Choosing the right outboard motor!

P

project

Cadet
Joined
Nov 30, 2005
Messages
9
I couldn’t find an appropriate forum for this question since it’s not technical so I posted it here, Please move it if there is one.

I need an outboard motor for my boat, it’s 1970 Seaswirl Newport and as you know it’s heavy. The plate says that I can mount up to 125 hp motor on it and the transom is in a good shape so anything from 50 hp to 125.

In $700 range, what kind of outboard can I get?
Any suggestion on brands? Mercury, Johnson, Evinrude, Honda,…
I need rating on reliability and availability of parts as well as price and performance.

Thanks in advance,

Chris
 
deejaycee_2000

deejaycee_2000

Captain
Joined
Mar 28, 2006
Messages
3,447
Re: Choosing the right outboard motor!

For $700 you won't find much in the range you want, when looking at a second hand motor for $700 you looking at a 5hp - 30hp max, i would say push for a nice 1996 - 1999 130hp yamaha's as they where great motors or even the 115hp but then you looking at a min of $2500 for a decent one .... good luck .... toys are expensive :)
 
Silvertip

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,771
Re: Choosing the right outboard motor!

If the boat is rated for a 125 HP you want an engine that has a minimum of 90 HP or even 100. 75% of maximum is the general rule of thumb. Anything less than that will yield very poor performance.
 
JB

JB

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Mar 25, 2001
Messages
45,907
Re: Choosing the right outboard motor!

What did you find inappropriate about the Outboard Non-repair Discussions Forum, Project?

What was your understanding of "(not engine topics)" in the name of this forum?

Do we need to change the names?
 
K

karrick

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 12, 2003
Messages
259
Re: Choosing the right outboard motor!

Things can be done on the cheap if you know where to look. I found a good deal on www.craigslist.com that needed a little wrenchin' but at a great price8). I would also recomend the closest to rated the better. I imagine if you underpower You assume the transom is in good shape, but how old is it? Is it worth your time to rebuild with fresh wood? I'm giving my transom a lot of thought when I repower this winter... Good luck!
 
P

project

Cadet
Joined
Nov 30, 2005
Messages
9
Re: Choosing the right outboard motor!

JB,
I didn't know there was one. Move it as you wish.

Well, the motor I had on this boat was a 55 homelite 4 stroke but it's no good and since parts are very expensive and usually unavailable I decided to go 2 stroke.

I see lot of Evinrude, Johnson and merc selling for $400-800 on ebay, and they all claim good compression and lower units.
I don't mind rebuilding crabs and doing a fresh tune up but generally looking for a running motor.

As far as the year goes, 1970 era suits me fine.

My main question was which brand to go for, mercury seems to sell a little higher than others,...
 
JB

JB

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Mar 25, 2001
Messages
45,907
Re: Choosing the right outboard motor!

What do you plan to do with the Homelite, Project? In what way is it "no good"? Broke or just too little power for the job?

There are several places that specialize in Homelite/Bearcat parts but 55HP at the crank is far too little power for your boat. It would need two of them for decent performance.

You can probably get nice bux for it on ebay from some H/B fan.

I will not move this because our new format makes moving a post very confusing to members. It would have been better to simply repost it, but now you have lots of response, so just let it go.

While shopping for a replacement I strongly recommend that you avoid Chrysler and Force engines, regardless of how cheap they seem. Same for OMC engines with electric or electrohydraulic shifting.
 
D

danpemby

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 24, 2006
Messages
497
Re: Choosing the right outboard motor!

Project

a few things to keep in mind with that ebay ad. 1. if you dont/cant pick it up, you are already $300.00 into shipping. That leaves you $400.00 for bidding. The BIN price is almost $1300.00, and the reserve is not met at 207.00 leaves very little room.
Just my .02
 
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