evinrude/johnson. find one thats been taken care of and on top of saving you hundreds if not thousands on the price of a new OB reguardless of make. those old johnny/rudes are still the best,most reliable built motors ever made and if something does need replaced or fixed anyone with a bit of mechanical aptitude can work on them and parts are still available. the basic design of them motors from the 50's through the 80's did not change that much at all because they got it right the first time and they run. i have an 80 johnson 25 that was bought new and has been taken care of and that motor will still be running 25 yrs from now with simple maintnance.... and the newer 4 strokes are nice motors until you have some electronic doo dad or something else break down and you have to pay a marine tech thousands of dollars to fix it..... get an older OMC and you get dependability from the motor! my .02 cents

thats a solid plan,if you can find an older johnnyrude in good condition.its a sellers market for those.up here they sit on cl for maybe a day then gone.i have an 85 9.9 sitting in my garage that i don't use but won't sell :LOL2:

bcbouy said:

thats a solid plan,if you can find an older johnnyrude in good condition.its a sellers market for those.up here they sit on cl for maybe a day then gone.i have an 85 9.9 sitting in my garage that i don't use but won't sell :LOL2:

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you can find them around here all the time. well kept good running sound 25hp between 500 and 700 bucks.

i'm on the west coast,surrounded by water. that same motor will sell for well over a thousand,if you can find one.

DanMC said:

For long life,dependability i would consider Honda or a Yamaha....but that's just me !.....don't get too worried on weight...but get worried when you find yourself in the middle of a lake and your ....ury or your ....ude...doesn't start !

Click to expand...

I had a 25 etec that always started. As far as new motors go, I don't think he can go wrong.