Your opinion of changing to a bigger engine

[hotairgypsy]

here is the tag on my 83 Party barge...well it currently has a 75 and you can see the tag claims upto a 115. do you think if i found a deal on a 150 i would be ok or do not dare think about going over the 115hp

[oldmn19]

Several things come into play, one and probably for most is the water police. If they pull you over for some reason, even just a routine safety check, and look at the plate and your overpowered, it's big ticket time. Second your Insurance company won't be happy if you have to make a liability claim and they find out your over powered, they will just wave Bye Bye to you. I know this isn't what you wanted to hear probably. More info on your toon would help! I would never suggest such a sneaky thing, but I know of a few guys who replaced the motor decals with the appropriate one they wanted. Your really rolling the dice if you do that!

[lakerunner]

I agree, it isn't worth the trouble not to mention personal liability in case of accident.

[hotairgypsy]

well i am not a spring chicken anymore so i am careful with what i do. I just want to be able to get above 15mph when i am fully loaded or pull a tube out in the middle of the lake.

what i am concerned with is if i put a 150 4 stroke on the boat will i damage the boat from full throttle. I just do not know what tolerances the boat has....i am not to sure what other info on the boat is needed. it is a 83 suntracker 24' party barge with a 75hp merc outboard on there now.

[WaltF]

Well, you may indeed incounter structural problems seeing that the toon was only built to take the weight and torque of a 115....
I wouldnt put more then a 115 on it. Youll certainly beat 16 mph with a 115.

[badmoonrising]

I agree...the hull is designed for 115 or under. Go over that and you will have problems structurally, and in the case of an accident, legally.

[fishmor]

Go with a 115 HO E-TEC. That will keep you within the plate specs and still give you about 130 hp plus you will have a super motor.

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/001301.html

[Parasympathetic]

Go with a 115 HO E-TEC. That will keep you within the plate specs and still give you about 130 hp plus you will have a super motor.

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/001301.html

I like the way that boy thinks........yes sir!!!

[hotairgypsy]

how about a 125hp...i found one on a 2001 and do you think this would be to much stress for the boat?

[RAM1961]

I had a little runabout a couple years back - boat was rated for 85 hp, and I had a 90 hp on the tail end. We're at 3000' above sea level here in western MT and I talked with coast guard one day about difference in rating and what I actually had on there - he said it's not a problem because they take the elevation above sea level into account. He said an 85 hp motor at 3000' would really only generate 78-80 hp, and my 90 might be producing 85 hp, so no problem as long as I don't drop down to sea level.

Might be something to consider.

[hotairgypsy]

i made a call to the boat police at the lake i have my boat stored and they said they do not make that adjustment. after a long discussion is so many words he top me i could do what i want but i need to watch the weight of the engine cuz it will reduce the weight capacity of what you can haul. he pretty much said it will only become an issue if i am involved in a accident cuz all will be reported. I checked into the weights from what i have to what i am thinking about going to and here are my findings.

1983 mercury 80hp outboard weight?

The dry weight for an 1983 model, 80 hp Mercury outboard, is listed as 265 lbs.

What is the weight of 2001 mercury 125 hp outboard?

The dry weight for a 2001 model, 125 hp Mercury outboard is 347 lbs., the saltwater model is 367 lbs

i looked up the weight for a 115 and it said the same weight as a 125hp. so by changing to the bigger engine i am adding 82lbs to the back of the boat.