I know the high power guys are going to jump on this but I can get a great deal on a new Yamaha F 115. Anyone have this set up or something similar? I have an 85 204C Overnighter that I use 90% of the time for cruising and fishing with one person. No skiing. Would be happy to get up on a plane and cruise at 25 to 30. Thanks.
Repower 204C with Yamaha F 115
- Thread starter Gulf Coast Grady
- Start date
I have an 89 Overnighter and I'm one of the "high power" guys. I think GW recommends at least 150 HP on this boat. The least power I've seen is a 140 HP Suzi but I've seen other posts that suggest that motor is putting out more HP than that.
I cannot believe a 115 HP four stroke could even get the boat on plane but even if it did, it would be dog slow and a fuel hog. Further, its life expectancy would be pretty short since it would be over worked all the time.
Somewhere out on the internet I found a chart that gave HP recommendations based on hull design and weight. I thought I'd saved the URL but I can't find it now. Maybe someone else on the forum knows.
The price of the motor might be outstanding but it's not the right motor for your application. Put your money towards one that's up to the job.
Gary 89 Overnighter 200 HP
I cannot believe a 115 HP four stroke could even get the boat on plane but even if it did, it would be dog slow and a fuel hog. Further, its life expectancy would be pretty short since it would be over worked all the time.
Somewhere out on the internet I found a chart that gave HP recommendations based on hull design and weight. I thought I'd saved the URL but I can't find it now. Maybe someone else on the forum knows.
The price of the motor might be outstanding but it's not the right motor for your application. Put your money towards one that's up to the job.
Gary 89 Overnighter 200 HP
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Gulf Coast: First, welcome to the forum. Second, I would not be happy with a 115 on a 204. For ten years I owned a 208 with a 150. Although I was happy with the 150, I'm sure I would not have been happy with a 115. I recognize that the 204 is a little lighter and a little flatter than the 208, but not enough to make up that difference for an F115.
A friend has a 1987 204 with an F150. Boat runs well enough, but I wouldn't go with less.
We have an 18' Key West at work with a Yammie F115. With four people on the boat the 115 struggles a bit.
I now have a 258 with an F250, so you can see I have no great need for speed. But even I think the F115 is too little power.
Rob
A friend has a 1987 204 with an F150. Boat runs well enough, but I wouldn't go with less.
We have an 18' Key West at work with a Yammie F115. With four people on the boat the 115 struggles a bit.
I now have a 258 with an F250, so you can see I have no great need for speed. But even I think the F115 is too little power.
Rob
I know its a great deal on an engine but the 204c needs at min. a 150. I have a suzuki f 150. No problems at all for my boating and fishing needs with the family. But I would not want anything less and not that much more.
I would not go below 140hp. Although speed is not the biggest issue, 115hp will have a hard time keeping that boat on plane in a 4 ft chop, when you need to slow down but stay on plane this small engine will fall flat on its face and you will regret going that small. For typical use it will work, cruise slow, but be efficient which is ideal for some, but it does not have the torque of small diesel inboards that are common to go slow with small hp in boats this size, they have no problems staying on plane at low speeds. no price is a good one for that power on this boat persoanally. I would go with a 140 suzuki as min power, it is very efficient and would push the boat well. An F150 is a good package too, or look for a left over HPDI, they are great on fuel and can be found cheap if you can still find one new, and they are great on 20ft hulls. I do not believe Grady put anything below a 150 on a 20, yes they are looking for a set speed, but they also want an engine package that will give you performance that is good. A Grady hull is not designed to cruise in the low to mid teens, it will not handle seas well and will be very inefficient with smaller power. You can get awya with going maybe 10 hp each way, but a 35hp drop is a bit, your talking 24% less power then the min Grady installed, that is significant.
Don't even think about it, unless your talkin twins. If that's the case now your talkin'. Which that boat could handle with a good transom.
Your just gone to war it out, its too small. Plenty of good deals right now. its a buyers market.Keep looking.
Thanks for all of the information. I thought that it would be too small but wanted to bounce it off of some other owners. Trying to push a smaller motor harder for this application would destroy the mpg that I was trying to achieve. I will look at the 140s and 150s.
I'm surprised a Yamaha dealer or any brand dealer would make such an offer for sale of a motor new or used for the boat you have.
Any motor failure would void the warranty.
I wonder what prop would be recommended to get the F115 into WOT range, or even if one exists so small for that motor and made by Yamaha.
Crazy stuff going on these days.
Any motor failure would void the warranty.
I wonder what prop would be recommended to get the F115 into WOT range, or even if one exists so small for that motor and made by Yamaha.
Crazy stuff going on these days.
I've got an old 2-stroke 115 Evinrude on a 204C. While it gets the boat up on plane much more effortlessly than I would have thought, cruise and top end are very limited (21-22 knot cruise, 25 knot WOT). The 4-stroke you're considering is newer and stronger so you may get better performance, but I am going to repower at the 1st chance I get. 115hp is just not enough. As others have said, 150 is the minimum; 175-200 is perfect.
not to pile on... but..
I owned a 204C for more than 20 years. The original engine was a 175 and when it expired at the end of its useful life we went to a Johnson 200. Despite the bad rap (mostly deserved) of the brand, we had more than 10 years of happy boating with that setup. I simply can't imagine much less power; not even the 150 would seem reasonable to me. IMHO.
The other posters were right. Look for a good deal on a V6. You won't be sorry.
I owned a 204C for more than 20 years. The original engine was a 175 and when it expired at the end of its useful life we went to a Johnson 200. Despite the bad rap (mostly deserved) of the brand, we had more than 10 years of happy boating with that setup. I simply can't imagine much less power; not even the 150 would seem reasonable to me. IMHO.
The other posters were right. Look for a good deal on a V6. You won't be sorry.