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-   -   I/O to OB conversion project? (https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-boating-discussion/357982-i-o-ob-conversion-project.html)

bikergja 12-07-2018 09:50 AM


Originally Posted by Jupiter Sunsation (Post 4662636)
Here is a Bullet with a pair of 300s:
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/198...nced%20listing

I would suspect the choice of using Etecs will probably hurt the sale.

yes not everyone is an etec fan, but at the time they were lighter, less maintenance, more umph for same hp, they could be run without oil for a short period of time and better mpg additionally you could use regular gas. They perform better then the Yamaha and optimax engines I had on equal boats.. Of course price and warrantee played a big part also. I am happy with them. Have not put a penny into them yet.

Jupiter Sunsation 12-07-2018 06:22 PM


Originally Posted by bikergja (Post 4662640)


yes not everyone is an etec fan, but at the time they were lighter, less maintenance, more umph for same hp, they could be run without oil for a short period of time and better mpg additionally you could use regular gas. They perform better then the Yamaha and optimax engines I had on equal boats.. Of course price and warrantee played a big part also. I am happy with them. Have not put a penny into them yet.

Is the boat for sale your 88 Bullet? Did you do the conversion? If so, anything that was a big obstacle?

bikergja 12-08-2018 10:03 AM


Originally Posted by Jupiter Sunsation (Post 4662710)
Is the boat for sale your 88 Bullet? Did you do the conversion? If so, anything that was a big obstacle?

yes the boat is mine. I did most of the conversion myself. The biggest obstacle was getting people to show up for the work I couldn't do. I had a local guy do my bracket because I wanted custome work to it and the support system. They all promise to show up but getting them there was a problem. I was promised 10 days but two months later it was ready. Frustration with vendors was the worse thing being an 'A' type personality. No one met a schdule. I took my time doing most as I had back surgery right in the middle of it all and was laced up for a year. During that time I had the engines mounted and was even more frustrated seeing it sitting in the yard without being able to finish and use it. But now that is finished it is everything I wanted it to be. During the last year I converted a 31 sonic to outboards and sold it a couple of weeks ago.

Jupiter Sunsation 12-08-2018 11:28 AM


Originally Posted by bikergja (Post 4662778)


yes the boat is mine. I did most of the conversion myself. The biggest obstacle was getting people to show up for the work I couldn't do. I had a local guy do my bracket because I wanted custome work to it and the support system. They all promise to show up but getting them there was a problem. I was promised 10 days but two months later it was ready. Frustration with vendors was the worse thing being an 'A' type personality. No one met a schdule. I took my time doing most as I had back surgery right in the middle of it all and was laced up for a year. During that time I had the engines mounted and was even more frustrated seeing it sitting in the yard without being able to finish and use it. But now that is finished it is everything I wanted it to be. During the last year I converted a 31 sonic to outboards and sold it a couple of weeks ago.


Glad to hear you are back in action to tackle another conversion! In keeping with the title of the thread, do you see a 40 Baja conversion to triples worthwhile?

bikergja 12-08-2018 02:01 PM


Originally Posted by Jupiter Sunsation (Post 4662786)
Glad to hear you are back in action to tackle another conversion! In keeping with the title of the thread, do you see a 40 Baja conversion to triples worthwhile?



that is a hard question to answer. I guess if it is a boat you like and intend to keep also have the $$$ to put in it sure. Don't expect to get your money out of it and it might be a hard sell. If you are in the Miami area you are welcome to see what I have done and the effort and dollars involved.

RaggedEdge 12-08-2018 05:27 PM


Originally Posted by Cary 29 (Post 4662345)
It works out great. Done it twice to I/o boat.

Yes you did. And did not some old sage tell you to leave it alone, it ran great.

Arnesons, well it ran like a champ, might have benefited from a prop change, but ran real well. Leave it alone said the old sage, boat is killer.

Lately I have been thinking that dry Sixes and a pair of the new Merc turbos would be a fun fix for that hull. The Old Sage has spoken! Get to work.

Cary 29 12-08-2018 09:58 PM


Originally Posted by RaggedEdge (Post 4662819)
Yes you did. And did not some old sage tell you to leave it alone, it ran great.

Arnesons, well it ran like a champ, might have benefited from a prop change, but ran real well. Leave it alone said the old sage, boat is killer.

Lately I have been thinking that dry Sixes and a pair of the new Merc turbos would be a fun fix for that hull. The Old Sage has spoken! Get to work.

Hahaha I Know... Hey Pete how are you? Gimme a call when you get a chance, gotta catch up. Thanks for your kind words and encouragement always..

Twin O/B Sonic 12-09-2018 09:07 AM

Beautiful project!

The 31' Sonic would have also been a perfect candidate.

On the e-tecs, Im a huge fan. They are excellent motors and the most advanced two stroke O/B on the planet. I had two different twin O/B Sonics, both with JohnRudes and did fine on resale.
W/the Merc XS's NLA, look for the e-tec stock to grow.

I am currently converting a single I/O 25' Checkmate to twin O/B's.

Im an O/B guy anyhow so I see this as all positives.

I understand the serious I/O guys will be slow to change but I think w/the popularity of the large center consoles which are virtually all O/B powered, and a lot of that market is pulling consumers from the hi perf offshore market and those new owners will be sharing their positive experiences.
Probably never take the true hi perf I/O guys but thats to be expected.

For the other 95% of the market though........, the new Merc V-8 O/B's w/rumors of a 500 hp version in the works IMO, is a game changer.
That would mean 1000 hp from twins w/a warranty, near bullet proof powerheads and gear cases, near zero maintenance etc, etc......

Converting existing I/O boats is a huge project and expensive, as you know. But bang for buck.......

I like it.
I have a mental list of candidate hulls including a 27' Magnum sedan, which has already been done.


Originally Posted by bikergja (Post 4662640)


yes not everyone is an etec fan, but at the time they were lighter, less maintenance, more umph for same hp, they could be run without oil for a short period of time and better mpg additionally you could use regular gas. They perform better then the Yamaha and optimax engines I had on equal boats.. Of course price and warrantee played a big part also. I am happy with them. Have not put a penny into them yet.


Wildman_grafix 12-09-2018 09:58 AM

For a lot of people that would have to pay for the work I don’t think converting will take over.

What I don’t understand is why new performance OB’s don’t seem to sell. Both Outerlimits and AT came out with models and It doesn’t seem to have caught on.

hogie roll 12-09-2018 03:22 PM



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