I have a SeaCat Sl1 power catamaran and this winter I have upgraded the twin Honda BF50s to twin BF90s. I have not installed the BF90s yet as I am waiting till spring up here in the northeast, but I also need to figure out what to do about the lower units since the BF90s have 25in lower unit and I have a 20in transom. I was aware that this was going to be an issue, but for the price that I got the engines I just couldn't pass them up. I see three options here:
1) Buy used 20-in lower units and sell mine.
2) Rebuild the lower unit with a 20-in driveshaft. I hear that you have to disassemble the whole lower unit though which is a PITA.
3) Install manual jack plates and call it a day. The only thing is I may have to jack the engine over 5inches up which is pretty significant.
To complicate things, the lower units on the 90s are the older 1997/1998 Mercury lowers, but from what I've read here I just need to change the shift shaft and some prop shaft hardware to get a newer LU to fit. I really just want to get some opinions before moving forward. Thanks in advance.
1) Buy used 20-in lower units and sell mine.
2) Rebuild the lower unit with a 20-in driveshaft. I hear that you have to disassemble the whole lower unit though which is a PITA.
3) Install manual jack plates and call it a day. The only thing is I may have to jack the engine over 5inches up which is pretty significant.
To complicate things, the lower units on the 90s are the older 1997/1998 Mercury lowers, but from what I've read here I just need to change the shift shaft and some prop shaft hardware to get a newer LU to fit. I really just want to get some opinions before moving forward. Thanks in advance.