1975 Aquasport 22.2 with Mariner V220 EFI?

[prudog45]

Going for two questions in a row here. I'm catching up for going MIA while waiting on my Aquasport chewing my fingers off.

So as I bought my 1975 AS 22.2 with no motor and I know an owner of a Mercury dealership very well. He basically gave me a Mariner V220 EFI to use until I can get exactly what I want. Knowing I'm getting ready to dump cash on a trailer, flooring, all instruments, hoses steering wheel, hydraulic steering, etc etc... I checked the Excel spreadsheet on aquasport.com and Mercury's recommendation both say the AS 22.2 is rated up to 235HP. OK, I'm not going for speed, just convenience of what I have available to me now. I don't have to go WOT with the V220, and as I have kids, chine walking is not gong a desire, so 3/4 throttle might be all I ever get to.  I just need some comments on why so many have dropped to 150HP on the 22.2 boats? Granted I do see many of the Hammerhead boats with 250HPs on them. But they have towers, live wells, and a new back area build on them.

Is the thought that the 150HP weights less?. My research hasn't gotten real specific, but the weight of the V220 is going to be roughly 380 lbs. Compared to a Mercury 150HP Optimax (432Lbs) and a Mercury 150 4 stroke Verado (454lbs), the Mariner I'm going to use is 50 to 70 lbs lighter. The Yamaha 150 HP 4 stroke is 476lbs, so about 100lbs heavier that the Mariner 220 EFI.

Any clarification on why all the 150s? Bare in mind when I am done and decide  on which Mercury I want for full time use, I may drop to a 150HP, but I'm trying to get a clear picture as to why so many have dropped so much in HP from max HP? My last boat was rated for 150 HP top, I elected to go with a F115 Yamaha 4 stroke to save a bit, I knew every trip I was missing power. By myself I was fine, any adult company, and the f115 would dog until planed out.

[fitz73222]

It's really more about the cruise speed than anything else. These boats like 27-30 mph cruise. You can do that very easily with a 150 and carry a load. These boats were not fast, not designed to be. I have twin 115's on my 73 22-2 and other than some cool factor, a total waste of power. When I get this boat running into the mid-40's its no fun to drive anymore. Twin 75's (like on Scott's 73 22-2) or a 150 is a very nice choice and a lot less fuel burn. Nothing wrong with having a little more motor than you need, but you'll find that 27-30 is where you are going to run her.

[GoneFission]

There is not much difference in weight between the two-stroke V-6 Mercury/Mariners - a 150 V-6 weighs about the same as a 200 or 225.  So that motor would work well on your rig with (guessing here) a 21 pitch prop and get you into the low 50s on speed if propped right.  As Farley said, these boats are not very comfortable once you get them into the 40s, but that EFI motor should work pretty well and cruise at 4000RPM at about 27-28MPH and get a solid 3+MPG on your hull.

[prudog45]

Thanks Gentleman. What is the deal with speeds above 30? Just curious, Shake a lot, start feeling like your in a lift off (little steering control?). Again just curious. 30 is ok for me, 30 to 40 is where I usually ran anyway in the Salt. I Hit a little 3 foot wave just right at 35 mph once and landed sideways in my last boat. Almost through me out. I learned to slow down in the salt, a ships wake and high speed could be a disaster if you go airborn at the wrong angle. Didn't have my kill switch strapped to my wrist either. Wow, I think about what could of happened and I thank the Lord I managed to hang on.