Boat Motor

[Andrew32]

Just curious. My dads letting me set up another boat on my own and im runnign in to some questions

Im thinking a zodiac pro 20' riggid. Im having trouble selecting motor heres the spcs:
Min Recommended - 225
Max Recommended - 300
Max Allowed - 300
Max Weighs - 660lbs Twin engine
300lbs BiMotor

Now what the heck is the difference in Twin Engine and Bimotor!?
I know 300 is the largest now, but who here runs a larger motor than allowed? Ever get caught?
thanks any help would be great

[Tempted]

I run a 225 on a boat that is rated 185. All you do is get a decal kit and change your bonnet. The local tournaments I fish don't check the numbers so its fine here however if DNR or the Coast Guard decides to stop and check you could face fines and possible loss of craft. As for the twin engine/bi-motor thing I have no idea. I looked the boat up and all I can find are single motors around 250.

[Andrew32]

yea. iv never heard of mi and twin...arnt they the same thing?. I was thinking a evinrude 300.

But my 12ft rigid is rate at 20 and has a 30. The 14ft riggid is rated for 30 but has a 50. I havent been pulled over but u was just curious who else changes it out.

Yea 250 seems to be the pre built ones but i wanna do my own. and max power is the onyl way to go

[Tempted]

If your Dad is bankrolling this thing go with a Verado. Its supercharged!

[cuda_tmaxx]

The Merc 350 HP Verado is a good motor, but if you really want to spend some money, look for a hydroplane race team. They may have a spare 2.5L Offshore Racing outboard they can sell you. The 2.5L offshore outboards that merc sells to the general public are detuned, have alternators, but still put out 280 HP, run 7500 rpm and weigh about 150 pounds less than a merc 300 2 stroke. The race teams get a special 2.5L with a top limit of 10500 rpm, well over 350 hp on good fuel, 115 octane is what we run, and all the frills like the altenator are removed.

Bonus- None of the Mercury Racing 2.5L Offshore motors had any horsepower data displayed on the motor. All it says is 2.5L EFI, for all the cops know you have the 225 hp 2.5L block

They are awesome motors and are the only outboard my dad will ever run. They need frequent rebuilds but it is worth it. It will push our 22 foot tunnel hull into the triple digits.

[aussiek2000]

We are allowed to run a 140 on our 18' bass boat, but we only run a 115. it will hit 65mph before it starts rocking back and forth.

[PA_Pete]

The Merc 350 HP Verado is a good motor, but if you really want to spend some money, look for a hydroplane race team. They may have a spare 2.5L Offshore Racing outboard they can sell you. The 2.5L offshore outboards that merc sells to the general public are detuned, have alternators, but still put out 280 HP, run 7500 rpm and weigh about 150 pounds less than a merc 300 2 stroke. The race teams get a special 2.5L with a top limit of 10500 rpm, well over 350 hp on good fuel, 115 octane is what we run, and all the frills like the altenator are removed.

Bonus- None of the Mercury Racing 2.5L Offshore motors had any horsepower data displayed on the motor. All it says is 2.5L EFI, for all the cops know you have the 225 hp 2.5L block

They are awesome motors and are the only outboard my dad will ever run. They need frequent rebuilds but it is worth it. It will push our 22 foot tunnel hull into the triple digits.

Cuda, you do know what your talking about! I was going to suggest the same thing, that or the 300XS. Just remember that both the 2.5 and the 300XS are two strokes where as the Verados (supercharged) are 4 strokes. But I think for your application a two stroke would make that inflatable fly! High RPM engines and very light weight with tons of horsepower per pound. Cuda said it all. With power tilt and trim (I've set up boats before without this!) and a vast prop selection, you should be able to set that boat up for max top speed and proper RPM range. Let us know what you decide to go with! I'm interested as to what kind of numbers you'll get out of this (mph and rpms). Also, what kind of instruments are you going with? I know a few of the big names out there are Livorsi and Gaffrig. If you can, go with a GPS speedometer, way more accurate than your standard water pressured one.

[cuda_tmaxx]

Its what I grew up with. My dad goes to the screamandfly events and when you get a bunch of guys with fast boats together they all try and one up each other.

Another thing to consider about the 2.5L offshore is the above water exhaust. They are very loud.
twin 300xs motors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eOHD...eature=related

twin 2.5L offshores- it is awesome when he opens it up at the 16 second mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eOHD...eature=related

[Andrew32]

wow, i never really thought about merc.

These seem to be what i wanna get, Either a Verado 300, optimax 300xs or Evinrude 300.

Im ore inclined to use the evinrude 300 cuz we have 2 of them on my dads whaler. Never run or seen a verado run.
Also, i kinda wanted to go with a 4 stroke.....but the 150ish weight savings is REALLY APPEALING!
what do you guys think?

[stampede boy]

evinrude or johnson

[Tempted]

I still vote Verado. All it would take is a granger valve to bump the boost a few PSI(if its a centrifigul which I believe it is) or a little smaller pulley(if its a roots style). It should be reliable and it sounds awsome!! The Evinrude should be less expensive though. I have a Merc on mine right now and love it. Not the Verado though

[cuda_tmaxx]

Also, i kinda wanted to go with a 4 stroke.....but the 150ish weight savings is REALLY APPEALING!
what do you guys think?

That was compared to a 300xs. A 300 4 stroke will be another 100 pounds. A 2.5L Offshore with a Sport master lower unit is one of the lightest 250+ hp motors you can buy.

The Verado 350 is 667 pounds
The Verado 300 is 635 pounds
The 300xs 2 stroke is 534 pounds
The 2.5L Offshore or SS is 375 pounds
The 2.5L Sport is 400 pounds

[Nitronaught]

Holy Mackeral, your gonna drop a 300 onto a 20' Zodiac?

I can say I never was disappointed about my Evinrude motors. Plain ole reliable....

I want a picture of the dude who ski's behind your boat, I bet his knuckles will be dragging the ground at the end of that ride...lolll

Have fun, and happy boating....

[PA_Pete]

I was gonna make a mention about the overpowering of the boat, but just read Andrew post again and noticed that he stated that Max HP was 300, which there are only two mainstream mass produced outboards that put out more than 300, that would be the merc 350 and the yamaha 350. Anyways, I was going to state, that if you were going to do this (over power the boat), to be very cautious. Other than what tempted said, you would need to worry about weight balance and transom strength. Me and a buddy of mine rigged up a Sea Kart (good luck finding one, darn near impossible, try even searching on the internet) with a 40HP Evinrude, the boat was only rated for a 25HP engine. Needless to say, the back end of the boat was very low in the water due to the extra weight. The thing was crazy, but dangerous (that's another story). So if you do go bigger, make the proper modifications to support the extra weight and horse power. Oh, Ill try to dig up a photo of that sea kart, I only have a couple and it's with the cover on, he still has it by the way, just no engine at this point.

EDIT: Found it, here is a photo of this thing, but it does have the cover on. Sorry Andrew, I'm not trying to steal this thread, just stating my previous experience.

[Andrew32]

Holy Mackeral, your gonna drop a 300 onto a 20' Zodiac?

I can say I never was disappointed about my Evinrude motors. Plain ole reliable....

I want a picture of the dude who ski's behind your boat, I bet his knuckles will be dragging the ground at the end of that ride...lolll

Have fun, and happy boating....

hehe yea i love fast boats. The zodiac is actually rated at 300 so im not worried.

pete, no worries bro. good to hear experiences of others. But the max transom weight is 667lbs, and the 2 stroke merc is 520. SO IM HAPPY

Heres what im thinkin of going with:
merc 350 2 stroke
humminbird 967c 3d for my navi and fish finding
minn kota engine mounted trolling motor (anyone have any experience with engine mounted trolling motors?)
minn kota anchor winch

[emaxxbasher]

I'd go brushless....

[cuda_tmaxx]

hehe yea i love fast boats. The zodiac is actually rated at 300 so im not worried.

pete, no worries bro. good to hear experiences of others. But the max transom weight is 667lbs, and the 2 stroke merc is 520. SO IM HAPPY

Heres what im thinkin of going with:
merc 350 2 stroke
humminbird 967c 3d for my navi and fish finding
minn kota engine mounted trolling motor (anyone have any experience with engine mounted trolling motors?)
minn kota anchor winch

They don't make a 350 hp 2 stroke. The Verado is a 4 stroke

The humminbird 967c is good. We had one in our salmon boat.
As for engine mounted trolling motors, what type of fishing are you doing. I personally hate them. My unlce has one on his triton, along with a bow mount. We always tilt up the motor where we fish because of all the stumps rendering the motor mounted one useless. I am not to familar with zodiacs, but is a bow mount one not possible. On my 12 foot boat I have built a small transom mount so I can run a transom mount motor as a bow mount is to big and won't have proper clearance.

[Andrew32]

im sorry, just the 300xs.

Well i can have the fiberglass haul extent over the bow for the installation. I do every type of fishing from freshwater large mouth bass to king mackerels and groupers in salt water.

I dont need the trolling motor for salt water but it is almost necessary in the lake i fish in IMO.

[cuda_tmaxx]

im sorry, just the 300xs.

Well i can have the fiberglass haul extent over the bow for the installation. I do every type of fishing from freshwater large mouth bass to king mackerels and groupers in salt water.

I dont need the trolling motor for salt water but it is almost necessary in the lake i fish in IMO.

You will get better manueverability out of a bow mount. With a motor mount you will be very limited. I like my almost zero turn radius of the bow mounts

[PA_Pete]

They don't make a 350 hp 2 stroke. The Verado is a 4 stroke

The humminbird 967c is good. We had one in our salmon boat.
As for engine mounted trolling motors, what type of fishing are you doing. I personally hate them. My unlce has one on his triton, along with a bow mount. We always tilt up the motor where we fish because of all the stumps rendering the motor mounted one useless. I am not to familar with zodiacs, but is a bow mount one not possible. On my 12 foot boat I have built a small transom mount so I can run a transom mount motor as a bow mount is to big and won't have proper clearance.

I'm not sure if he would be able to mount a bow mounted trolling motor on that inflatable. I know the one I have on my bass boat mounts with hardware bolted through the fiberglass on the bow of the boat. He may be able to rig it up somehow though. If now, just may need to go with a transom mounted trolling motor. That's how me and my friends always used to roll, you can just pop it right off when you done with it too. Agreed on the engine mounted trolling motors.

[Nitronaught]

If you put more power on the transom than it is rated for I would re-inforce the transome with some alumonum plates, one on each side to kind of sandwich the transome. Have the plates a good 2 inches wider talller and lower than all the mounting points. Use good aluminum too....

That's what they do down here when they over rate their engines. Me, I've had 4 boats and never needed to over power them, I put good trim tabs on, and made sure my prop was at the correct pitch so I would not cavitate nor have problems reaching top RPMS and getting up on plane.

Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck.