Thread subject: Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos :: 1994 17 ft montauk repower

Posted by Dave Clam on 03/08/14 - 3:46 PM
#1

I have a 1994 Montauk that I'm going to repower. It currently has a 100 HP Mercury 2 stroke weighing 348 lbs. I have narrowed it down to a 60 HP Mercury Big Foot or a 90 HP E tec Anyone have performance data on the 60 HP Merc or any other repower ideas or suggestion Don't need a lot of speed but I don"t want a dog either

Posted by Joe Kriz on 03/08/14 - 4:08 PM
#2

Another good choice is the Yamaha 70 @ 257 pounds.

I skied behind my prior Montauk with an older 70hp Evinrude.

See this list on Choices and Weights in our Article section.
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...ticle_id=5

Posted by Dave Clam on 03/08/14 - 5:37 PM
#3

Thanks whats your opinion on the e tec 90 seen many problems?

Posted by Tom W Clark on 03/09/14 - 10:38 AM
#4

No problems at all with the E-TEC 90 that I know of except an injector failure on Rob Schmidt's E-TEC 9O, which was the 7th E-TEC 90 ever made. This was ten years ago. The injector was replaced under warranty. That motor still runs like new today.

Posted by ursaminor on 03/09/14 - 4:47 PM
#5

Since you currently have a Mercury, one advantage with the 60 hp Bigfoot would be reusing most if not all of your existing rigging. I remember reading an article in the old Offshore magazine a few years back that compared several 60 to 70 hp 4 stroke engines on a Montauk 17. If I remember correctly, the 60 HP Bigfoot was capable of 32 to 34 mph with a light load. I repowered a little over a year ago with the 90 hp Etec and have been very happy with both performance and economy. A friend has an early 90 hp Etec (2005?) and it has been very reliable. Good luck with whatever you choose, all these new engines are nice to run.

Edited by ursaminor on 03/09/14 - 5:04 PM

Posted by Dave Clam on 03/09/14 - 5:55 PM
#6

thanks for the feedback anyone with a 60 HP fourstroke?

Posted by Joe Kriz on 03/09/14 - 5:56 PM
#7

Dave Clam wrote:
thanks for the feedback anyone with a 60 HP fourstroke?

Any brand?

Personally, I wouldn't want to use my 30 or 40 year old controls with a brand new 2014 motor.
Would you?

Edited by Joe Kriz on 03/09/14 - 6:00 PM

Posted by Finnegan on 03/10/14 - 2:49 PM
#8

For many years Whaler offered the 60 HP 4-stroke as the low cost, low power option on the white Montauks. I think the boat will do about 34-36MPH with the 60. If that works for you, go for it. If you want another 1 or 2 MPH, the Yamaha 70 might provide it, but the considerabel cost differntial (both engine and controls) will be barely worth it. The two engines are built on the same powerhead and same cubes.

They also sold the latest models of the boat with "YamaMerc" 90 HP 4-stroke, which weighed 388lbs.

If you want more HP and top end speed, instead of the Evinrude 90, I would consider the 90 HP Optimax. It is both a stong performer with more cubes and more favaorable gear ratio than the E-tec, and the Optimax DFI generally gets better fuel economy across the HP ranges than the E-tec DFI. Weight is 375# which the boat can easily handle, only 17# more than your current engine. They cost about $7100 new.

It can be easily hooked up to your 1994 controls, which are still being used today.

Posted by crbenny on 03/10/14 - 3:42 PM
#9

I repowered with the E-tec 90 as well. It's a good fit for the 16'7" Whaler with plenty of performance and good economy. I'm seeing 45mph and I'm not dialed in yet. Also, I run the original 6 gallon steel tanks that were originally with the boat in 1968 and I've never used an entire 6 gal. on a day trip yet.

My engine has around 25 hrs on it. At 15 hours I had an injector fail. Also my PT&T would bleed down over the course of a few days. Both were replaced under warranty. My engine was a 2007 left over that I bought as a new motor last spring, so it sat in it's crate in the back of a storage unit in central Florida for 7 years. The PT&T bleed down was common during the first years of production on the 3 cylinder engines but, as I understand it, they don't have the problem anymore. Can't explain the injector. That shook my confidence a bit, however I've had nothing but good experience since.

I really like the engine, although it's the only new outboard I've ever owned so consider the source. Would I buy it again? Yes. There are lighter more efficient outboards and there are bigger, heavier, more powerful outboards. This one has a good power to weight ratio right near the max power rating for the 16'7".

Chris

Posted by Finnegan on 03/10/14 - 6:22 PM
#10

Chris - I looked at your personal page and I've got to say that is one VERY COOL Whaler you've got. You did a beautiful job on the interior and the Evinrude 90 looks GREAT dressed up as a Bearcat! And the 45 MPH speed is very impressive. That is the best I have heard for one of those engines, and it shows that the 16' hull is indeed faster than the smirked 17'.

I never thought that idea would work out, but it did! It looks better than it did as an Evinrude!

Congratulations on a great job and a great Whaler. That boat is a long time keeper.

Posted by CES on 03/11/14 - 5:25 AM
#11

No matter where I boat in the country, I see and hear the same story about the E-Tec motors....hands down, the best motor out there.

Posted by jharrell on 03/11/14 - 7:45 AM
#12

I am currently repowering my 86 Montauk with a Yamaha F70, I should have it back from the dealer today. I debated and researched the E-TEC 90, Suzuki 90 and the Yamaha 70 for a very long time. The Yamaha won mainly due to weight and local dealer support and warranty.

My old setup had a 6hp kicker at 60lbs and a hydraulic jackplate at 40lbs plus a 300 lbs Merc 90 tower of power. This whole setup worked well but was more stern heavy than I would have liked. So I was hesitant to jump up more in weight with a new motor, that meant going lighter or removing the kicker and or jackplate.

One of my primary uses is going up a very shallow river with various underwater hazards to a time shared cabin on an island. The only way back is by boat and there is no Seatow. Most of the locals have jackplates and kickers for good reason. So for me weight is very important for draft but so are the kicker and jackplate.

The are a couple of users on this forum that have repowered the Montauk with the F70 and all seem happy with it performance and load carrying ability and very happy with it's weight and size. I believe Tom W Clark has a friend that is getting 38mph wit this motor, I hope to do the same, which will be 5 mph lower than my old 90.

I am also getting a matching Yamaha F6 kicker to replace my 2-stroke johnson so that both engines can use the same fuel.

Edited by jharrell on 03/11/14 - 7:45 AM

Posted by saumon on 03/11/14 - 7:50 AM
#13

Finnegan wrote:And the 45 MPH speed is very impressive. That is the best I have heard for one of those engines, and it shows that the 16' hull is indeed faster than the smirked 17'.


Doesn't look unusual to me. With the same engine on a 1991 Outrage 17, I can hit 40mph on a mirror-like surface, alone and lightly loaded, 37mph with a normal load. If an E-Tec 90hp can push an Outrage 17 I at 40mph, I guess it can do 42 on a 17' hull and 45' on a 16' hull, properly propped.

Posted by egerrity on 03/11/14 - 8:21 AM
#14

I am very happy with my 90 ETEC, I have had 2 full season with it and everything has been fine for the most part.

I currently have an issue with the PT&T leaking down, and issue with the freshwater flush port coming loose, and I have had an issue with the trim gauge. All the above covered under warrantee.

I hate the BRP shifter/throttle. It looks cheap and its too big. The key located in the shifter sticks out to far and had gotten caught on me many times. I would love to change to the Morse control but the trim and tilt button would be an issue.

All in all its a great combo for the boat.

Posted by crbenny on 03/11/14 - 7:09 PM
#15

Salmon, how are you propped? Looks like an early SST at a glance.

Larry, thanks for the positive comments and yes, this one's a keeper. I've got more to do but it's getting close to completion. Next is the 22' Outrage Cuddy that's been sitting in the warehouse with an almost new OX66 250hp on the transom waiting to be rigged.

Ed, you mention the bleed down and the flush port problem. I've had both. The factory knows about the PT&T bleed down and it's covered under warranty if you still have time left. As far as the flush port, when I went for the very first start after rigging, I connected the water and noticed it was splashing inside the cowling. At first I thought I had failed to assemble my mid case covers properly after removal and painting them Bearcat teal. What I found was that the hose that slips over the barbed flush port is only held on by a small plastic strap. I cut that off and added 2 fat tie wraps and cranked them tight. Also, I only flush with the rabbit ears now so that I can actually see the tell tale indication/water pump discharge spitting cooling water. I never liked the idea of back feeding through the tell tale all the while hoping the powerhead is being cooled.

Chris

Posted by saumon on 03/12/14 - 6:14 AM
#16

crbenny wrote:
Salmon, how are you propped? Looks like an early SST at a glance.


The prop in the pics (personal page) is a OMC SS Viper 13 7/8 x 17. which is my go-to, tubing or fully loaded fishing prop that hit 35-37mph @ 5100 depending on the load (2-3 persons). The top speed (40 mph) was attained with the Siletto Advantage 17p but very lightly loaded. With a normal or heavy load, the Stiletto run under 5000rpm at WOT, thus lugging the engine a bit, so I keep it as a spare. You could see the tests data here: http://www.whalercentral.com/forum/vi...ost_109156