Re: i/o to outboard questions
This is something we do at my shop on a regular basis , and if it were me as far as engines go i would opt for the most h.p. i could get and i would personally go with the 250 h.p. ficht . You can always back off the throttle if you do not need all of the power and in most cases with more power when not using all of it you will get better fuel economy then you would with the smaller h.p. engines . As for weight distribution this should pretty much work it self out and not be a concern . Transom reinforcement may be necessary and then again it may not if you are unsure i would have some one look at it that has done this before . As for bracket height and flotation i like to mount the bracket as low as possible for the added floatation but keep in mind you still need to be able to mount the engine at the proper height , normally if mounting the motor straight to the transom you would want the cavitation plate even with the bottom of the boat . When mounted on a bracket you will want to move the cavitation plate up 1" for every foot you move the motor away from the back of the boat . Good luck with your project . Getting away from the i/o is the best thing you could do , and when you are finished , and if the job is done right you won't be able to believe it is the same boat .
