You guys will keel haul me but I need to know what you think

[Caseyjoe]

Transom pics. Rated for a 135. The 225 efi weighs 480 lbs. A 135 weight is around 360.

 

[MH Hawker]

very interesting, its ruff for a 06 and that transom was beefed up some where in the past, i have no idea if it will hold 225 or not but it looks like it may

 

[Caseyjoe]

My boat guy told me it would hold but hearing one of you guys say it may just work really makes me feel better about it. Think I'll still tie it to the boat in case I lose it somehow. It's really rough. Was sitting in a field for at least 3 years when I finally bought it. The registration sticker ran out in 2012 so it may have sat longer than that. Deckvery solid though. Bimini is shot. But to me these are the little things. A good foundation is all I was looking for.

 

[Caseyjoe]

He's supposed to put the motor on today. Hope he can get to it. If so I'll post more. My wife is putting new upholstery on the seats. Also I found out the toons are 25 inch.

 

[ahicks]

With 25" toons, you may have tripped into something that will work out OK for you. Those would be pretty uncommon on older boats. Wish our boat (w/24" toons) had those!

Something I did on my project may be of help as well. If not now, maybe later. Our boat is a '99, and back then floor plans with 3-4' of deck area in front of the rails were pretty common. When reinstalling the railing on ours, I moved the entire set of rails forward a little over 3', leaving only about 12" of deck forward. This was done to shift some weight forward to help balance the boat with the engine I installed (390 lb 90hp Honda). A bonus is that it also provides a much more modern "look" as this setup is pretty popular on the new boats, many of which have permanently installed swim ladders mounted in the right rear corner - another of the mods done to ours. Our "new" floor plan allows for some room on the rear deck (3' or so) to move around in the area of the ladder, service the engine, mess with tow ropes, etc. Bottom line, moving the rails forward worked out REALLY well for us.

Again, best of luck.

 

[MH Hawker]

i am not a engineer, so i have no idea, but here at iboats they tend to err on the side of caution and not to go out side of the built in limits of design specifications because of the international reader ship and i happen to agree with that, having had incidents out on the water my self, just because you can do a thing dosnt mean its a good idea to, but i can say when things go bad they go bad really really fast and people die

some were in that boats past some one beefed it up to run a over horse powered motor, you found it with a 50 on it so i expect the past owner took off a bigger motor and stuck that one on it, i suspect it was because they found it way to squarely to use, even if the transom will hold the hp i wouldn't risk my family, if your bound and determined to run a 225 do it right and add a third log

 

[Caseyjoe]

Thanks Hicks! I will have to look at it. I'm thinking the deck railing on this one goes almost all the way to the edge all the way around. I'll post more pics when I see it again. I really appreciate any ideas you guys have and would love to hear them. I've always wanted a real boat but all I've ever had till now was canoes that I would float the creek with a trolling motor on them. I'll admit I'm new to this and I certainly could use any guidance I can get. I'll keep posting and if what I do is stupid you won't hurt my feelings at all by saying it is. Thanks again guys.

 

[Caseyjoe]

I asked why an 06 boat was running a mid 80s motor and he said the other one was stolen. Said he put the 50 on it and got a divorce and never used it again. I will definitely look into getting a 3rd toon on it though. It had crossed my mind. Is that a big job? Or can I do that myself with the help of one of my crews?

 

[ahicks]

I think maybe that's the first time you mentioned this was an '06 boat. For whatever reason, I assumed it was MUCH older. Maybe because that's what I see most of the time here.

Center 'toon would need to be chosen pretty carefully. With no experience or expert guidance, that may be a project you'd want to hold off on. The actual install would be just a matter of careful measuring, choice of materials used (size of bolts, etc), and quality workmanship.

With a little clearer picture in my mind of what you actually have now, there's also a question regarding whether there's a real need for a center toon in my mind. For my purposes, sure, something like that would be really nice, but may be harder to justify on a bucks spent vs. bang received basis.

 

[Caseyjoe]

Third toon would also mean new trailer. I'll try it alone and with no traffic and if it's sketchy I'll trade down on power before I get into that. Shouldn't be too hard to find someone to trade a 225 for a 135 right? Just because the power is there doesn't mean I have to use it right? I mean is there some reason I shouldn't run it at 4500 rpm instead of wot?

 

[Caseyjoe]

I appreciate your courtesy Hicks but we all know you thought it was much older because it's ugly as a mud fence. I'm not a millennial. You don't need to spare my feelings. It is what it is but the project of trying to bring it back to life is why I bought it instead of a new one. Although in the end a new one would probably be cheaper. Thought id understand it better and enjoy it more if I had to work for it.

 

[ahicks]

Mmmmm, I think if you can find something with solid bones with the intention of doing a complete refurb on it, you can accomplish a few things. First, if doing the work yourself, I think it will be hard to spend so much on a complete total refurb that you will have spent as much as a new boat might cost. Second, a well thought out total refurb. (not a rush job) will leave you with a totally custom boat, that will be your favorite floor plan, done in your favorite materials and colors. On our project, which included new anything not aluminum, including some pretty expensive padded vinyl floor covering and the price of our "in need of total major service" 90hp Honda, was about 6500. After selling the 40hp Johnson that was on it, we're actually into the refurb for 1500 less than that....

In the market area I'm in (SE Mich) that's about what a solid set of bones with decent power might be worth. If you were to buy one like that, then spend 6500 on it fixing it up, you'd STILL be at only about 25 to 30% of what a new boat might cost.

Bottom line, I'm guessing you'll be into yours at what most would consider to be a great deal compared to a new boat.

 

[Caseyjoe]

So far I'm in 1400 for boat, trailer and the mid 80s Merc 50 and 3000 for the Merc 225. I got him to throw in the 5 blade stainless prop as part of our deal.

 

[ahicks]

Like I said...

 

[Maclin]

Caseyjoe Kinda figured you weren't a millennial 'cause you didn't put $6k of stereo in it first thing :lol:

 

[Caseyjoe]

It sounds like the most intense fastest reving musclecar you can imagine. Better be holding the steering wheel when she revs. I understand what you guys are saying now. Still gotta try it out.

 

[Caseyjoe]

Prop I have. Maybe it's not right but it was part of our deal. If it sucks I can surely trade it for something down at the marina.

 

[ahicks]

Something your dealer (or whoever is doing your work) should have discussed was the steering. Stuff in the 150+ hp ranges are generally all equipped with hydraulic steering, as the mechanical can be pretty difficult to turn when the engine is making a lot of power. To the point it may prove dangerous. Even our 90 wants to scoot sideways under hard acceleration. Hydraulic conversion not too difficult, but it is expensive....

Second, I'll be surprised if you're able to use that prop. You're going to be looking for something that will let the engine turn up to max rpm at a much lower speed than what that prop will allow.At best it will be like driving your car in overdrive.

Our engine came with a 17p 4 blade stainless, and to date, that's proven to be -0- value regarding trades for something I can use, even though it fits a BUNCH of different Honda and Merc. engines.

 

[Caseyjoe]

What prop would you guys recommend starting with? The high five is a "hole shot" prop. Which led me to believe it's kind of like a lower geared rear end under a car. I know pitch is high but I also understand I have plenty of power to turn it. I don't care about top end at all. If I can go 25 by just buying a different prop I'll be very happy.

 

[ahicks]

You've got plenty of power, but the engine has been moved to something with all the streamlining/hydrodynamics of a parachute. There's no comparing the amount of drag on a pair of pontoons to a conventional hulled boat.

I doubt you'll have any trouble making 25 with the right prop. You might even hit 30.