Installing 70 hp on my 26M

[Remedy]

Okay...I just got my and it has an old 6hp Johnson on it. Perfect for getting around in the cove, but I want to take the grandkids tubing. I did a search for installing a larger motor (70hp), but it came back with 1336 hits and the first two or three pages didn't say a word about installing a motor. Does anyone know of a source for controls and linkage to hook-up 50-70hp motor to my ? Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

V/R,
Jim

[Russ]

I'm not sure the difference between a 60 and 70 is that much.

My had the Suzuki 70 installed by the dealer. Doesn't the motor come with the controls?

[Trouts Dream]

My 1996 Tohatsu 50 hp looked like it was packing itself in, sometimes wouldn't start and when it did, it would run fine and then suddenly stop and couldn't get it going again.
I convinced the Admiral we needed a new engine and was looking at the Tohatsu 70 or 90 horse. The dealer for the Tohatsu will sell me one but he is very high on the Susuki engines. What is your experience with your Susuki so far?

I found out the problem with the old Tohatsu was a connection on the kill switch had come apart and only touched sometimes. I plugged it back in and the engine starts on first turnover now. DRAT. Should I tell the Admiral??

Sorry to highjack the thread but all my research says a Mac will handle up to a 90 HP (there are a couple larger ones) on the transom with some reinforcement. The problem with going above 50 HP will be the NUT on the end of the steering wheel.

[eaglelakejames]

Hey Trout,
I'll tell you a story about my Suzuki DF50. 3 weeks ago I was in Page Arizona backing my 26x Highlight into lake Powell for a 2 week cruze with the admiral. Worked for weeks making mods, pressurized water, holding tanks, hot water, heater, propane sys bla bla bla. Towed the boat @900miles, had the wheels of the trailer in the lake, dead motor. Tested it prior to departure, worked fine. Had always worked fine. NO ONE WILL WORK ON A SUZUKI. I finally found a kind soul at B & T marine. After anhour of looking it over he says, I have good news and bad news. Good, I figured out what is wrong with the motor. Bad, the part is in Tokyo Japan and will take a week to get here. There are very few Suzuki dealers and non of them stock all parts. We looked via internet for at least 8 hrs with no luck. If you plan on any trips, buy a Merc or a Yamaha, they're serviced everywhere and ALL the parts are stocked on the continent. I wound up renting a boat while my 26x was repaired. Awsome place, forget the mast and sails though.
EagleLakeJames

[puggsy]

Hi EagleLakeJames...what was the part that failed. I too have a DF 50 and it could be a weakness in them.
Two weeks on a lake sounds good. Your lucky that you have an admiral that shares with you...[ sigh ] The closest thing we have to a lake is the Mandurah and Harvey Estuary, the whole lot no deeper than 9 feet...but good country.
google earth 32.33min S to 32.44min S and 115.38minE to 115.46minE...

Puggsy

[Trouts Dream]

So are you saying it would be okay to get a Susuki as long as I spend a lot of my time in Japan.

Thanks for the insight, I work in the maintenence field of the mining industry and no matter how reliable a peice of equipment is, proximity to a dealer and distance from the manufacturer or major parts depot is very high in the considerations field. I do like to travel with the X so this is an important factor.

Thanks for the input.

[Remedy]

Trots,
You said "Sorry to highjack the thread but all my research says a Mac will handle up to a 90 HP (there are a couple larger ones) on the transom with some reinforcement. The problem with going above 50 HP will be the NUT on the end of the steering wheel."
If I wanted more than 50 or 70 hp I would've kept my Baja. However, since outboards come without controls, etc., I'm just looking for some help locating the correct cables and controls for the application.

[aya16]

the correct controls depend on the engine you choose, or at least the cables. uflex sells a controller and you need 10-11 foot cables to go with that, all the engine companies sell controllers and you can order the right size cables from them through your dealer, again 10-11 feet for the M. if you dont like uflex, teleflex sells controllers too, they are a little more snazzy. http://www.teleflexmarine.com/ http://uflexusa.ultraflexgroup.com/default.asp

I take it you dont want an engine that is over a 50 or 70hp because of what you said about keeping the Baja???? No matter what you pick the dealer of the motor can get you everything you need to do the job.
But I would seriously consider the higher hp 90 over the same size engine in the 70hp range. No one ever complained about to much power only to little. Just helping you out here, Dont want to see you back here in 6 months asking about what prop you should use to get a little more umph from that 70....That 70 is only ten horses larger than the 60 mac recommends, yet weighs as much as in some cases as 115, with the same dimensions and engine parts. Actually thats the 75hp engine but you get the drift...
Good luck Mike

[Kelly Hanson East]

You wont be able to buy a motor over 50 HP 'legit" with controls without being certified for installation by the manufacturer. This isnt to say you wont find someone who will sell you one (since capitalism is a great thing) but you will have trouble getting any warranty service on it if you install it yourself.

Personally, modern motors are so reliable that if I got a great deal on a grey market motor, I would install myself and forego the warranty. Since you have a motor, you have time to scope out your options and still sail...which is nice

[beene]

Jeff, aka devavu , I think I got that right... installed his OB himself, posted every step of the way. That is where I got the idea to do my own also. I searched around, found a great deal from iboats.com , got the OB, borrowed an engine crane from a buddy, used the template, drilled 4 holes, 5200, couple of beers, done!

Was easy as pie.

Then Highlander and I did the same on his M. Piece of cake..... I am making myself crave sweets now.... great

If you have any questions, email me.

Ciao

G

[Hamin' X]

I think that these are the posts by Jeff (deja_vu) That G is referring to:

Mounting a Bigfoot Engine on Mac

2006+ pedestal with B184 controller<<== This link is OK. Broken link is inside the post.

Note: When viewing the controller mod posts, the link to the controller mod is broken. Use this link instead:
Uflex B184 Throttle Mounting on a 2006+ 26M Pedestal

~Rich

[aya16]

I dont think its illegal to buy and install outboards, In merc's case now they want you to have the dealer install the motor and they sort of make that happen with warranty hype. But to be fair to merc, the reasons are two fold, first software has to be installed in the motor after install, and the engine needs to be run and checked against that software, and merc doesnt make available that software to the home buyers.

Now I could be wrong and was sold a bill of goods when I was told this, and I think any one with the slightest ability could install a new motor, its all plug and play anyway. Being a do it yourselfer, I would get a new motor installed and have the dealer responsible for the right set up. I dont think merc can just say your motor is not under warranty if you install it yourself, especially if you took it to a dealer and had them check it for the initial run up. But heres where it gets sticky, by doing that the dealer is going to want a couple hundred bucks, the installation fee, mine anyway, was 700.00 bucks. So the difference isnt much.

My hats off to those that installed their own motor, I have done a few myself, but at least the optimax that has to be set to 10 hour break in mode, where double oil is injected to the engine for 10 hours, I think its best to have that engine installed. Now with e teck, you can get a motor sent to your home and install it yourself and the software is already installed for all that stuff. So I think merc's thinking is to eliminate or cut down warranty work by having an authorized dealer overlook the install.

Even the small outboards from everyone need to be set up before we take them home, Not the computer, but the oil and initial run up. Buying on line you will get a big fat tag on the motor saying that oil needs to be added before you start the motor, But the motors were set up from the seller. At least thats the claims of the sellers on line.

To install a motor just to save a few hundred bucks, isnt the right reason to do it, if someone wants to because its fun, get a couple buddies over have a few beers and get her done is cool.....
Mike

[mikelinmon]

Yes and no; the manufacturer says up to 50hp but installs a 60. But, that is factory installed! If a dealer installs more than 50 ( or even an owner aftermarket) the lawyer will tell the jury that the motor was not installed exactly like the fasctory. The defense will have a time proving installation was OK. Even a tiny bolt used in a slightly different manner than the manufacturer will be shown to the jury, lawyer will claim that was the key to incident whatever the incident was. Lawyer will ask about testing done on boat with oversized motor, say your dealer did no testing for safe operation, no testing, just use the lawyers results, he tested for sure, his results will show just what he wants. He can show the extra weight interfered with the steering and the sailing incident was caused by the owner/dealer installation of overweight motor caused problem. So, your insurance company will have a smart lawyer and abandon you to the other lawyer. Hey, they may insure you, just no cover you. Put a 70 on at your own risk, dealer is in the boiling pot with you, notice the motor dealers are on to this and won't overpower a boat! Dealer installing a larger than 50 himself is asking for it! I did it several times, one close call cured me of it. The boat was sailing, motor off, tilted up. Incident was port/starboard, my guy port. Claim of insurance co was port boat was stern heavy, they didn't want to continue his ins. I fixed the boats free and claim went away. If there had been a personal injury, my goose was cooked.
Now for the yes on 70hp. It is quieter at mid speed than 50/60.
If you use a 60, use the one the manufacturer uses. No legal problem.
But, hey, we live in California, you are Ok for now, the lawsuits will get to your part of the world soon enough

Mike Inmon

[aya16]

Mike when you say stuff like that, it sounds as if mac doesnt believe their boats are over safe, only barely safe enough to handle a 50hp, and in extremely controlled situation a 60hp. The solution is to get roger on board and test a 90hp on a mac and put it through its paces. Ill do it, have mac give me a new boat off the line and put an etec 90 on it, Ill run it like no one will. The test can be video'ed and stored away, because if you use it for an ad, like the gale force video, Then you tell people its ok to do that in these boats. We only want the security that these boats can handle a 90 (the factory) the owners of these boats that have 90's already feel secure about it. Then any legal issues go away with boats that have more than a 50hp on them.

Mac should come on board and test, then say these boats can handle a 90hp motor, Its not like there arnt any macs running around with them. Those that have them are doing no more than mac says it does with a 50hp, 24mph, so on one hand mac says have fun run around Catalina at 24mph pull skiers, sail back in ruff weather, and on the other hand mac says dont do that with a larger motor that can actually do what mac said you could. anyone think their new mac can do 24mph with people and stuff aboard with a 50hp motor is kidding themselves. But you certainly could do that with a 70 or 90.... If roger designed the boat to do 24mph safely then there shouldn't be a problem about using an engine that will actually do that in the boat. Lets not put the engine before the cart, if the boat is safe to do what is shown in the ad video's then it shouldn't matter what engine does that.
Mike

[aya16]

interesting side stuff about weight

The bigfoot merc 50 mac uses in their video weighs 260 pounds

an etec 90hp weighs 325 pounds

an optimax 70-125 (they have a 125hp from the same class now, wow) weighs 375 pounds

Now put an etec 90 on your boat instead of the big foot its like motoring with a 65 pound kid in the captains chair on your lap

put an optimax 70-90-115-125, on instead of the big foot, its like having that slim 115 pound wife of yours sitting in your lap, or your girl friend while the wife's at work.

This has nothing to do with power or vibration or anything but weight. My mac with a 115hp merc on it is still bow heavy and the boat didnt go down in the back one inch.
My water line is still above the water, and I take that as I dont have enough junk on board to lower it, so Ill work on it.

for the purest sailors put an etec 60 on your boat instead of the big foot and you have 20 pounds less engine and lots more get up and go. That is when you power off..
Mike