Repower Sea Ox 230

[Drifter23]

I am in the process of repowering a 23 ft Sea Ox. The 235 Sea Drive is off the boat and I will be using a bracket and single outboard off the back of the full transom. Are 5 year old 200-225 outboards used in saltwater worth looking into? I can see that they cost about half of new in some cases. My reference pt is a 200 Opti for 12K. Should I be concerned with weight of the outboard? The Sea Drive was a monster, at least 600 lbs. The bracket will push the new outboard back 20 some inches. If weight is a concern, does that take 4 stroke engines off the table? The boat is in Upstate NY - thanks for any input.

 

[qzone83]

Re: Repower Sea Ox 230

I have yet to do this same conversion on my 230 SeaOx, but am very curious how this turns out. From my experience the motor question is a matter of the type of use it has seen and the care it has recieved. If it has been used exclusively in salt water and has 800+ hours, I would say stay clear, its ready to pop. But if you can find one with 300 or less hours and appears to have been cleaned and flushed after every use, should be a strong motor. Not sure what year your Ox is, but mine is an 88 and every mechanic I have asked about the same conversion said that the 3" thick transom was overbuilt for that seadrive and could easily handle most any modern outboard available on a 20" bracket.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Repower Sea Ox 230

With a two stroke the weight should come in about the same.
Most conversions I read about use a 30 inch leg on the outboard.

 

[qzone83]

Re: Repower Sea Ox 230

any progress on the swap?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Repower Sea Ox 230

Are 5 year old 200-225 outboards used in saltwater worth looking into? I can see that they cost about half of new in some cases.

Motors don't die of old age, they die from user negelect.

I'm running a 14 years old 200HP Evinrude Ocean Pro that has over 2,000 documented hours on it. I bought it 6 years ago with just over 1,000 hours. Compression is still good. Starts with the turn of the key.