Thread:

Outboard question...

Originally Posted by rampgirlll

Been eyeballing a party barge with a slide and they all come with outboards. Seen a few with the covers off at the races, but are they anything similar to a BBC only standing on its' side and a little more compact? How hard are they to work on? They remind me of opening the hood on a nissan...not enough room to even put your hand in there.

you damn near never have to work on them. The later model motors are super reliable. They are 2 stroke, so no valve train nightmares. It is a big dirt bike motor!

oh yeah, that's they way to go. new 2 stroke's are great on gas.

My pontoon boat has an old style 1995 v-4 carb Evinrude with 450hrs on it. The boat sits in Big Bear lake from April till November and has every year since 1995. The only thing that is done to it is the lower unit oil is changed every year and the water pump about every 5 years. I put a couple of sets of spark plugs in it and that is it. Runs as good now as the day that I bought it.

The new motors are unreal. You can't even hear them running at idle. Take your pick, 2 stroke or 4 stroke, you will not be disappointed. I prefer the 2 strokes, because you never have to change the oil or adjust the valves. You will not believe how little fuel the new motors use. Seams like they go forever on a tank of gas. I would buy one in a minute, except, mine runs so good I can't bring myself to part with it.

Outboards are the ONLY way to go on a pontoon boat. A guy a few slips down from me has an I/O and had to pull the motor out or cut a hole in the boat to change the starter. He cut a hole in the hull and made a plate for it and riveted it on. With an outboard, unhook the latches on the cover, lift it off and the starter is right there next to the flywheel.

In case of a catastrophic failure, just unbolt 4 bolts, unplug the electrical and unhook the steering and throw the whole thing away and get a new one!

I 'am repowering a 18 ton 60 foot houseboat with a 275 hp Verado 4-stroke

Had to cut the transom off to remove the old engine and outdrive

parts n/a for old outdrive, will part out the old lyman diesel motor

the verado is digital throttle and shift ( no cables)

How long is it supposed to take to unfold and assemble that thing.
Take your BBC stand it on end. Put your gear box under it with the prop shaft at a 90 degree angle to it. Make it go on a diet and loose a few 100 pounds. Keep oil in the reservoir and put 87 octane in the tank.

Just get one of these:

Seven Marine Reveals 557-HP Outboard at Miami Boat Show | Boats.com Blog