Is a 4.3 enough?

[flipbro]

I purchased a 23 foot Tempest it's a rather large boat cuddy sink stove washroom ect. It's powered by a 4.3 4 barrel that seems to run great on the hose. My concern is wether this engine is a little under powered? The boat does have Tabs. I've also got a 5.7 in my bow rider I could swap in and put the 4.3 in my 20 foot BR. Thoughts?

 

[QBhoy]

Hi flipbro
I'm not sure what a 23" tempest is, but I can tell you that I had a bayliner 2255 4 berth cruiser that ran just fine with the 4.3. I had a 19" hi 5 prop on her.
I also had a heavier Sealine 23 ft cruiser with a VP 4.3 and dual props. This also ran very well and managed around 37mph. Plenty for that boat.

 

[Bondo]

I've also got a 5.7 in my bow rider I could swap in and put the 4.3 in my 20 foot BR. Thoughts?

Ayuh,..... Whatcha waitin' for,..?? swap the drives, with the motors,....

 

[Scott Danforth]

My thought is that you can never have too much power. My 24 footer is going from just over 300hp to about 500hp.

However just tooling around, the 4.3 is not bad

 

[flipbro]

Ayuh,..... Whatcha waitin' for,..?? swap the drives, with the motors,....

Well I'm in the middle of gutting her. She's getting new transom stringers and bulk heads in the engine compartment. Then all new wood in the cabin. This boat is odd the stringers don't run full length of the boat. The center of boat is foam filled. Any way I'm going to make the mounts so I can use either 4.3 or 5.7. I'm really leaning towards the 5.7 swap but struggling to tear my wellcraft apart.

 

[flipbro]

My thought is that you can never have too much power. My 24 footer is going from just over 300hp to about 500hp.

However just tooling around, the 4.3 is not bad

This boat is just for getting out and spending the night on the water. And cruising around. However I don't want a big burgundy slug when trying to plane her out. Load is usually me wife 2 kids two dogs and then the usual gear. Thanks 4 the imputed .

 

[flipbro]

Hi flipbro
I'm not sure what a 23" tempest is, but I can tell you that I had a bayliner 2255 4 berth cruiser that ran just fine with the 4.3. I had a 19" hi 5 prop on her.
I also had a heavier Sealine 23 ft cruiser with a VP 4.3 and dual props. This also ran very well and managed around 37mph. Plenty for that boat.

23 foot Tempest would be close to the same size and design as your bayliner.Sounds like you enjoyed them with the 4.3.

 

[hotdog atw]

I'm a new member with a 77 StarCraft Chieftain 22 with 165 MerCruiser that probably will need to be replaced, lots of hours in saltwater. I think the 4.3 is what I want to replace it. Just joined but been following the forum for months. Look forward to lots of help as I will be doing a restore of my boat.

 

[gm280]

I can't make an honest decision on either setup having never owned such type hulls and engines. But I have learned over the years that the more HP is the better. You can always back off the speed, but you can only add speed up to the engine's output and that;s it. So I have learned that the biggest engine you can legally fit is the best for any issue. Even when the engine gets tired there is still enough to do the job. JMHO

 

[flipbro]

I agree the more torque the better. And that 5.7 will out do the little 4.3 any day. So I guess I will be switching engines and drives around. When the time comes..