outboard dilema

[airlock]

Hey, i've been lurking for a while and found some great advice but now i need some direct help.

Ive just picked up a 166 cruise craft reef raider, i payed for the hull witch is in great condition and the previous owner left the old outboard on it, an early 80's marina 75. The trim and tilt is broken and there are starting problems, takes a lot of cranking to fire it from cold so i imagine the carbs might need a good clean (changed plugs and it helped but still having some trouble.) Any way ive been offered a really well priced and looked after 135 Blackmax witch is tempting. I know the Hull is rated to 150 but from what i can gather the 135 is a heavy old girl and ive already got the fuel tanks and the battery at the back, needless to say im a little worried about weight. considering my level of available funds at the moment the choice is between the big blackmax or repairing the 75, there arnt to many local motors in good nick round noosa at the moment in the right price range.

So first question is wether the 135HP will be a bad option as well as simply being a bit of overkill. and the second question would be if the max wouldn't be a good option would it be worth the time and effort to get the old 75 fixed up considering its age and questionable condition?

[Steeler]

You really need to get to the bottom of your current issues in regards to the costs involved with the current motor,

You say the Pwr T/Trim is not working, is it just a solenoid which by the way is very common on those motors or is it soemthing of a greater nature.

The starting could be something as silly as some goose playing with the linkages and buggering with the timing. Is it a Dizzy or a switch box model ? . Not uncommon for these to have poor spark from buggered switch boxes.

I have cited pretty cheap DIY items here which would make it a keeper if it has good compression, anything over a 100psi and within 10% of each other makes it still a worthwhile thing to keep.

Really need to get a proper sense of your current issues in dollar value before writing it off.

[Y-Not]

I can not comment directly on the motor as there really is not enough info her to say good or bad on that particular issue.
My advice is more about powering one of these hulls. I have been running one myself for the last 12 years and love it.
That said, THEY NEED HORSEPOWER!!!!! I can not stress this enough.
I originally had an old Johnson 115HP V4 on it and rue the day I was convinced not to spend the money fixing its trim and tilt when it failed and bought the recommended (by the repairer) 90HP mercury.
It has been a good motor but speed has been down and general hole shot has never been the same. I have tried various props.
I feel that it is just a heavy hull and needs the horse power. My fuel is in the kill tank (central line just aft of midships.) and the weight of the bigger motor was not an issue.

[Jake79]

If it's a 16'6" hull and rated to 150, the 135 will be a great fit and the 75 must have been about the smallest motor you could make use of. The V6 is a very grunty 135. I'd piss off the 75 and chuck the Black Max on.

[airlock]

The pwr t&t was leaking and after a few uses it stopped functioning entirely, so i'm thinking its a fairly terminal fault with the existing system. If the boat can happily take the 135 i would prefer the extra push as my brief outing with the 75 saw a top speed of 27 knotts witch was a little less then i would like in truth. My mechanical background is pretty limited so i wouldn't be able to do much of the work my self so i'm a little reluctant to keep a motor that seems to have had a rough life, if the Black max will sit happily on the back with out causing any issues then that would be my preference...well until i work out the burn rate any way.

[Steeler]

Where are you located airlock ?.

[airlock]

im just up from noosa, Boreen point.

[Steeler]

If you had been local to gods country i would have had a look, oh well good luck with it.

[CT]

I've got a '72 Raider that was originally my Grandfathers. For years it ran a Johnno V4 125. Remembering that the old motors were flywheel rated, not prop rated. It's currently got an 04 Evinrude Ficht 90 on it. I cruise on 40 km/hr at about 4000 rpm.

When we repowered, my Father had a chat to one of the Nichols (sp?) family at Cruise Craft. His comment was that they had fairly big balls rating them for 150's back in the day! They're reccommendation was a 115, which would be equivalent to our old 125.

I'm more than happy with my 90, but believe that a 75 would be a slug. Jeff Webster did state in one of his Golden Oldie trailerboat reviews that they could be powered with a 75 as a minimum.

Stick the 135 on it and have some fun! Do some homework on weights before you commit to anything. My 90 with two batteries under the engine well and 150L of fuel on the keel with the tank starting about 600mm forward of the engine well means the boat sits lower in the water than with the old motor.

Cheers
Craig

Cheers
Craig

[SunnyCoastMark]

If you had been local to gods country i would have had a look, oh well good luck with it.

He is local to Gods country, you must be looking at one of those wrong cockroach blue maps. :-P