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I am repowering my newly refinished and refitted 1978 BW Montauk 17. My Evinrude dealer has a 2013 ETEC 90 in Graphite gray mounted on the back of a new Carolina Skiff that he is offering to sell me for about $600 less than ordering a new from the factory one in white. I can handle the gray but I am concerned about the motor sitting unused for 2 plus years. When the engine is shipped from the factory, is it specially treated or "winterized" are something to keep anything from deteriorating? I know the outboard motors no longer have model years but come on, its probably going on 3 years old. The $600 is not that much lower than the 2016 but it is more likely because the price is so good on the 2016 because we are headed in to the slow season. Prices we are talking are 7800 vs 8400 which I think is good for the 16. Would do you guys think?

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Wouldn't you get the same warranty on either engine? Per you the model year is no longer on the engine so what difference does it make.
The dealer would stand behind both of them so the price is the determining factor unless in the near future you're planning to get rid of the "old" boat with "newer" engine.
Personally I look at hours and maintenance record on any machine. I rather buy a 1973 Buick Century from grandma with 12,000 miles on it always garaged and dealer serviced than a 2000 Buick Century with 120,000 miles on it from a kid that hot rodded and self maintained it. (Ok just a sample) You see what I'm saying if you keep the boat for a long time to come it doesn't make a difference in having a slightly newer OB.

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You are correct. Warranty would be the same. Currently 6 years with special promotion. My main concern is the age of the motor.

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No brainer, buy the 2015/016. In this age of computerization 3 years make a huge difference. I am not saying there is going to be a big difference but why chance it for $600. I don't believe anyone can say there is absolutely no technological difference/upgrade between the 013 and 016.

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That is what I was most concerned about but they will eventually have to sell the motor. Someone will buy it. If it was more like 1000 or 1200 difference I would definitely take it. Honestly both prices were lower than I was expecting based on Internet prices

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I would take the blue or gray engine over the white any day. The ETEC white won't match your tan Whaler. I just put a Blue Etec on my 1989 Outrage 18 and it looks a lot better than the white would have.

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I would have expected a much deeper discount on the 2013 engine, too. There is no way I'd take that engine for a mere $600 off the brand new engine. Get the 2015/16 engine and you will have no regrets or misgivings. If for some reason you have to sell your boat in a few years, you will re-coup that $600 by being able to advertise a 2-3 year old engine instead of a 5-6 year old engine.

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I painted mine Interlux Perfection Snow White

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Ordered a 2016. It should arrive in 11 days. The 2013 had a build date of 10/12. Little too old for only $600 difference. Thanks for the input.

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My motor came in yesterday and I instructed that they mount the motor 2 holes up which is 1 hole from the highest. This combined with the Stilletto 13.5 by 15 Advantage is supposed to be the right combination. The problem is while I told them to order the Stilletto, they order a prop called Solas New Saturn in the same size as the Stilletto. The parts guy said the Stilletto was not available. They have a BRP Viper in stock 13.5 x 17 but it is like $100 to $150 more. The parts guy said to try it with the Solas and if it is not right, he will swap it out while adjusting for price I am sure. Anyone know anything about the prop? Will it work with the motor 2 holes up? Will the motor be running too high? Thanks

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I have the Viper 15" pitch with an ETEC90 on my 1988 Montauk. Mine is mounted 1 hole up. My max speed is about 35MPH which is plenty for me. This may be due to the ratty bottom pain remaining. I really like the motor / prop combination

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Neil: Is there a reason why you instructed your installer to mount your new motor at 2 holes up? The preferred installation of the E-tec 90 inline on your hull is 3 holes up with a good stainless propeller, like the Stilletto. However, the Stilletto is no longer available because it is no longer manufactured. Also, the same size propeller in a different brand does not guarantee the same results. (I suggest you google Tom Clark and Solas New Saturn for additional background information.) Which gets me to the main point: mounting height and propeller selection are recommendations for overall improved performance, i.e., less drag, less draft, faster holeshot, improved economy, lighter wheel, etc., not just the WOT speed.

Bill/Action: You should consider raising your E-Tec 90 to at least 2-3 holes up given your use of a Viper. You will get better overall performance.

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Found that Tom C. had said:
"The Stiletto Advantage is the same propeller as the Turbo 1. It is offered in odd pitches only. If you want an even pitch you buy the Yamaha Performance Series 3-Blade...and pay even more"

Stiletto made/makes all 3 but now the Stiletto name is no longer used.
So... the Turbo 1, 13.5 x 15 is the same prop you want.

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Shameless plug: I have that Stiletto for sale here: http://www.whalercentral.com/forum/vi...d_id=21663 Happy to listen to offers, also happy to loan it to you to try.

Tim

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Please remember prop size is NOT universal.

A 13.25 x 15 Yamaha painted stainless steel prop has a different blade geometry than a Mercury, Solas or (fill in blank)

We have hundreds of owners on classic Montauks with the E-TEC 90 and dozens of performance threads.

While I have read about the Viper series of props, I have never heard of the New Saturn. Don't choose the New Saturn, since we have no tested reports from Whaler owners.

Weatherly is spot on with his comments. Raise it high.

Don't let the mech/sales team tell you otherwise. It is you that is spending $9,000+. It will not affect the motor or the dealer's reputation. You have a knowledgeable group of Whaler owners who know from experience.

When doing a test run you should expect 43-46 mph at WOT, 41-44 with bottom paint and gear.

Action - While you may like your setup, something is wrong.

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Likely 3 holes up would improve the speed. I just never got energetic enough to move it.

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I went with the guy while they water trialed my boat and were really pushing for me to keep the prop. I dont think they had a 17 Viper in stock so I gave in and took the Solas. The boat was basically empty. Load was 2 men, no trolling motor batteries, and about 2 gallons of gas in a 6 gallon tank. Boat jumped up on plan is less than 2 seconds and it might have been closer to 1 actually. Salesman was saying 1. He actually back out of it because I think he had it trimmed up too much and was getting too high out of the water. He cruised at about 30 for a while I didn't look at the tach because I was watching my gps o my phone. He opened it up for a brief few seconds and I watched the tach swing past 5600-5700 rpms when he reallized it and back out of it again. When I looked at my phone, we were doing 36 mph. He said the prop was perfect once I get the ice chests loaded down, all the fishing gear, and 2 tanks of fuel. My feeling would be that a 17 would be better but at that point I just wanted to be done because of all the arguing over how high the motor should be. They said that 2 holes up was too high and that it either needed to be at the lowest setting or 1 hole up at most. I figure I will keep the 15 they sold me as a spare or when I want to bring the boys skiing. I will pick a better prop as use that for fishing trips. What is the new "best prop" since it appears the Stilletto is no longer available?

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Please take this as constructive advice.

What arguing about height? How many Boston Whaler Montauks has he repowered with E-TEC 90 motors?

Time to plane is meaningless. Don't fall for the sizzle.

You are spending 9k and accepting a prop versus what has been recommended. Even if you don't take Tedious's prop, a Yamaha prop is easy to source.

You should hit 5400-5500 with a light load with the appropriate prop on an empty load. Going past the WOT range is an indication the prop is not the optimum one for the hull/motor.

Hitting 36 is far too slow. When loaded, your WOT speed will be more like 32.

The salesmen is just that. Trying to make a sale of what he has, not necessarily want you want, asked for or is proper.

If you don't believe this thread, google "E-TEC 90 Boston Whaler Montauk" also search with "Holes up" and "prop size" and read the threads. It is all there.

We are offering you information based on experience. It's your call.

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I trust your advice but it was a bad customer service experience and had I known it was going to end up like that, I would have probably gone with a yamaha or mercury but this dealer was the only evinrude and suzuki dealer less than an hour or more away. I didnt feel like arguing with them to take more of my money for the viper prop which they wanted an extra $150 for. It was my fault for not getting everything priced out to the penny up front but this was not a running boat so it needed to be rigged just like a new hull. I installed the helm for the Baystar steering and ran the hoses but didnt cut them because I didn't have the motor and I didnt want to cut them too short. In the end I was happy with the job they did except for the prop. They worked with what I had done but kept arguing about the height. I even told one of the guys that there are probably more of this hull out on the water than any other boat and there is a wealth of knowledge available. He didnt care and said that he had been doing this for 20 years and he knew better...Everytime I would bring up the prop, they would say I needed to lower the motor. I will buy the prop I want and keep this one as a spare. I believe it would be perfect for pulling tubes or knee boards so it might make sense to have a high pitched prop and a low pitched prop.

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Your E-Tec 90 inline was not properly rigged if during the first trial run the Evinrude E-Tec exceeded 5500 RPM at full throttle operating range. (reference page 63 of the Evinrude Operator's Guide, under specifications.)

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Be sure to contact Evinrude corporate and let them know about your horrible customer service experience at this dealer. Stories like this are infuriating - the guy clearly just wanted to get rid of what he had in stock, and did not care a bit about whether your setup was correct. From your description of how these guys operate, it's unlikely this is the first time they have treated a customer badly.

If you are so inclined, you could precede that with a call to the general manager of the dealership. Many time the actual owner of a business does care about how you are treated, even though the employees do not.

Remember, if you let this go, they will continue to take advantage of people - if the person ahead of you had complained, maybe you'd have had a better experience!

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What is startling to me is the salesman quickly bringing the RPM's down during the test run. He probably knew it exceeded Etec specs (thanks Weatherly) and said all is fine. I would make special reference to that action by the dealer to Etec. Who knows.....with that test run and computer records you may have compromised the warranty through no fault of your own.
Garris

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Why can't the OP just buy the prop off of Tedious, bring the boat back to the dealer and have the props swapped out and the engine set to the hole he wants? It's what he asked for from the beginning so it shouldn't be a problem. Return the dealer prop, never wanted it and it over revs.

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Neil -

We are all supportive and feel for you. Don't beat yourself up. Part of the reason for our advice is we have learned our lessons. All is not doom and gloom.

You can get a different prop. Tedious or somewhere else.

You can raise the motor yourself with a wrench, caulk and a friend to steady it when the boat is on the trailer. It is easy to do and we can walk you through the steps. It took me 20 minutes.

Just out of curiosity, where are you? You don't show a location. You may want to update your profile. Members can give geographic based advice if we know where you are.

Aside: I absolutely love the mech saying "....He didnt care and said that he had been doing this for 20 years and he knew better." E-Tec's have only been available for something close to 10 years and are unique in their mounting requirements on Whalers.

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Neil, I lived part of this dream when we repowered back in 2012, came very close to a no sale when the service manager started acting like I was questioning his manhood when I requested the "Whaler Central" set up. The owner was standing behind me and must have given him the look as he calmed down and started listening. They installed the engine exactly as I requested and were blown away by the performance, they now refer to it as the rocket ship Whaler. Bottom line, people on here know their Whalers and how to set them up.

I just had my 3 year service and be aware that the maximum RPM shows up on the engine report. 5700 is WAY above the recommended range, that Solas prop is not correct for your boat. (The Stiletto acts more like a 17" pitch) Underpropping / overrevving the engine could cause warranty issues if you ever had a problem, its worth whatever the upcharge for the Viper 17 is relative to the value of the engine in the long run. I have the Stiletto 15 on mine and can hit 43 gps with a light load and yet still pull a 180 lb slalom skier out with 3 people in the boat so don't worry about loosing the hole shot. Boat is an absolute laugh riot by myself, wear that lanyard! Good luck.

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I was planning on taking the boat out with the wife and kids and doing some riding just to see how it runs with a full load.
If it gets close to 5500 with a full load, I will definitely call and set up a meeting with the manager. I asked for the 15 inch pitch Stiletto but they gave be the other prop in a 15 but it is apparently way off pitchwise compared to the Stiletto. I probably should have figured out that the Stiletto was no longer available and requested a different prop. What does the Turbo 1 cost and does it come with the hub all assembled?

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From a quick look at Amazon (search on "turbo 1 4.25 prop") it looks like the prop goes for about $285 new and the hubkit another $45 for a total of around $330. The hubkit does not come installed, but it's very easy - some dishwashing soap, a block of wood, and a hammer are all you need.

Tim

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I had a chance today to run the boat and the initial results with the 15 Solas were confirmed. 36 mph at 5500 rpms with about a third the throttle left to go. I called the boat dealer and asked what he had because the 15 was not going to be acceptable. He called me back about 15 minutes later and said he had a 19. I pulled the boat out and drove to the dealer. The guy pulled out a very old looking Stilleto box. I am thinking uh oh but I did not say a word. Went and launched the boat again. This time my brother was there and the 2 of us set off. 6 gallons of gas and 2 people aboard 200 and 250 lbs respectively, I am the 200 to set things straight. Drum role... 5500 rpms 42 mph GPS. We rode around an hour or so but before calling it quits, I dropped him at the dock and tried it by myself. 5700 at 44 to 45. Extremely happy customer now.

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While I think you are really close, over reving at 5700 running solo says you may be underpropped by one size in the current prop.

Then again, if you go out with 2 people, full fuel, and gear 75% of the time, you will be bingo.

Do you know which Stiletto you have (model and size)?

BTW, kuddo's for being insistent with the dealer. :)

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part number I think was 21319. I think because the boat is backed in to the garage and I cant see it but I think that is the number I remember.

BTW, I took the entire family out today. My wife, 2 teenage sons, and my 8 yo daughter. 2 6 gallons tanks of gas and an ice chest with food and drinks. Boat has 2 deep cell batteries and a transom mount trolling motor. It still got to 5500 rpms but topped out at 40 mph.

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In case others want to know the prop is a Stiletto Advantage I prop as shown here:

http://boatpropellers.iboats.com/Stil...ers/21319/

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I did verify that is the correct part number, 21319. I am very satisfied with the prop even though it will turn 5700 rpms empty with 1 person. I plan on adding a third battery and a 24v bow mount trolling motor eventually so I figure normal running weight for a typical fishing trip will have it maxing out at below 5500 at 40 mph or so. For my boat, this prop is perfect. I posted a video on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdLjV...e=youtu.be

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Neil: I recommend you familiarize yourself with the E-Tec 90 inline specifications and operation before installing a trolling motor and additional batteries. The E-Tec 90 with stratified combustion is a smooth, quiet, efficient motor designed to troll. The motor also provides nearly twice the amperage of any other outboard on the market today - 81 amps - so additional batteries to power accessories is, in most cases, not needed.

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I dont think any outboard motor could replace a bow mounted trolling motor for fishing shorelines and marsh for reds.