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Okay guys- 1965 16' Sakonnet. Been restoring this for so long, the hull is as done as it is going to be and the mahogany and brightwork looks great. I will post pics soon. Finally completed all the new wiring and gauges, etc, and then hung the 1982 cyl 70 Merc back onto it. I had it checked out a while back but it has been in storage ever since. I figured I'd try it and see if I could make it go..long story short. It doesn't and I don't want to spend a cent on the motor. Someone else can. Needs a new starter motor, and carbs cleaned minimum. I haven't even attempted to remove the lower unit because I saw the previous owner didn't for some time. Even if I get it running..I am always going to be worried about being adrift in Nantucket Sound asking some poor guy trying to enjoy himslef to tow me in..

So- New power. I am thinking Yamaha, 4 stroke. I prefer to buy new. I plan on close off shore fishing, and I'd like to be able to get my 15 yr old son some tubing fun as well.
I am coming here on purpose, so go ahead guys..suggest away.

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My two choices would be either the new Yamaha 70 HP four stroke at 260 pounds or the E-Tec 90 HP two stroke at 320 pounds.

Check the weights here:
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...ticle_id=5

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Thanks Joe- I can't believe the 90 is almost 100 lbs more.

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Well, 60 pounds heavier than the 70HP anyway.

The E-Tec 90 HP is the lightest in its class.

If the 70 HP isn't enough ponies, then the E-Tec 90 HP would be my choice.

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Well I just noticed and read this thread where he said he got 33kts out of the Merc 60 on his 15'. If that can translate anywhere near the same with a 70 on my 17' then yeah that woud be plenty. As it turns out I have a buddy who works for a Yamaha dealer. He told me last night he could I could buy it through him at their cost.

http://www.whalercentral.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=12688&pid=79162

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For what it's worth, I get 32 MPH out of the Honda BF 50 hanging off the back of my 1987 Montauk. Granted, that's just me aboard in ideal conditions.

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FYI: I get 33.8 mph/gps @ 5400rpm WOT with a 2 stroke 70 Yamaha on my 16' classic and throw a 13.5 x 15 Stiletto SS prop. My furniture and fuel load (26 gal.) are possibly a bit heavier than most. The engine is mounted as far above the transome as it will go; lowering it produces porposing.
Zap

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Thanks for the feedback guys I appareciate it very much. I want new, my wife wants me to buy used. I may just sell her car, and buy whatever I want, in cash, but then I would be dead, so I couldn't use it anyway.
Seriously though, I prefer new, of course but I have been in the Marina business when I was younger, and a lot of "boaters" are clueless about outboard maintenance, and I really don't want to end up paying for someone else's laziness. That is what I have now. I want to know from day one that all the right things are being done to the motor before, during, and after use, and only "new" gives me that.

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I own a brand new ETEC and I could not be happier. The performance excellent, very low maintenance, every 300 hundred hours, no oil changes, no break in, turn key and go. Just my 2 cents!

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By all means explore the ETEC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I promise you will be impressed. I have one on my 15 and if it were stolen tomorrow I would replace it with the exact same thing. Quiet, sips gas and burns almost no oil, great warranty,extremely quick out of the hole and I get close to 40 WOT!

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Well I have just had to go take a look at their marketing stuff and reviews now, and yeah, I am interested. Having some trouble getting an estimate on say a 75HP ETEC though at this point. It's late and I'm tired but this is something good to sleep on. Thanks again.

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Just a heads Up.....

The 75 and the 90 weigh exactly the same....
I would still go for the 90 even though it may cost slightly more.
More bang for the same weight on the transom.

See Rob's Montauk 17' with an Evinrude 90 HP on the back.
The Montauk look like it floats real nice.
http://www.whalercentral.com/infusion...?user_id=7

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SSCAPE,

If you can get the Yamaha 70 4-stroke at dealer cost and have a friend that works at the dealership and you trust him. What are you waiting for? I would be jumping all over that!

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Second what was said above about the Etec. It's the cleanest engine on the market today, has tons of 2 stroke mid-range power, no oil changes, self winterizing, and pretty much a no hassle great performing engine.

Forgot to add, give these guys a call, they're in Marion and are a certified Evinrude dealer. They'll give you a quote, Richie is great to deal with:

http://www.ajboatcorp.com/

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Another vote for the Yamaha 70 4-stroke. It would meet all of your stated power requirements, it's whisper quiet, and it weighs less than Kirstie Alley's left leg. Not to mention the fact that you could run that boat all day on 12 gallons of gas, and look great doing it.
My second choice would be a Yamaha 90 2-stroke. You can still find new ones if you look around, and they are terriffic motors for your particular application. They perform best on lighter hulls, ant their high power-to-weight ratio (they check in at around 260 lbs.) makes them an excellent choice for classic Whalers. They are reliable, very quiet and fuel-efficient as "old school" 2-strokes go, and they have plenty of pop when set up correctly. A properly sorted 90TLR should be able to nose your Sakonnet up around the 45 mph range under ideal conditions, and it will get you out and back every time in the bargain.

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Great stuff from you guys, thanks alot. I think I have a clear idea of my choices now and I will look at the costs of my options. Looking forward to posting my pics, etc. I may do that with the old merc on it as it is now..

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A few random comments:

- If you're buying a new motor, you may as well buy the new technology (four stroke or DFI) and enjoy it. I would not buy a conventional two stroke in this situation.

- Do not put over 350 pounds on the transom

- If you buy an E-TEC, get the 60 or the 90. I would not bother with the 75 because it is the same as the 90 but with less resale value.

- All the manufacturers have good outboards to meet these criteria. Mercury has probably the weakest options, but if you can live with 60 HP, even they have a model that works too.

- If 70 HP is the minimum you want, that weeds out a lot of 50 and 60 HP options.

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The motor is one thing do not forget the wiring harness and what ever guage package you want. Having to do this change over you will get a heart attack on the extras cost collumn.

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Well my game has changed. Most of you are married so you know...
had a rough week with the wifey.
She won't back me up spending the cash I would need for anything new. Although I do want to make her take along walk of a short pier, I understand not taking on more debt. I am in real estate sales on the Cape and I just closed on a beauty a couple weeks ago and banked a nice check..but business has been way off from normal the ast 3 years or this would have been all done in 2009. She wants to bank most of it for lean times and it's hard to argue..(well, no it isn't)I could easily finance it but that's a no as well. Yes, I do want to stay married. Anyway, all this is a little embarrassing saying all this but I know I am among friends.
I am now looking for any of the aforementioned suitable USED motors for my Sakonnet. I have about 4k as my budget, and I could probably squeak a little more out for new cables and control if I have to. Please let me know if anyone has a good lead on one in the New England area. :-(

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Also- For Sale One 1982 MERC 3 cyl 70 HP outboard motor. Best Offer. ;-)

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Well, now you've opened a whole new can o' worms. I was about to argue Tom's out-of-hand dismissal of a great outboard (the Yamaha 90 two-stroke looper), but I'll save that for another time. You didn't mention how much you have to spend, but here are a few suggestions:
I've seen still-in-the-box-new Yamaha 90s go for well under 6k on eBay and elsewhere within the past few months.
You could probably find a really nice remanufactured one for much less than that. Atlantic Boats in Plymouth (atlanticboatrepair.com) does a good job with rebuilds. I bought a '91 Yamaha 40 from them back in 2000, and apart from burning through two tilt motors since then, the engine has never given me any trouble whatsoever. They are very easy guys to work with, but their inventory is limited.
You might also try the Outboard Exchange down in Waterford, CT. They're a little pricey, but they have a good rep for quality, and they have a huge selection of engines from which to choose.
If you need to go really cheap, you'll have to spend some time beating the bushes on craigslist and similar websites. There are some good deals to be had out there, but finding them takes time and effort. In general, I would suggest you look for the 3-cylinder Yamahas (70, 85, and 90hp) first. After that, I'd look for one of the older (eighties and nineties) OMC V-4s. These engines are smoky, noisy, and thirsty, but they are also, powerful, reliable, and cheap. For even less money, the 3-cylinder OMC 70hp models built in the late 80s and 90s were excellent motors as well, and they would push your Sakonnet along pretty nicely.
Good luck with your search, and keep us posted on your progress.

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That's so great. Thank you.
I actually found a 2009 Yam 4 stroke 60HP still under warranty and ready to go, with an ss prop for $4995 on Craigslist, but the wifey limited be to $4000, and I would still need cables and controls. 60 is the minimum recommended size though.
If I don't find one, I am going to have that starter rebuilt on the 70 I have and try to get it cranking. I could get lucky. If I do that, I can buy a new kicker motor and just get along until I have the simolians for what you guys have recommended, and what I really want.

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LOL the starter I just removed from the 1982 70 Merc I have had a manufacturing date of May, 1977. The same month I graduated High School.

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That migt not a bad idea, either. If you are going to keep the old lug for a while longer, it's probably worth having a good outboard tech give it a thorough once-over before you put the engine back in service.

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I definitely hear that. When I first got the boat, I took the motor off and I sent it down to our Marine tech school here on Cape. They have two master techs running the program, one a Merc guy. They had it for a whole school year and they told me then that it checked out fine, had good compression, and that I should get a few more years out of it. Then the economy went in the toilet and the money I was making went elsewhere, so my project sat still for a while. I put the motor in my garage, back close to the house, and built a stand for it, covered it and it sat for two years. This winter I started again, finished the boat as far as I could, (didn't re-gel the hull yet) and then hung the motor and found the starter issue. I now have a very good friend/neighbor/mechanic and marine electronic tech helping me. He works at a high end Marina here installing electronics on absurdly expensive boats. He did all my wiring for the console re-do, and he has been helping me now with the engine. I did buy a manual online as well.
It all sounds cheap and shoestring on the engine part I know, but I was really always working toward going with new power, but I had to give this engine a try, without dumping money into the unknown. Once the starter was dead I figured, Okay, I tried, and now I would just go new, but the wifey pulled the rug out on me on that idea, so now I am back to trying to make this work. I just wish I knew the former owner did regular maintenance but I suspect he did not. That lower unit scares me. I would like to take it off and change the oil and throw in a pump kit but I am concerned the shaft will not come out, or I will break the case in the process of removal. If either of those things happens, I won't get in the water this year. That is, unless I find a great motor, with accessories, for under 4k.

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Well, after finally giving up on the new outboard fantasy I had, I decided to go ahead and try and work with the 1982 70 Merc I got with the boat. It had compression tested well, so I went all out as much as I could justify to get my Whaler, finally into the water. The boat has been ready since May, the power for it has been another thing altogether, along with delays for family wedding, visitors, and work. In between all of that I worked on the motor. I had the starter rebuilt, bought and installed new carbs kits, new plugs, fuel filter and lines where needed, and fixed a couple of goofy Mercury wiring issues. I had that sucker idling at about 1000 rpm in my driveway Thursday night. I tested it as best I could. I went into and out of gear, and repeatedly shut it off and turned it back on. Boom, first start every time. My kill switch tested fine, my new control cables were in and adjusted well. Everything looked good for my first weekend on the water in years.
SO last night after work, my buddy who owns a new boat and a house on our big lake here on Cape Cod, Lake Wequaquet, came by and we headed over to the lake launch ramp. Lowered the motor, made my connections, primed my fuel, turned on my battery, and turned the key. Boom, started right up. I smiled. We idled for a for a couple minutes and I said okay let's back her off the rest of the way. Tom was going to take my car and trailer to his house, and then he would bring his boat out in the middle of the lake to meet us. I would have just idled around a bit, and let it work under the load, and not stress it our or anything. So, I go to shift it into reverse. I heard that clicking sound when it doesn't engage in gear, and the engine revved, but did not go into gear. I tried that a few times, back and forth to get it in gear, and nothing. Then the engine quit. I re-primed, choked it, and starter fluid..and nothing. It wouldn't pop for us at all. I waited and did the same series of things several time over the next half hour 40 minutes, and they gave up in disgust. Put it back on the trailer, and went home. Oh the joy.

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It could be that the shift cable is out of adjustment, or the shifter has a problem.