Seafarer Victory repower

[Shayne_Blue]

I have a 6.0 Victory and am looking to repower from a carb 150 merc to a 200 or 225 opti or four stroke yamaha. Are there any Victory owners with either of those engines with comments on performance and fuel economy numbers?

thanks

Shayne

[Ocean_Spirit]

If it was me personally, I would look at a 200HP Evinrude E-TEC 2.6Ltr small-block matched with a 17" or 18" Viper propeller (and make sure the height is right).

This is just about the perfect engine for this hull.

[gr hilly]

twin 70s fantastic mate changes everything about your boat, might be a might be a personal thing i spent 7 yrs in one with beenliegh air

sea rescue. all the best hilly

[Deelirious]

Ive just picked up a second hand one that has been repowered with a 225 hp Yamaha 4 stroke and although I've only had it out for a test run at this stage the weight distribution was sweet and holeshot performance was also excellent as well as trim control. I'm not expecting to get the fuel economy of the 175hp suzi they commonly put on them now but unless I get any nasty surprises I'm confident I'll be happy.

[Spaniard_King]

I got a couple of 225 honda available with Warranty pm me if you want details.

[julian1]

the 175 Zuke would most likely give the same holeshot and speed as the 225 4 stroke Yam, and the 200 Zuke, well it would blow the doors off a 225 Yam speed/gruntwise - food for thought. it would also fly with a 200 Opti but they still aint no 4 stroke

[finding_time]

Shayne

Mate i've spent alot of time in this hull with a 200 hpdi on it and thought that was a good combo but i got the suprise of my life driving a friends victory with a 150 hp johno on it. The boat was not as fast as the boat i had my hrs on but the hull worked a whole lot better with the lighter arse end. At the time i thought that if i ever owned a victory a light 150 hp engine would be a very big consideration!

I'm sure you'll like the boot from the extra hp but do consider weight as to much does effet the sea keeping of this hull, i'd pick the lightest of the 200/ 225 engines

[Vitamin Sea]

Shane

I've got a 200 '06/'07 Opti on the back of a 19C Haines, I average 1.6~1.8 km/l out of it, top speed about 42 knts.
3800 rpm's gives me 26 knts at about 25 lph, easy cruise.

I assume your rig would weigh about the same as the Haines.

Weight of ELS motor would be 230K's

Pro's:
Very efficient as per above, would think as good if not better than most 4 Strokes
Goes like a shower of sh*t when you hit it
5 yr warranty ( 3+2)
Less expensive to maintain than the 4 bangers (duck)

Cons
Noisy at low rpm's ( but the Victory may plane easier than the haines:-/ )
Oil usage 40~50:1 at cruise, Zip trolling

All about bucks I suppose, but listen to Ian as he has raised the light motor observation before on that hull.

Cheers

Let me know if you need any more info

VS

[Wayne_Red]

Shayne

Mate i've spent alot of time in this hull with a 200 hpdi on it and thought that was a good combo but i got the suprise of my life driving a friends victory with a 150 hp johno on it. The boat was not as fast as the boat i had my hrs on but the hull worked a whole lot better with the lighter arse end. At the time i thought that if i ever owned a victory a light 150 hp engine would be a very big consideration!

I'm sure you'll like the boot from the extra hp but do consider weight as to much does effet the sea keeping of this hull, i'd pick the lightest of the 200/ 225 engines

Would fitting tabs to the boat counter the extra weight of the 200/225 to give a lighter arse?
Bro did fit a 17" mirage plus from a 19" vengence a little while ago that did make a hugh difference on the carbed 150 to make it more responsive and really improved hull performance. He had it away on holidays a couple of weeks ago and a starter coil let him down at sea followed a couple of days later by teeth of the forward gear and damaged pinion. Thus 98' model motor, want reliability back and looking at repower.
We have seen a victory with a 175 opti, owner thought it was great, 75 litres for a days trolling on the shelf in a crapy sea. Lighter motor might be another option worth looking at?
Interesting people saying zuk has a good amount more power than than the yam, I assume it is from personal experience. zuk is not very well supported here (port stephens) the zuk dealer is also the etec dealer and is more a 2s man so don't see many of them around
Wayne

[Deelirious]

Wayne,
I sent Shayne some details today re my testing of the 4 blade solas and the trim tabs. In short, the claims of the 4 blade prop lifiting the stern and slower planing speed and better mid range economy were all correct. The 4 blade was 5-6kn faster at 3000 and 4000 rpm and although using more l/h was more economical nm/l since the boat was travelling faster. The key difference was planing. The Yammy 17 did not have the boat on the plane at 3k rpm whereas the 4 blade was up and out of the hole with no labouring and already getting along nicely at 3k rpm. All the figures are in the spreadsheet I sent Shayne but the 19 inch 4 blade I had on was too big capping max revs to 5400 (cf 6100 for the 17 yammy) so SOlAS are sending me an 18 inch 4 blade tomorrow so I'll send through the performance figures for that as well. Top speed was only up by a couple of kn which was to be expected, but 41kn was plenty fast enough.
I had a full tank of fuel and 3 guys on board but not much gear other than that so I expect the figures to drop a bit once I've got the boat loaded.

The tabs were very impressive. I simulated wakeboarding at around 22kn trimmed the nose in to give a nice crisp wake and engine out to lighten the steering nicely. Dropped back to a dead stop without adjusting tabs or engine trim and then pushed it onto the plane. Pushed is not really the right word because she just came up out of the water no noticeable transition and effortlessly settled in at 22kn once again or even slower if desired. That is going to be a real asset in the rough stuff with a big load on.

If considering bennett trim tabs (hydraulic) have a look at my other post where is dscribe fitting them under the swim platforms i.e. without having to cut a hole in the swim platforms for the ram top mount.
Ed

[Wayne_Red]

Thanks Ed
It sound like your real happy with the with your combo now. I know Shayne has been keen to see how your new prop goes. We took the old motor off tonight so not long now.
Wayne

[Shayne_Blue]

The decision has been made for better or for worse and it is now bolted to the back of my boat. I went for the F200 yamaha four stroke. Thanks to those that sent in posts and made comments, I valued them all. It was a harder decision that I expected. I saw Victorys with Etecs, big Suzukis, small suzukis but I am happy with the Yamy. One I looked at had a 225 Zuk on the back with a Permatrim, the owner says it does 90kph plus and he loved it but it was a bit tall for my liking plus a few other samll things. In the end it came down to personal choice, I think they are all good motors and they all have their good and bad stories.

The motor only has a couple of hours on it but I am pleased with it's performance, excellent out of the hole. Lovely in a following sea, set the revs and forget it, 3600, 3700, 3800, what ever you want that's what it does. Not the same as constantly working the throttle on the 150 Merc, I'm realy gonna miss that. Fuel economy looks good so far off the gauges but no real figures yet. I am running the Saltwater series 2 6R4 17" prop

The motor is heavier on the tail, that's for sure. I am up on weight by about 90kg. You don't notice it coming out of the hole, but the nose sits higher with the same trim as the two stroke and down a little in the bum when at rest. With a bit of weight balancing and a set of QL tabs I am fitting at the moment I am sure I will get it sorted out considering that was it's first trip to sea with full fuel etc.

Thanks again

Shayne