Thoughts on 'Re-Powering'???

Curious.....saw a post today by Mark Perry about 're-powering' his rig but, don't see much on this.
If/When you chose to 're-power' your rig, would you chose new/used? Largest motor your rig can handle or most affordable?
Love to 're-power' my rig but, new Evinrude 135HP is EXPENSIVE.... my current 90HP runs fine but.... keep thinking love to have the most my rig could handle (140HP), just in case....
Ya'll's thoughts?
Have you/would you? Just curious..

God Bless

Repower new with the largest allowable. You'll never get your money back out of the repower but then again you'll never get your money out of a boat no matter what you do.

Lee;
don't do it.
worse move I ever made, going to a larger motor.
Unless you are going to fish Tournaments every weekend and need the extra speed.
I wish I had my 90hp back.

You want to do it; but not necessary is the key here. Someday it might be necessary so put a little money back from time to time for that day. If the old motor bites the dust then you will have the funds. Start researching the step up. I would never go the MAX. on a boat not designed and big enough for rough water. I believe the 115 hp. motors are some of the most fuel efficient on the water. I would start looking there.

let me know if you re-power I may be interested in your 90

I had a yammy 90 that just wasn't enough. But I blew the head on it and I went to a 115 HP Merc. My boat is rated for a 135. But not a lot of choices in the 135 range. Thought about going to 150 but then I would be taking chances with the legal side. So it's a 115 and it does great. I'm still trying to get the BEST setup with boat/motor/prop choices. I may be using more fuel but if I just cruz then I'll be fine, but who cruzes! Best part is I don't have to mix fuel/oil anymore!

I re powered Bart for better fuel economy went from a carbed Yamaha 150 to a pro XS merc 175 , only a little more power but much better fuel economy , I do just cruise these days though that boat isn't going to win any races

Ok, good input. New or used?
John made a great point in that the cost will NEVER be recovered on a sale but I don't plan on selling and I'm certainly not a 'tournament fisherman'.... , I wish I were that good but, point of fact, I'm not.
Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like many are reviewing the post and at least giving some thought to possible 're-power'.
God Bless

Lee, my boat came with a 75hp Merc and I upgraded to it's max of 125hp and it is a real advantage. I can't begin to tell you how much more I like it. I used to be a little afraid of taking my rig out on windy days, but now it isn't a big deal. My boat is only 17' so it used to be real rough going out in the wind, but it gets on top of the crests now and I could never go back.

I'm not sure, but I was under the impression that you want to stick to the year of your boat, so that is what I did.

Either way, it's nice to see some water in our lakes

New motors are quite expensive, but they have a warranty. It would be a shame to repower and have issues and then have to shell out more cash to fix the repower. A new Mercury can be warrantied for 7 years. to me that's just good insurance to keep you fishing. If it was me and I was going to repower, I would go new. The downside to a repower is getting a loan. If you have cash, then no problem, but if you plan to finance a motor, the interest can be insane because it is a big risk for the bank. the motor is a hard thing to reclaim a loss on if the loan defaults so the interest rate is over 10% usually from what I have heard. I have a friend looking to repower right now and he is saving cash because the loan would cost double after all of the interest. hope that helps give you a few things to consider.

Great input Bogey!! Well, as you know, my rig is only an 18' but is rated for up to 140 sooooooooooo, when Evinrude came out with the ETEC 135HP, sure peaked my interest. Many who had that engine said it is really a downsized 150HP and would make a considerable difference in speed overall of their bass boats.
New rig, no that's out of the question. Am just too old and not a 'tourney' guy. But, the thoughts of that added power difference got my interest.
Like you said, and I love that input, made a remarkable difference on rough water handling in being able to get over and ride the rougher water.
But, the flip side - dropping an added $11K .... ouch...
Still thinking. Seems the one man here, Nutman, who did upgrade is not at all happy about his choice.
But, the question was asked not just about my little rig but about anyone else who had done this or was thinking about it. New (expensive)/used (less expensive - I think) or just plain more power issue.
God Bless

Lee;
Take Donald Harper's advice ---- the "feeling" for a bigger motor will go away soon. The cost far outweighs the advantages for a non-tournament fisherman.
if you want to buy something,,,,, you really don't need,,,,,, go buy one of those Livingston crank baits you like so much.

OMG....come on guys, nope, no more Livingston. Great input .... thanks buddy...
but please, just NO MORE LIVINGSTON...
God Bless

I am re-powering next week from 2000 Merc 200 EFI to a 2004 Merc 225 EFI. The real difference is the step up from 2.5 litre to 3 litre and NMEA compatiblity (hooks up to my HDS7 instead dash gages). Far more torque. Motor will have a few mods- 4 flutter intake, exhaust tuner, computers flashed by Simon MotorSports to a 250hp fuel curve, nose cone with LWP, new 10" jack plate (Steve's Custom Props), and likely a Bravo prop. The cost is sunk cost. You'll never get your cost out of a boat or anything remotely related to your boat.

Rest assured, my G will scream when its done.

I wouldn't even entertain the idea until I had to do something.. (blown motor)

Just doesn't makes sense, when you could apply that towards a bigger/newer boat

Well, not what I wanted to hear.... but, probably the best advice. Guess I was just 'thinking out loud'.
God Bless

Lee you gotta know that Tiltman's boat can't be beat in skinny or stumpy water. Rule number one is never follow Tiltman.

Depends are you struggling to get the boat on plane or keeping the nose safely up in rough water or just not happy with top speed? Is the current setup maxed out prop, prop to pad hight and set back? A little tuning may give you a little more without spending alot.

If you run alot and have carbs going to dfi plus warranty may help absorb some of the cost of a repower over time.

I just repowered my BassCat. 94 boat had an 89 merc 200 on it. It was and still is a good motor but I was just not satisfied with the performance. Deal came up on here about a month ago for a 1999 21' boat with a 01 200 efi merc and I jumped all over it for the price he was asking. Now just have to play with my setup to get the right performance but to me it was 3800 well spent. Now the 89 is on the 99 boat and I will fix it up a little and resell it to get some of my money back on the purchase

Lee I will say it this way.
I have never heard anyone say I should have bought a smaller motor
I have lot's and lot's say I should have bought a bigger motor
Alot of the time on boats like yours when sold they don't put max hp on them. It's helps to keep price down.

This is my feeling, if I blew engine out of warranty then I would probably go on and repower if I liked the boat. That would be the only time.

Only way I would repower is IF I was completely in love with my boat and had no interest in getting something bigger/different in the near future or the powerhead blew on my boat and that was the best option financially. Definitely want to put the max HP on any hull you buy though. It doesn't mean you have to go WOT everywhere, it just means you have the power to efficiently move your boat around as it was intended.

Good advice all.... honestly, I run WOT maybe 15 minutes on any fishing trip otherwise, its just slow cruising looking for a good spot using my HB's or the TM. TM probably accounts for 90% of my fishing.
Speed....nah, not really interested UNLESS... I run into a thunderstorm.....then only to get off the water and fast.
I just can't really justify getting rid of my 90HP Johnson in all reality. Dang thing had low hours ( I mean really low ) when I got it and runs like a top.
LOL, for $11k, I can sure get MANY guided fishing trips!! !
God Bless

Lee,...how fast do you need to go ?? your boat should do 40-45,..

Lee I had thought about repowering one of my rigs after I popped a piston ring and fed it to the rest of the cylinders. I weighed the pros and cons. I had actually sold the rig to a friend of mine and when we took it for the compression test we found that problem though it was running fine. I wound up buying him a full rebuild instead. The one thing that really jumped out at me was having a warranty again and could probably have gotten that extended if he wanted.....but this was all back when motors were no where near as expensive as they are now. If you repower, again the warranty thing will be a positive. Also if you are going to the limit of the hull I'd most definitely add at least a 6 inch jack plate. It will give you a better hole shot which translates into better fuel mileage, a lot more stability, did I say better fuel mileage, and more top end speed. Boats that run at their HP limit have a tendency to want to be a little squirrelly on the top end and a jack plate will take most of that away. Even if you run @ cruising speed or less 100% of the time the bigger motor is more than likely going to use less fuel than the motor you currently have running @ cruising speed because it will not be working near as hard as the smaller motor to maintain that speed. My two cents.....

You only live once. Why not just go get the boat of your dreams? I understand there are many reasons one can't but if house is paid for, kids are fine on their own, can still afford to fish a lot if there was a payment, plus you can keep the savings account, take advantage of low interest rates, I am not saying brand new where it is underwater but there some great deals on some awesome used boats with everything and manufacturer warranty that probably could be extended on the outboard.

Well, you certainly make an argument but, nah, no thanks. It's only a hobby....besides, I'm not that good at it...
God Bless

Never buy a boat that is underpowered. You will regret it and it is harder to sell.

Really don't think I would have a problem selling 'THIS' rig, not after everything that I have had done....and boy do I mean 'EVERYTHING', but that was and is not my intention.
I can get up on plane and will run WOT about 40mph....but, I am not concerned with that. I only use WOT just long enough to get across a lake, then it's TM or slow cruising looking for a fishing spot.
I was just curious as to how many had re-powered.
Would like to but, the cost is prohibitive, at least I feel
God Bless

I did not have any problem at all selling my Stratos 175XT with a 50hp on it. Right person, Right time, Right price. Just to get a Skeeter with a 150hp because "I thought" I was under powered. Sure wish I had my Stratos with the 50hp back. 33mph and a great fishing platform. At 63 yrs of age it was a perfect boat. I still don't go out into the middle of the lake when the waves are real rough, even though I have the power for it. WHAT FOR ?

Tff

But, sure is nice to be able to get off the lake in a hurry if you have to. Right ?
But, your right, staying with what I have, just too darn expensive
God Bless

Lee, last time I "re-powered" I moved up to a 35 Johnson on a 14' Terry Bass Boat. That was from a 20 HP Chrysler.
Thought I was going to break the sound barrier in that boat.

Now, I have a 250 HP, do I really need it?,,,No

Lee - when I moved to Ft. Worth in 2004, I bought a new 16 ft. aluminum Bass Tracker. They had a deal where you could get a 50HP instead of a 40HP at no extra cost. So I "repowered" for free! How's that for an old guy getting wild and crazy!!