My birthday...Repowering

[John Jones]

My wife gave me the okay to repower the Catch 22.  The '93 Oceanrunner 225 is tired and burns a ton of gas.  I was thinking Yammie VMAX as I don't really want the weight of a 4-stroke.  I haven't priced the Yamaha yet but I did get prices on a zuki 4 stroke and an Optimax, both 225 HP.  $16,720 and $17, 480.  Jeez.  Maybe I'll just rebuild the Oceanrunner.

Found a really cheap place in VA  http://www.edsmarinesuperstore.com/About_Us.htm
but I hate to tow that far, then wait for rigging, then tow back.  I don't know for sure but I heard factory warrantys are void if the motors aren't rigged by an authorized dealer, otherwise I would just buy a crate motor and rig it myself.

Opinions?

[ddd222]

i had my motor installed by my personal mechanic, not where i purchased the motor, you could pick up the motor then have it installed locally(stop in periodically to bust chops, just kidding). As far as i know you may have limitations w/ the yamaha VMAX, in particular shaft length, as far as i know they were designed for fresh water bass boats,but i could be wrong. I found a local dealer in 04' that had a leftover ox66 efi 250hp and went wth that over the hpdi mainly because of weight, the hpdi series is almost as heavy as the 4 strokes, the D.I. unit on the motor brings the weight up. The #'s you quoted seem high to me. I paid much less, i've seen ed's prices and they are very competitive, but i would call every yamaha dealer from maine to miami if you have to, to find the right motor for the right deal. Keep in mind some prices being quoted MAY include control cables, prop, gauges etc., and some may NOT. And also keep in mind you will more than likely have to change your steering unit as well which may run another $700-1200 clams. All the things i went through in 04', one of the best moves i ever made the way i see it, not the way my girl feels but... Like having a new boat and i can't say enough about the yami's. Hope my experience was helpful, keep us posted.

[RickK]

Happy B-day John.  If you're thinking about a rebuild, don't forget about that seller in Bradenton. My motor still runs like new and has about 6 months left on the 1 yr everything warranty.

[JimCt]

Happy Birthday, John!

I vote for a rebuild of the Oceanrunner if it's otherwise in good shape..  You know the engine and you've taken care of it.  What's the compression on the motor as it sits now?

[GoneFission]

Have to talked with the folks at ARG?  
http://stores.ebay.com/ARG-MARINE-INC

They are in the Palm Beach area and might be able to help you decide over various options.  My viewpoint ($0.02) is there are a lot of used outboards in really fine shape that go fairly cheap.  Every time Mr. Speedo    puts a set bigger motors on his Cigarette, the dealer or someone steals the old ones and sells them.  I've seen like-new 225 and 250 Yammies, Mercurys, and OMCs go for $3500-$4000, some even with warranties intact.  Dealers like to sell new motors, not used.  

There are some like ARG that specialize in used or rebuilt.  If you're going to go the rebuild route, you may just want to do a powerhead swap.  Blackbird (
http://stores.ebay.com/1OUTBOARD) and some others offer professionally rebuilt motors and powerheads with a 1-2 year warranty.  I don't recommend the Shadetree Sam rebuilds as a rule, as it takes some pretty expensive equipment/tooling to do a real rebuild on an outboard motor.  

You probably are having to consider the following options:
1.  Rebuild or re-powerhead your existing motor - least expensive, you can keep the same controls and hookups, but will not get the advantages (?) of newer technology.  
2.  Buy a near-new or rebuilt OMC (with warranty) - here you get the advantage of having controls and hookups that probably match what you have, but can update/upgrade to newer technology.  
3.  Buy a near-new or rebuilt motor that is not OMC - this will probably cause you to replace controls and maybe instruments, but you can move to a Yammie if you prefer.
4.  Buy a new OMC - again, you may be able to use the same controls and hookups, saving time and money.  
5.  Buy a new non-OMC motor - probably most expensive option - but you get what you want...  

Also, you may want to consider what your motor is worth as a trade-in.  Again, someone like ARG might give you some pretty good deals if your motor is cosmetically nice, as they can rebuild it and sell it.  It's hard to sell a motor with a beat-up hood and corrosion everywhere...  

You may just want to keep an eye on ebay for a while - you never know what will pop up.  There was a new 225 Optimax that was used as a dealer showroom display on ebay recently - the motor had never been started - and I think it went for about $4000.  You can set up a standard search for outboards over 200 HP:
http://motors.listings.ebay.com/Outboar ... ngItemList

Good luck and Happy Birthday!
 

[John Jones]

Thanks for the comments guys.

My steering is SeaStar hydraulic.  I think it's pretty universal except maybe a new bracket to attach to the motor.

Controls are Morse dual lever dual station.  I think they are universal also except maybe for the cable ends.  The Suzuki dealer says all my controls will work.

Compresssion is down in the high 80's except one cylinder is 78.  She's tired and hogs the gas.  These old loopers were gas hogs when new.  Full load w/4 guys, tackle, ice, gas, etc.  I average about 1.9 statute miles per gallon using my GPS trip meter.  I don't run it hard either.

Cosmetically it's okay.  No corrosion, just sun faded decals and oyster bar rash on the skeg.  If you live here and have paint on your skeg it means you don't ever take the boat out.  I have seen mid '90s OceanRunners selling for $1800-$2800 around here.  Don't know what it would bring with the low compression but I'm not above honing and re-ringing myself.

Rick, which seller in Bradenton?

I'm not going to jump into anything.  The motor does run well so I'm not in a hurry.  That much money kinda makes me choke anyway  
I'll be checking lots of dealers before I write a check of that size.  Thanks for the links.

[JimCt]

, twins

[JimCt]

You can give your loving wife the second engine for her birthday!
What a surprise!!! :twisted:  

[John Jones]

   

If the boat were a little bigger it would be a thought.  I like the idea of twins for way offshore.  

I'm not sure the boat didn't have twins at one time because there are two fuel pickups and fuel lines coming from the tank.  They are T'd together just before they connect to the tank selector valve.  I see no evidence of plugged mounting holes though.

Last year I went 70+ miles out in a friends 25' power catamaran with twin Optibombs.  Thank goodness we made it back to within 12 miles from shore before the port engine threw a rod.  It hammered for about 3 seconds then seized.  The boat did not perform so well on one engine.  We probably would have needed a tow if the motor had blown way offshore.  The single motor burned a ton of gas the last few miles home.  He is sporting Honda 4-strokes now.

[JimCt]

Fuel economy running on the one engine I'm sure was horrible but that second engine got you home safe and sound.