wh500special
New member
"Greetings from the Hoosier st
"Greetings from the Hoosier state. What a great forum! I have been lurking here for a long time but finally decided to make a post.
I currently have a 1998 25 HP Johnson 2 cylinder matched to my 16' 1999 Lund 16-Rebel which has been a perfect fishing setup for me. Under normal circumstances with 1 or 2 people aboard the engine pushes the boat very acceptably.
Recently though, my boat's "operational weight" has increased due to changes with whom I fish. Basically, I picked up a third passenger and haul a lot more junk around the lake now than before. If the livewell is full of fish (seldom happens) or if rain has soaked the boat I have even more weight to carry around.
Consequently, there are times the 25 has a tough time getting the boat on plane.
For these occasions, I am interested in having a few more HP to push the boat aroung and get the bow back high (and dry) above the waves.
The boat is rated for 45 HP, so I am considering engines up to 40. But, I really love to troll and would rather stay as small as practical to make trolling easier.
I know my 25 can be bumped up to 30 with some carb and exhaust changes ( I assume this is still possible on this series of John-Rude motors), but I am not sure 5 HP is that significant - even though a 20% increase sounds impressive.
So, I am really interested in the 3 cyl Johnson/Evinrude motors that were offered around 1996-2001. But, I really haven't seen many of these through the years although I have had decent luck finding a few nice used units.
My questions, then, are:
1. Are there any common problems associated with these engines that forced OMC to pull them from the market after a pretty short run - or was their higher cost perhaps a sales killer?
2. What are the general opinions of these outboards?
3. Should I consider the 25 to 30 upgrade, or rule it out as a waste of time?
I had the opportunity to run a 25 HP 3-cyl for a week in northern MN on a rental Lund about 10 years ago. I was impressed that it "felt" like more than 25 HP but was still an incredibly smooth troller. I'd guess the extra displacement equates to more torque.
It seems that the twin 2 stroke Johnson/evinrude 40's are pretty easy to come by, but I have limited experience with them and wonder if they are as good at low speeds as the 35 3's. OF course there are other manufactures of 40's out there, most with 3 cylinder designs that I have never tried.
While I have't ruled out a new engine, because I have a used boat I am mostly interested in similar vintage used motors for it to keep costs managable.
I have used some new 4 stroke Yamaha's on rental boats and loved their quiet and and economy. But - perhaps this is just me - it seems that the exhaust odor at idle/troll of a 4 stroke has a sulfurous smell and is actually a little more irritating to the eyes and throat than the smoke from a 2 stroker. So, I prefer 2 stroke engines.
I am in no hurry to make this swap either, so any suggestions and all opinions are very welcome.
Thanks in advance for any input!
Steve"
"Greetings from the Hoosier state. What a great forum! I have been lurking here for a long time but finally decided to make a post.
I currently have a 1998 25 HP Johnson 2 cylinder matched to my 16' 1999 Lund 16-Rebel which has been a perfect fishing setup for me. Under normal circumstances with 1 or 2 people aboard the engine pushes the boat very acceptably.
Recently though, my boat's "operational weight" has increased due to changes with whom I fish. Basically, I picked up a third passenger and haul a lot more junk around the lake now than before. If the livewell is full of fish (seldom happens) or if rain has soaked the boat I have even more weight to carry around.
Consequently, there are times the 25 has a tough time getting the boat on plane.
For these occasions, I am interested in having a few more HP to push the boat aroung and get the bow back high (and dry) above the waves.
The boat is rated for 45 HP, so I am considering engines up to 40. But, I really love to troll and would rather stay as small as practical to make trolling easier.
I know my 25 can be bumped up to 30 with some carb and exhaust changes ( I assume this is still possible on this series of John-Rude motors), but I am not sure 5 HP is that significant - even though a 20% increase sounds impressive.
So, I am really interested in the 3 cyl Johnson/Evinrude motors that were offered around 1996-2001. But, I really haven't seen many of these through the years although I have had decent luck finding a few nice used units.
My questions, then, are:
1. Are there any common problems associated with these engines that forced OMC to pull them from the market after a pretty short run - or was their higher cost perhaps a sales killer?
2. What are the general opinions of these outboards?
3. Should I consider the 25 to 30 upgrade, or rule it out as a waste of time?
I had the opportunity to run a 25 HP 3-cyl for a week in northern MN on a rental Lund about 10 years ago. I was impressed that it "felt" like more than 25 HP but was still an incredibly smooth troller. I'd guess the extra displacement equates to more torque.
It seems that the twin 2 stroke Johnson/evinrude 40's are pretty easy to come by, but I have limited experience with them and wonder if they are as good at low speeds as the 35 3's. OF course there are other manufactures of 40's out there, most with 3 cylinder designs that I have never tried.
While I have't ruled out a new engine, because I have a used boat I am mostly interested in similar vintage used motors for it to keep costs managable.
I have used some new 4 stroke Yamaha's on rental boats and loved their quiet and and economy. But - perhaps this is just me - it seems that the exhaust odor at idle/troll of a 4 stroke has a sulfurous smell and is actually a little more irritating to the eyes and throat than the smoke from a 2 stroker. So, I prefer 2 stroke engines.
I am in no hurry to make this swap either, so any suggestions and all opinions are very welcome.
Thanks in advance for any input!
Steve"
