by Jake Worthington
PART 2 of 2
Last month, we covered starting the process of repowering a boat. Now that you are ready to take the plunge, your next decision is who you will purchase the motors from. This is the most important step you will make. My family has always dealt with Causeway Marina in Camden. My Dad says buying local is important and knowing the person behind the counter and in the shop, is worth its weight in gold. Any dealer can sell an engine, but installing it and servicing it over the next decade is what you must consider overall.
As you may have read in a previous issue, my dealer helped me secure an Evinrude Pro Staff relationship. Because Causeway Marina had always serviced my boat, they knew how many hours I ran the boat a year, what kind of fishing I was doing, and what I was looking for in the repower. After much consideration, I went with the Evinrude ETEC G2 225HO engines. One thing I was looking for in new engines was a wider RPM and speed spread that I needed to operate in a variety of offshore sea conditions. Because I fish out of Oregon Inlet, I needed engines that would give me high torque and immediate speed out of the hole to get on plane and power over inlet ocean swell. Best of all–unlike my previous engines that had to be serviced every 100 hours– my new Evinrudes only need to be serviced every 5 years or 500 hours!
I also went with dual electronic controls and the ICON II Multiple Engine Binnacle Controls. These controls are smooth, and you can easily adjust your RPMs while underway. You can also use the RPM adjustments to make small adjustments to your speed. I also selected the Evinrude ICON Touch Series display system. This information supercenter has all the information I will need. It displays engine RPM, speed, oil pressure and levels, fuel level, MPG, distance travelled, engine trim and a host of other options. Switching power from control box to control box is also very simple and fast. Once the engines were on, all we had to do was test which props matched the engine and boat. Every repower is different and the propellers are the last part of the puzzle. You have to try several different blade and pitch combinations until it gives you the performance you need.
After we selected the correct propeller combination, it was time for 5 hours of break in period. It was a well spent 5 hours because the repower had completely changed how the boat handled. With the old 4 stroke motors I had, the boat needed to be going at least 4000 RPMs to get to a good cruising speed. This was fine when it was calm, but if you are fighting rough seas 4000 RPMs made the ride rough. Now I can cruise as low as 2800 RPMs in rough seas giving me a smooth ride. The boat will also go as fast as 60 MPH now which is great in a calm ride to the Gulf Stream. Once the five hour break-in period was done, it was time for fishing and enjoying my new motors!