Q1: what new engines should be used to re-power a 1987 WHALER 27 with an Armstrong Bracket that now is using twin Evinrude E-TEC 250-HP engines giving a top speed of 40-nautical-miles-per-hour (46-MPH).
I never operate at full-throttle, and my typical boat speed is 28-nautical-miles-per-hour. (32-MPH). This boat has a full Tuna Tower and a Cuddy Cabin forward of the center console.
ASIDE: I am new to continuousWave.
Re-power 1987 WHALER 27
Re: Re-power 1987 WHALER 27
Q2: are you absolutely certain this boat has an Armstrong Braket?
A typical larger Boston Whaler boat with an engine set back bracket would have a Whaler Drive, a completely different engine set back bracket than an Armstrong Bracket. A Whaler Drive is fiberglass and has a substantial buoyancy box that remains in the water when on plane, extending the hull running surface; an Armstrong bracket is welded aluminum and typically won’t have a buoyancy box that remains in the water when on plane. However, a c.1987 boat is right on the cusp of the introduction of the Whaler Drive. The hull could have been ordered as a Sea Drive or as a Sea Drive blank and fitted with a non-Boston Whaler engine bracket.
For re-powering you may need twin 300-HP four-stroke-power-cycle engines to match the low RPM torque and acceleration you have now with the twin E-TEC engines.
No recreation boat is ever operated at full-throttle for more than perhaps one or two-percent of the engine running time. That your cruising speed is 70-percent of top speed is quite normal. You do not want your cruising speed to require the propulsion engine to be operating near the top of its speed range.
Also, you are going to have to REALLY love this boat as a re-power could cost about $65,000 or more, depending on what horsepower, brand, and features you choose for the re-power. Older hulls that need a twin engine re-power are often sold for relatively low prices because of the looming cost of re-fitting with new twin engines.
A typical larger Boston Whaler boat with an engine set back bracket would have a Whaler Drive, a completely different engine set back bracket than an Armstrong Bracket. A Whaler Drive is fiberglass and has a substantial buoyancy box that remains in the water when on plane, extending the hull running surface; an Armstrong bracket is welded aluminum and typically won’t have a buoyancy box that remains in the water when on plane. However, a c.1987 boat is right on the cusp of the introduction of the Whaler Drive. The hull could have been ordered as a Sea Drive or as a Sea Drive blank and fitted with a non-Boston Whaler engine bracket.
For re-powering you may need twin 300-HP four-stroke-power-cycle engines to match the low RPM torque and acceleration you have now with the twin E-TEC engines.
No recreation boat is ever operated at full-throttle for more than perhaps one or two-percent of the engine running time. That your cruising speed is 70-percent of top speed is quite normal. You do not want your cruising speed to require the propulsion engine to be operating near the top of its speed range.
Also, you are going to have to REALLY love this boat as a re-power could cost about $65,000 or more, depending on what horsepower, brand, and features you choose for the re-power. Older hulls that need a twin engine re-power are often sold for relatively low prices because of the looming cost of re-fitting with new twin engines.