Mariner 90 4 stroke

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alandav123

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Hi all, I own a 17ft Dory cathedral hull with cuddy cabin. The outboard that came with the boat was an old yamaha 40 2 stroke has now expired.
I am seriously looking at a 2002 Mariner 90 4 stroke with low hours as a replacement engine.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to whether this is a good or bad idea?
Not being a seaman as yet its a tough call as i simply do not know.

Its a cracking Mariner and would easily be more power than I would ever need. I will use the boat off the Scottish east coast where the tides run at 6 knots and the weather changes very quickly, this points me towards the bigger, more reliable engines even though they cost a lot.

Any constructive input would be gratefully recieved.

Regards Alan in Arbroath
 
Hello and welcome. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
What make is the Dory and how old?
90 is on the limit in my opinion.
90 hp 4 stroke is a heavy lump.
Fitted a 65 hp Suzuki 3 cylinder 2 stroke to a very similar sounding hull some years ago.
3 small bun scoffers me and SWHBO aboard and that was enough engine.
I think 70hp is enough but depends on the hull and what use your going to put the boat to.
IE if your going to carry 5 divers and all that goes with them and youve got an old Dell Quay thats a bit saturated maybe you,l need all that hp but I don,t think /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif so.
A bit more info required about your boat and the advice will flood in! Cheers. K /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Hi there, I am not sure about how old the boat is sadly, its GRP, has a front cabin long enough to lie down in, decent deck area for fishing etc.... I wish I had a picture.
The engine seller tells me the engine weighs 1000 kilos.
I do not envisage fully clad divers, rather SWMBO and kids with fishing gear etc.
The other thing is Arbroaths location... there are some nice wee places to visit up the coast, east haven, Monifieth, Broughty Ferry, Dundee and of course acrross the Tay we have St Andrews, Tayport, Newport and all the way up the Tay to Perth. We also have the Bell Rock just off the coast.

So my thinking is to be able to get somewhere in a resonable time, I hope I dont sound like a boy racer as I am not. It is just that the larger engine would make trips and days out easier to do.

I agree its a massive motor, i went to see it again today with SWMBO and she nearly fainted. Another thing is that since buying the boat in July, I have had nothing but grief from the old engine. its been off and on the boat and over to the repair shop lots of times, even once the whole boat went over on a trailer. I have used sooooo much time, money and energy on that outboard, I never want a repeat performance. It almost put me off boating. the yamaha 40 was heavy enough to move and fit when the boat was in the water.

I just want to get on the boat, start her up and go somewhere without worrying about a dodgy motor.
The Mariner I am looking at was made in 2002, fitted 2003 and has 150 verifyable hours on it. The seller will also warranty it as he sold it new and serviced it and of course knows the engine well. They are going to fit the outboard in their shop and adjust everything as well, which is a big bonus.

So I suppose the Mariner represents peace of mind and has enough poke to get us all home under most circumstances, its good on petrol too they tell me.

Thanks for your input

Alan

PS The seller is coming to Arbroath tomorrow to have a look at my boat to see if the boat will take such a large outboard, so it will be interesting to hear what he says.
 
Hi Alan /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif,
I had a Dell Quay 17 for quite a few years which had a Yamaha 70 on it.That was adequate for four adults to plane at around 20 knots and just enough with two on board to pull a skier up on a mono.It couldn't pull up two skiers and didn't have the added weight of a cuddy though.
I agree with Kawasaki that the 90 you are considering is up at the top end but I wouldn't say it was OTT especially when I see the engine sizes on 5m+ Rib's today.It probably is wrong to compare a rib with that sort of Dory though? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
I think most of the points have been answered already. 90hp on a boat that size probably needs a bit of respect; catching a chine at full throttle will probably make your heart leap, but it will undoubtedly do what you want it to. Perhaps a (lighter) 2 stroke would make sense? The weight of a 4 stroke on that size of boat may be pushing it a bit.
 
Hi

That hull mould was used by many manufacturers, from mid 1970's to the present. Wilson Flyer, Mariner 17, Nab 17, etc etc. Most rated it 85hp max

It's a good basic hull. I have had two (boston whaler style, with console rather than cuddy). The first had a Merc 90 and the current one has a 2003 Merc 125hp

I think the hull is perfectly fine with 125hp (nearly 40kts) provided you practice plenty before using full speed. And dont do full speed in waves, it slams.

BUT, the build quality of these hulls varies. Some are wonderfully well built, with the internal mouldings and foam fill between the skins. Other builders using this mould built shoddy rubbish. So you need to be sure your hull is well constructed and strong enough to take that size engine. This applies on the water and on the trailer - it's a heavy engine and will be hanging on the transom as the trailer bounces over road bumps.

But if the hull is strong and you drive carefully, it's a good boat with 125hp let alone 90!
 
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