28 ft 2x v8 fix up cabin cruiser? 1200$?

Look in your favorite engine makers book of "Crate engines".

You will find the same displacement in a variety of power options and recomendations for service.

A 350 truck engine will have less advertized power than a 350 engine for a kid into drag racing.

The better engine marinizers will select the setup with the "best" block , crank, cam profile , and heads for boat use .

With large purchasing power I would assume they can order from the mfg. menu , just what their boat customers want. Usually longevity , not peak power.

 

IOs, I've had them, I've worked on them, I don't like them, but that's just me. One thing disagreeable is the Achille's Heel of the rubber boot being the only thing between you and a sunk boat. Old cracked ones will do it, incorrect installations, failing clamps, I've heard of critters chewing through them. There are so many fairly delicate extra parts to them and accessibility is a nuisance. The simplest thing seems to require major disassembly.

One thing I do like about them is they put the engine at the back and open up the cockpit, eliminating a huge useless lump of engine hatch in the mid.....in the middle of the......right in the way of everyth.................

 

And a fine cockpit is it --I mean it is --Oh what the heck it's a nice open space----

 

I get the opportunity to build a hot engine every so often and the after market has blocks that far exceed the OEM specs. I can get aluminum versions of their cast iron counterparts, 1/3 to 1/2 lighter but stronger with better features, light deck heights, reinforcement gussets, bosses and stroked crank clearances. Even the OEM stuff usually has a few choices, in regard to HD versions, especially the reciprocating mass.

Building engines like this isn't for the DIY'er, as they just don't have the equipment or expertise, but if looking at repower or rebuilding, buy a crate motor with the good parts or select a rebuilder that will make the appropriate choices, after a long discussion with you. In most cases, the average repower just needs a new motor and a long block from one of the aftermarket suppliers is all you need. In the case of the original posters need to rebuild the 327's, I'd just have them done locally by a shop, which is usually about half the price of a crate engine.

 

I hate stuff that needs major dissassembly for little stuff, "f" that.

I didn't realise the rubber cracking would leak right in, I'm not having that.

 

'Why boats sink at the dock"
http://www.boatus.com/foundation/guide/boat_7.html

 

Exactly why i close all seacocks at night when i sleep or when leaving the vessel. The drowning of Mel Fishers son, wife and baby is a terrible example of what can happen. In this case you don't have this option.

 

OK,

Not the end of the story...

It's not I/O drives....

The engines are in the back, shafts forward to a transmission, than back through the hull to the props.

What system is this considered to be, and is it more reliable than I/O drives?

 

That's a v-drive.

 

So is the V drive considered a more reliable cheaper option than I/O drives?

Looks like a simpler design to me.

 

Here's a good discussion on the first kind...
http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/183326-volvo-i-o-v-drive.html

On the second kind, reliable and cheaper is a more difficult question. I'll have to think about it. I mean they are pretty much 100% reliable but costs vary tremendously.

 

Thanks for that!!

Looks like since I don't want to race, the V drive will be what I want because of the reliability and less maintenance.

I can't believe this boat actually has V drives, I thought only larger boats did. The best part is, both work, so I should rebuild them, get some newer engines in, and I'll have something !!!

 

Heres some pictures

 

To me it seems worth 1200$ ....

I know it will take a lot of work, but it doesn't seem to need anything really major....

 

3 pages talk about stern drives and it turns out to be v drive, what a waste of time. replace or rebuild engines and it will be fine, or remove all that gear and sell it and put the money towards a single large outboard. even a 2 stroke 225 will be cheaper to operate than twin v8's. a 250 4 stroke would be good if you can find one for the right price. its the old question of fuel usage vs replacement cost. if you don't plan on going far or using the boat to much fix the v8's, if you plan on doing lots of miles you can weigh up the pro's and cons of a repower. i had twin v8's last year and i could not afford to use the boat so i sold it.