i/o to outboard conversion ?????

[pine island fred]

neighbor across the canal has a SUNBIRD swl 200. the stearn is to large for an outboard so it would have to be an inboard or i/o, but it does have an outboard hung on it. what a hunk of metal it is, say 200 to 250 lbs of mounting holding an OMC outboard. since i/o are not that popular here in the gulf, i am wondering if this is some kind of conversion to accomidate our shallow waters ? only set up like this that i have seen. regards fred

 

[DJ]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

It's called a bracket and they do have their merits.<br /><br />1. It allows a full transom for better following sea protection.<br /><br />2. They put the prop farther behind the boat for a better bite.

 

[Solittle]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

This has come up a few times here - I remember one conversion where a guy did the I/O to outboard thing - don't remember brands or motor sizes. I think it was a fair size rig like 25-26'. Anyway for him it was a disaster. His hull was designed for an I/O as far as weight and center of gravity are concerned. After the conversion the boat did not sit in the water properly and handled poorly.

 

[BrianTindall]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

I saw a 24' Grady converted as you describe. The conversion looked to be well done and used a bracket from Stainless Marine and a 200 Johnson. I ordered my bracket also from Stainless Marine and am in the process of installing a 225 Johnson on my 2302 Trophy. I did not have an I/O, but I removed 2 120hp Force engines and am rebuilding the transom to full up style (it was really rotted bad).

 

[Dhadley]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

My personal favorite -- we removed and threw away 2 330 Mercruisers and installed a B-bracket on a 32' Excalibur. We went from 52-53 mph with the 330's to 70 with 3 275 V8 Johnsons.<br /><br />What a trip!!

 

[pine island fred]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

hi guys. friend in port charolette told me this was a SEA DRIVE made by omc for a few years. looks like a good idea but it has to weigh a ton. no surprise it did not catch on. thanks for you response regards fred

 

[Solittle]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

Got two SeaDrives hangin off the back of my 23'er. I've had this rig for 10 years and have had no problems with them. I don't think they caught on because the hang on brackets were/are far cheaper to make.

 

[ddaigle]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

Bought an old 21 foot i/o deep v for 50$. Scrap out drive and motor. Put a piece of steel on the transom and bracketed it to the old i/o motor mounts and hung a 120 Force on it that I found for 300$. Ran great 40 mph and solid as a rock. Took it out in six ft seas just to see if I could break it. Never did hurt it. Its amazing whatyou can do with some boats.

 

[BrianTindall]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

I have two seadrives (1988 225hp and 1984 235hp). Both are being converted to "Standard" outboards. I have the parts to do the '88 (easier conversion), but still looking (not very hard) for the parts to do the '84. One of the things I noticed is that the older seadrives were only 20" shafts. The newer seadrives like my '88 are completely different and seem to be 25" shafts. I guess mounting the engine lower on the boat was the biggest killer of the engines.

 

[quantumleap]

Re: i/o to outboard conversion ?????

Anyone got a picture of this setup??