Just bought a 19'6 - 1972 - advice needed

[fishgutts]

Just bought her... The guy I bought it from did a great job of restoring to its original quality.  

I still want to make a couple of changes...

I am selling the 115 and looking to buy a 150 4-stroke.  If anyone knows where I can find a used one (yamaha), let me know.

Also, I think I want to put trim tabs, possibly a jack plate, and definitely a live well.  I think I will put the live well under the leaning post.  If there is anyone out there with experience on this project, let me know.

[CBULLS]

Nice Boat..

[thennutts]

Fishgutts,

Beautiful boat buddy. The guy did a nice job on the restore from the outside. Can we get some pics of the inside? Also, def go jackplate and yamaha 4 stroke or if you have a couple extra bucks hang a porta lift and go e-tec to compensate the weight form the porta. Just a thought, all in all beautiful boat!!

[gran398]

FishGutts,

Darn pretty boat, from the pic. But hey, why hang another 150 lbs. on her butt, where she least needs it? You'll get:

Another inch below the waterline at the stern, where you least need it.

Disappointing hole shot.

Eight grand whizzed away.

So you may get 4mpg with the four-stroke...but how long will it take to pay that out, at a max. of 12 hours per weekend? And taking into account weather, anywhere, you MAY average 6 hours per week, over the course of a year. If that.

Sorry to be so sold on a two stroke for your boat, (our boats), but hey, that's what they need. And running inlets, passes,  tides, breakers, etc, thats what YOU need. Instant response with a single.

Run that bulletproof Yammie 'till she blows up....then buy a 140 E Tec. Or another 3 or 4 cylinder lightweight,  respected two-stroke.

JMHO,

gran

[fitz73222]

Welcome Fishguts,

I agree with Scott on the engine choice. You are going to get wet feet with a fourstroke 150 on her if you want to maintain the self bailing feature. Plus the hydraulic jack plate just added another 45-50 #s of weight right where you dont need it. Other than exceptional mileage, fourstrokes do nothing for me from a performance standpoint and just about anything fuel injected 2 or 4 stroke will have to deal with increasing ethanol percentages and those issues as time goes by. Unless your 90 degree V4 115 is past her prime, run it! It is a bullet proof design that worked for OMC for almost 40 years and Yamaha did a good job copying and refining the design.

[75classic]

Beautiful boat congrats... If you do decide to sell the yammie send me a pm with hours, and price. thanks

Brandon

[RickK]

Welcome aboard FG  :!:  :!:
Nice looking rig  
Ditto on the new engine - run her 'til she drops, saving money all the way.

[Capt Matt]

Buy a two stroke and make it a opti max
I work as a full time fishing guide and run two boats. One has a Opti max and one a e-tech. The 300hp e-tech was purchased brand new  and what a piece of junk it is, nothing but problems with it. It is yet to make it 100hrs without either a injector going or it melting a spark plug. And its far from fuel effecient. The digital gauge is made by lowrance and blows out every 5-6 months the electronic fuel gauge has never worked right. Finding a place close to home  to service it and do the warrenty work is next to impossible. I have  guide friends and commercial fishermen that bought 115 e-tec's too and have had nothing but problems with corrosion, wiring and lower units blowing out.

On my flats boat I run a 08 Opti max 150 with more than a 1000hrs on it now. The compressor goes out around 700hrs but thats the only problem I have ever had with any of the 4 opti max's I have purchased over the last 10yrs. As far as fuel economy the 300 e-tech burns 4 to 5 times the fuel of my opti and my one guide buddy has the same actioncraft flats boat with a 150 4-stroke yamaha on it and I get 6-7 mpg at cruise while he only gets 4-5mpg. Sure its probably about the same cost to run once I add in the DFI 2 stroke oil but my boat  just smokes his both on hole shot and top end speed. Its not as quiet as the 4 stroke but its has so much more power and is so much lighter. They have been building opti's for ever and simply have it dailed in

I'm currently in the process of rebuilding a 22 flatback which will be powered by a 200 opti.

Take it from someone that makes a living on the water buy a opti.

Capt Matt

[MarshMarlowe196]

Here's a thought-  

You could go with a Suzuki 140HP 4Stroke over the Yamaha 150 4Stroke for a weight difference of only 50-60lbs.  

FishGutts,

Darn pretty boat, from the pic. But hey, why hang another 150 lbs. on her butt, where she least needs it? You'll get:

Another inch below the waterline at the stern, where you least need it.

Disappointing hole shot.

Eight grand whizzed away.

So you may get 4mpg with the four-stroke...but how long will it take to pay that out, at a max. of 12 hours per weekend? And taking into account weather, anywhere, you MAY average 6 hours per week, over the course of a year. If that.

Sorry to be so sold on a two stroke for your boat, (our boats), but hey, that's what they need. And running inlets, passes, tides, breakers, etc, thats what YOU need. Instant response with a single.

Run that bulletproof Yammie 'till she blows up....then buy a 140 E Tec. Or another 3 or 4 cylinder lightweight, respected two-stroke.

JMHO,

gran

IMHO, It's not about making your money back on fuel savings w/ a 4stroke/modern 2 stroke (ETEC), its the convenience of not burning so much gas in your tank and increasing your range, plus the peace of mind that comes with a modern outboard.  I've ran both a 2stroke and a 4stroke on my boat and several others, and I've honestly only noticed a negligible difference in low end torque between the two.  In a boat that has a huge hole-shot (like a bass boat) you would notice a difference between the two, but our low-deadrise, relatively lightweight Aquas have a short holeshot.  I run a 4stroke on my 19-6 and I would never go back.  My favorite part of owning a 4stroke- I never worry about oil when I fuel up.  BTW- I get 6MPG w/ my 4stroke.

But, as mentioned, you have a fine outboard as is (if it's running well).  I wouldn't try to talk you out of keeping it.

[fishgutts]

I have decided to stick with the 115... It runs good. I like the way the boat sits in the water right now and don't really want to add that much weight and change the waterline.  Plus, this gives me more money to add the other things that I want   ... Trolling motor, trim tabs, livewell, jack plate.  I have been looking for all of these items used... If you know of anything that could help me out... let me know.  Thanks.

[Asport-Rog]

Nice looking boat!   Looking forward to seeing some pics of the inside!

[fishgutts]

Here you go boys... my wife calls this "boat porn"

[Capt. Bob]

Aqua porn!  8)  

You gotta love that green rub rail

[gran398]

Aqua porn!  8)  

You gotta love that green rub rail

Clean!!   I like that green rub rail too....Think "Miss Marco" will look lovely in hers...

Great discussion on the engine choices. And thanks for the info on the Optimax.....had no idea they got that kind of mileage......and, didn't know the etecs had such quality issues....appreciate the advice.

My thinking 2 stroke vs. 4, is HOW LONG will it take to pay out the extra money for the 4 for the average weekend warrior....a buddy of mine runs a 250 4 stroke Yammie on a 24 Hydrasport deep V CC...he's been complaining lately about the maintenance costs.....and his hole shot with 4 guys, bait, ice, full tank, etc.....its non-existant. And not a prop issue, either.

But as they say, opinions are like a$#^oles.......everybody's got one!

 

[Aswaff400]

throw a bob's jackplate, trim tabs, a trolling motor, and a good livewell, and be done with it  

i lost 2-3 inches on my draft at the transom switching from a 112 johnson to a 200 evinrude, can diffidently tell theres an extra 150 lbs there :silent: