twins too much?

[russell123]

Hello,
I have a '86 222 aquasport with a '95 200 oceanrunner and get ~1.5mpg on a good day. Very limited range with the current 85gl fuel tank.
I fish mainly offshore and have been stranded about 5xs in the last 14yrs.
I am going to close the transom and add a bracket. I would like to repower with twins, may be new 115 2 strokes due to the safety factor, but would this be too much weight. Current motor is ~450lbs, lightest 115s maybe e-tecs at ~370lbs each. 300 more lbs - sounds like a lot to me. Or should I just get a new 225 4 stroke at ~600lbs. Plan on adding fuel capacity also.

Has anyone repowered a simular boat with twins?
Would twins use more fuel?
Which Bracket would one suggest for this - Hermco, D&D,etc?

 

[oops!]

Re: twins too much?

hi russel......welcome to i boats !.....

thanks for thing a lot about where to post this question.....but i think we should have it moved to a different forum.....the resto forum is mostly repairs questions......and our gurus here are really great if they can see the question.....but the "dry dock" is not regularly visited by the motor guys.

cheers
oops

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: twins too much?

Hello,
I have a '86 222 aquasport with a '95 200 oceanrunner and get ~1.5mpg on a good day. Very limited range with the current 85gl fuel tank.
I fish mainly offshore and have been stranded about 5xs in the last 14yrs.
I am going to close the transom and add a bracket. I would like to repower with twins, may be new 115 2 strokes due to the safety factor, but would this be too much weight. Current motor is ~450lbs, lightest 115s maybe e-tecs at ~370lbs each. 300 more lbs - sounds like a lot to me. Or should I just get a new 225 4 stroke at ~600lbs. Plan on adding fuel capacity also.

Has anyone repowered a simular boat with twins?
Would twins use more fuel?
Which Bracket would one suggest for this - Hermco, D&D,etc?

When you mention you have been stranded, do you mean that you have run out of fuel 5 times or that you have had a mechanical failure 5 times.
If it is that you run out of fuel then maybe drag the extra weight you are talking about as spare fuel instead of replacing motors. However if it is mechanical failure you are worried about then twin motors or a good "kicker" should be considered.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: twins too much?

russell, welcome to iboats. i would think long and hard on this one. 23 year old boat,---- the price of two new E-Tecs. unless you are in love with the Aquasport, i would think about another boat, with twins.

You are going to be adding 300lbs, plus moving the engine weight back on a bracket. i think this would make a major difference in the center of gravity. making the boat stern heavy.

you will probably loose some speed as you have 2 feet in the water, fuel consumption on the never motors is better, but running twin, you probably won't see a lot of difference.

this is my opinion, i'm sure you will get many more.

 

[russell123]

Re: twins too much?

thanks

I do like the hull.
I have had motor failure twice right when new - oil injection system. Bad key switch once, lower unit bearing and one "out of gas" gauge off - pushing limits.
Your right , probably just go with a single 4 stroke. I think this would be
more reliable. Even though my old motor has done pretty well considering the years of use. May be a 2 stroke. I think the gas consumption is pretty close now days.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: twins too much?

How do you feel about the Decent "kicker" idea ???

 

[samo_ott]

Re: twins too much?

Hello,
I have a '86 222 aquasport with a '95 200 oceanrunner and get ~1.5mpg on a good day. Very limited range with the current 85gl fuel tank.

Yikes! No wonder I like running the small engines! I wouldn't have enough $$$ to run a larger engine!

 

[nightstalker]

Re: twins too much?

Hello,
I have a '86 222 aquasport with a '95 200 oceanrunner and get ~1.5mpg on a good day. Very limited range with the current 85gl fuel tank.
I fish mainly offshore and have been stranded about 5xs in the last 14yrs.
I am going to close the transom and add a bracket. I would like to repower with twins, may be new 115 2 strokes due to the safety factor, but would this be too much weight. Current motor is ~450lbs, lightest 115s maybe e-tecs at ~370lbs each. 300 more lbs - sounds like a lot to me. Or should I just get a new 225 4 stroke at ~600lbs. Plan on adding fuel capacity also.

Has anyone repowered a simular boat with twins?
Would twins use more fuel?
Which Bracket would one suggest for this - Hermco, D&D,etc?

My buddy in CT. runs a 1984 222 Aquasport with twin 100 2 strokes strapped on the back. Frankly, I like the idea of having the extra engine if one goes down, but the additional weight of the second engine really changed the handling of his rig. Originally, she had a 175 Merc that I thought propelled her a lot better.
Nightstalker

 

[russell123]

Re: twins too much?

thanks again

Had 20 hp kicker once. bulky, always in the way, and not much of a motor except in really, really calm water.
Did friend have bracket mounted twin 100's ?
Bracket makers like Hermco, D&D claim their Brackets actually help support the added motor weight. Has anyone had experience with this? (bracket)

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: twins too much?

Where are you located and how far offshore do you go?

 

[russell123]

Re: twins too much?

Fish and dive out of Galveston/Freeport, Texas area. Normally stay in the 30-40 miles offshore range. The Gulf is usually predictable in the Summer months except for the surprise thunder head. There are some areas just out of my reach which I would like to fish on those real nice days.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: twins too much?

u could just get a 2 stroke big motor and a maybe a good sized kicker i guess 4 stroke if the big motor is a oil injected model