1978 Islander 22 I/O

[IslandExplorer]

What a cool project, love those Islanders! And man I wish I could see what you're working with. You need to grab yourself an image hosting app or something if you can stand it so we can see this project unfold! I'm using free imgur currently, it's a pain but it works for now..

That engine swap will be an awesome upgrade and agree that you definitely don't want to be underpowered playing out on big water. If you had the engine hanging sort of in place it could help with your engine mount planning maybe. Otherwise designing in extra adjustability, if possible, might be nice. I think with your careful measurements, and the play in the mounts providing adjustment, you'll do fine. How many HP is that model 4.3 you've got? I didn't realize some w 4bbl went all the way into the 225 range, impressive little motor!

 

[66Holiday924]

What a cool project, love those Islanders! And man I wish I could see what you're working with. You need to grab yourself an image hosting app or something if you can stand it so we can see this project unfold!

Thank you for your interest! It's good to know I'm not talking to myself! I have faith in iBoats. I'm waiting for them to resolve the issue and then I'll do a photo dump. I don't want to get into 3rd party photo sites and creating more accounts.

designing in extra adjustability, if possible, might be nice. I think with your careful measurements, and the play in the mounts providing adjustment, you'll do fine. How many HP is that model 4.3 you've got? I didn't realize some

My engine is a 1992, 4.3 MerCruiser, 4BBL and is rated at 180hp (per MerCruiser). I don't have an engine hoist, so hanging it in place isn't really an option for me. I spent a couple hours double checking my measurements yesterday. I went through pictures I had taken of the donor boat when I grabbed those measurements, I compared them to the engine on the pallet, and I laid it all out on the Islander. I think I am about as confident as I can be based on measurements. Nonetheless, I have a plan to build them such that they can be adjusted pretty easily.

 

[IslandExplorer]

I hear ya, more accts is another headache to deal with. 180 HP will be a great upgrade, that engine will just be purring along without strain! I wonder what the weight difference is from the 4cyl to V6. I'd guess that 4.3 is really light for what it is putting out. Engine block I'd think would be lighter than the I6 for the Mercruiser 165 you mentioned previously and that they commonly put in the Islanders and Chieftains but maybe the exhaust equals it out? If you happen to already know the weight comparison #'s I'd be interested.

 

[66Holiday924]

I wonder what the weight difference is from the 4cyl to V6. I'd guess that 4.3 is really light for what it is putting out.

Per MerCruiser, my 4.3L weighs 763lbs, the drive is 85lbs, and the transom assembly is 80lbs

The 3.0L Weighs 500ish and it would have the same drive and transom, so there's about a 250lb. difference.

I don't know what the straight six 165 weighs. I know they were optional in these boats. The weight is probably in the ballpark of the 6 cylinder I'm going to install.

Considering the engine weight differences played a part in my decision to relocate my batteries up by the helm. That'll be 140-160lbs shifted from the rear.

 

[IslandExplorer]

Wow, that's not that much more really, like just having an extra passenger in the back. The battery relocation should make a huge difference. These boats have so little weight up front so adding the batteries up there seems to have a more dramatic effect than average. I did that with the 2 house batteries on my old Starchief and it was a night and day difference. Planed out super easy and would maintain plane at much lower speeds after that. The only thing that sucked about it really was buying all the expensive damn cable!
How many batteries are you running in this rig? 2 deep cycle, 1 start?

 

[66Holiday924]

How many batteries are you running in this rig? 2 deep cycle, 1 start?

As of right now, I plan on running two 27 deep cycle marine batteries, but as I've mentioned, I've never set up a fishing boat so that may change. I also haven't looked into what MerCruiser says with this engine.

I just secured the plywood layer to my Coosa transom. I used 9 -316 SS, 1" lags and washers (aggressive threading on the lags). This will hold it in place and keep the edges down just fine until I start thru-hull mounting stuff. I tried to keep them out on the edges where they shouldn't be in the way, but if a lag is in the way of something down the road, I'll just move it.

Turning my focus on transom savers and building my engine mount. I know I'm going to have some deep cuts to do on my transom mount. I don't even see a table saw for sale at the big box stores that can cut as deep as I need, so, instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a saw, I'm going to go have a conversation with the Amish and see if I can pay them to make a couple cuts for me.