Seems like the new generation of stroked small blocks pack a pretty good punch and are lighter, cheaper, and smaller (easier to work on in tight engine rooms of smaller cruisers) than BBCs. I know we always say "nothing replaces cubic inches" but if your vessel only needs 400ft lbs of torque and 450HP isnt it possible a SBC will suffice?

Did some searches and really didnt find this discussion anywhere.

I always wondered that myself, especially supercharged. Getting too old to squeeze into the engine room

I love my small block chevys. I have two in my 35' cruiser. Two in my 270 Mirage. And three others in my trucks. Power to expense is great. Cruiser cruises at 20mph, Mirage at 40mph all stock reliable power. No problems and just as thrilling to me and my crew crossing Lake Erie.

They're very common in water sports boats. Not enough reliable power for a go fast. Mercury Racing has upped the cubes to at least 540 on their engines. Also the very popular 525 EFI burns 87 octane. That saves a lot of money in fuel cost.

The 377 super scorpion got the job done but the cost was too much for the people.

I'm very happy with mine. Twin 355 Vortecs with mild roller cams making 400+ HP and 400+ # Ft. TQ. Running thru twin Bravo I's. They're in a '79 Formula 255 Liberator.

Prior to the LS motors, the Vortec Heads and Roller Cams caught up with the BBC's quickly. If you only need to make HP and TQ in the 400~450 range you're going to be ahead of the game with the SBC's due to the weight savings.

Yup ^^
IMO the weight savings translates into a well balanced package in the 30ish foot range twin engine boat

I'm building 2 ls motors for my 32 sunsation

What are you building ? I'm a big fan of the LS motors. Had a 6.0 LQ-9 in a '05 Escalade and now a 5.3 Direct Injection motor in a '16 Yukon. When you look at the intake ports on an LS you UNDERSTAND !!

I will be joining the boats with small blocks gang very soon !!