Real World Repower Let me share a recent process when I considered repowering my family’s 1999 EdgeWater 185cc, which had a Yamaha S130 V4 two-stroke of the same year on the transom, with an unknown number of hours on it. After getting both the boat and motor surveyed by a pro- fessional, I purchased this boat from a dealer down in Wilmington, NC in the fall of 2016 and trailered it back to Long Island. My sons used it every weekend during the summer of 2017, where the 19-year old two-stroke outboard was starting to show signs of aging, specifically hard starting and a cranky trim/tilt hydraulic cylinder. I asked myself the basic repowering qualification questions and here’s what I determined: • How old is the boat? 1999 (19 years when I considered the project back in 2018 • What is the current physical state of the transom? (Are there any soft spots, water intrusion issues or rot?) And the rest of the hull and deck ? There was no wood in the transom and EdgeWater backed this product up with a lifetime hull warranty to the original owner. I was owner #2, but the original owner babied this boat, kept it indoors, and never painted the bottom. The boat literally looked like it was only a few years old. The deck, cockpit sole and coaming areas were rock solid. •What is the transom weight limitation of the powerplant as per the vessel’s USCG capacity plate? 400-lbs • Where are the boat’s scupper locations when wet with the current engine and where might they be with the new powerplant? The existing Yamaha S130XL weighed approximately 370-lbs. EdgeWater recommended that whatever engine I repowered it with should be 400-lbs or less to keep the cockpit and engine well scuppers in a high and dry position to bail water overboard whether underway or at rest. • What is the horsepower limitation of the transom, as detailed on the boat’s USCG safety/capacity label? Even though the transom was rated to carry 150-HP, the weight limitation mandated that the repower choice weigh under 400-lbs. The only two engines that I considered were the Suzuki DF 140 and the Mercury 115 ProXS. When choosing to repower with a four stroke, I followed the typical industry guideline that“there is no replacement for displacement”, so I chose the Mercury 115 ProXS with a Command Thrust gearcase, since this powerhead displaced 2.1-liters, with an engine weight of 385-lbs and offered a lower gear ratio, plus an oversized lower unit that allowed me to use my inventory of V6 Mercury props to max out performance. Top speed on the Yamaha S130S with a medium load was 44-mph at 5500 rpm. Top speed with the Merc 115 ProXS is 42-mph at 6200 rpm, with optimum cruise at 4400 rpm, where it gets 24.4-knots drinking 6.1-gph, for a net efficiency of 4-NMPG. That’s all-day range with the 185 CC’s 54-gallon tank. • Will the current steering system be compatible with the new outboard?
The answer to this one was a hard“no”. The 185 EdgeWater’s original mechanical steer- ing helm was totally shot, as was the steering cable. I upgraded this to a SeaStar heavy duty“Extreme”mechanical steering system, complete with a new tilt helm assembly, a smaller diameter stainless steel steering wheel, in addition to an adapter plate that my local Mercury dealer (Albertson Marine in Southold, NY) fabricated to enable the new system to fit in the existing hole in the center console
In next month’s column, we are going to explore the “real”costs of this repowering project, a similar project on my larger 228 EdgeWater, in addition to a boating buddy’s recent I/O repowering project for his 23-foot Boston Whaler Conquest cabin boat. n next month’s column, we are going to explore the “real”costs of this repowering project, a similar project on my larger 228 EdgeWater, in addition to a boating buddy’s recent I/O repowering project for his 23-foot Boston Whaler Conquest cabin boat.
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