hi, im in the uk and found this forum about 6 months ago, im finding the wealth of infomation here is priceless and makes very interesting reading, i have recently purchased a shetland speedwell 20ft cabin cruiser which was used only on the canal and came with a 7.5hp honda bf75 4 stroke, im not a canal boater and im going to be using the boat in coastal areas so im looking to fit a much larger outboard at the start of this season when ive finished a complete refit and new transom insert, the boats kept on a trailer (for portability) on the hardstanding at the marina and launched for use, the weight of the bare boat is 700kgs and the 2 ton pay load double axle trailer weight is 300kgs giving a total of 1000kgs, the max towing weight of my car is 1100kgs, so it seems i have around 100kgs weight i can allow for an outboard and im looking to spend around £2000 on an engine and im thinking along the lines of 50-75hp because i will be using the boat for holidays ect with my wife and two sons and may try some sking as well, so i dont really want to be underpowered, im after an engine thats reliable and relatively straight forward to fix and doesnt drink fuel like its going out of fashion, as we have to pay £4 per gal over here, so ive been following the classifieds and keeping my eye out for anything interesting and ive come across something which i need advice on and its a uk marine dealer who has got hold of a batch of chrysler 90hp engines, they are 1985, and are unused and still in some wrapping and look just like new, the details i have so far along with some photos are its 90hp, 3 cyl, 16 amp charge, pre oil mix and weighs 240lbs, now whats interesting me is the 240lb weight that im being told by the dealer this engine weighs, as ive looked at new spec 2 stroke mercury weights and a 75hp is 305lbs dry, so as my budget confines me to a used engine and logic tells me older engines will be heavier, then i was thinking that i probably will have to come down to the lower range of 50-75hp because of the weight issue, but as stated above im being told this chrysler 90hp is only 240lbs, so really what im after is some more information and advice regarding these chrylser engines, i see the good points as being its only 240lbs, its 90hp, charges at 16 amps and its unused and presumably has been stored correctly, however i see the bad points as, although its unused its still a 1985 engine with 1985 components and spares could be a problem in the future? also i dont know what effect 18 years of storage will have had, ie even if it was stored correctly, will there still be surface corrosion on internal parts which could cause problems? also it looks very old fashioned, but im not really bothered about this aspect, i also am unsure about any trim/tilt spec, it looks to me like you have to use your own muscle, which isnt ideal, but can be tollerated i guess, so can anyone give me any advice on buying or further details on this engine, also would an engine of this 1985 year vintage drink alot more fuel than say a mercury or marina 90hp of 1995 vintage if they are both same basic 3cyl carb spec? also the boat is 1978 vintage and the hull design speed is 27 knots and the max engine is 65hp, but as ive fitted a new transom and the boat seems to have had an easy life on the canals with a small engines, i thought that i will be able to go slightly above the 65hp rating as long as i take it easy with the power, any advice on this aspect of things? as ive seen at least one of these boats fitted with a 90hp mariner<br /><br />thanks in advance for all replies, i will await with baited breath!<br /><br />;-)<br /><br />wonging
