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Posts: 43
| I have a 2005 lund explorer 1800 with a a 115 optimax same year. I still realy like the boat but I am considering recovering. Will there be an issue with putting a new pro xs on that old of a boat? Instrumentation and or wiring? Has anyone recovered with a 20 years newer motor? And how did it go? |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Walker, MN | The boat won't know the difference if it's a 20 year old motor, or brand new. You have valid questions about the instruments, you might ask the dealer about that and have them look at the transom. I would recommend a dealer install.
You might also consider Suzuki, Yamaha or Honda too. I know they have some good deals from time-to-time on repowers. With boats going $100K + there's a lot more people repowering older boats, and I'm sure bare motor sales will only increase. Good luck! |
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Posts: 714
| Generally its fairly straight forward if you stay with the same brand as the controls will usually still work. Changing brands requires re-rigging the controls which adds to cost. The switch to a four stroke is going to add weight to the transom which affects performance to a point. |
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| bturg - 1/6/2024 9:27 PM
Generally its fairly straight forward if you stay with the same brand as the controls will usually still work. Changing brands requires re-rigging the controls which adds to cost. The switch to a four stroke is going to add weight to the transom which affects performance to a point.
The new Mercury 4 stroke 115 hp actually weigh slightly less than the Optimax 125 hp motor. That has been a focus of Mercury for some time, to trim the weight of their 4 stroke motors. May not be the case for Suzuki four strokes. |
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Posts: 596
Location: Duluth | Steering and control cables should all be the same. Just need new key switch and main wiring harness. |
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Posts: 315
| Check out the Team Marine YouTube videos about repowering and motor brand reviews. Andy’s shop there in LaCrosse, WI has a great reputation and he gives out a lot of great advice. It’s no doubt their customer service reviews are so positive. |
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Posts: 596
Location: Duluth | A lot depends on what kind of cash you want to spend as well. Repowering can mean a whole lot of things so it's important to have a very very defined scope of work before actually having somebody do it. If you are keeping same manufacturer and same HP as the previous engine it's easier becasue transom bolt holes, control cables, wiring harnesses (length, diameter, fancy mounting bezels) all usually play nice.
It's when you ask them to also fix that thing on the dash that doesn't work, and also replace that floorboard and carpet etc. where things get gnarly. If I were in your situation I would source an E-tec at the max rated HP for the boat and enjoy the beauty of a two stroke engine while you still can.
I have a Honda 105/150 Jet switched over from a Merc 65/90 2 stroke Jet. If I could do it again I would go E-tec 105/150 jet. I should add I do about a half dozen outboard repowers a year in my line of work. Love the Honda, its bullet proof, but the powerband and weight of an E-tec of the same HP is tantilzing in retrospect. |
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Posts: 479
Location: Northern Illinois | While I dont have the same enthusiasm for E-tec, some of the other comments above are good. Don't overlook the advice they gave you about having the dealer check out the transom or, better yet, do it yourself. Boats that old are susceptible. I had 2000 Lund Pro-V IFS with 200HP Optimax I loved and pampered. However when I went to trade-in, the dealer discovered transom rot. He showed me how to check. I was surprised and disappointed, but educated. That was 8 years ago. Lesson learned.
Edited by RLSea 1/10/2024 8:26 PM
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