why not outboards?

I am looking to restore an older boat- probably from the mid 80's (since they were still made of solid glass at the time and are relatively inexpensive if you shop around.

Rather than recondition 2000 pound diesel lumps or ancient crusaders, I would prefer to use the new outboard technology on a modern bracket for the following reasons:

1) draft - I island hop and frequent the keys so I want as shallow a draft as possible and the ability to beach the boat easily.

2) weight -the lighter, the more fuel efficient and yes I admit, the faster it can cruise on less horsepower (I can't take vacations- weekends only).

3) safety - I'm not a big fan of throughulls and relying on rubber hoses to keep me afloat....also, I often run at night and if I hit something that is afloat (lots of logs floating out there) I'd rather not sink....inboards or outdrives tear off and leave big holes.

My goal is an offshore fishing boat ala donzi F33 (but bigger) or Midnight Express 39 without spending $200k.

The new generation of 4-stroke and 2-stroke big outboards are quiet, fuel efficient, and light relative big blocks and diesels (500 lbs versus 2000 each). Besides, the new air tight brackets add boyancy to off-load the outboard weight shifted rearward.

I'd love to hear your opinions out there on the practicality of my thinking.

Many thanks!

with shallow draft boats...even big shallow draft boats.

A friend of mine operates a dive boat out of the Keys and uses two saltwater series Merc 150's. He replaces them at regular intervals about every 3-5 years.

At first this sounds pretty expensive considering outboards aren't exacly cheap, but his thinking is that a diesel engine (300 hp) would cost him more over the long run.

He of course also Island hops and because the outboards can be trimmed very high, he can get into places inboards can't. If you plan on going up to a 40' I suggest you get the 250 saltwater series engines...or the Honda 250 might also be good.

thanks for feedback.

I find that as long as the boat is less than 10,000 lbs you can get away with a pair of outboards with todays modern engines...look at the midnight express. It's a 39 foot stretched and widened cigarette boat that weighs about 8,000 lbs....it is reported to do 50 with twin 250's and can plane on ONE????? Add a third motor and top end goes up 15 mph.

BTW:My current boat is a donzi F33 at about 8000 lbs and has rebuilt 10 year old carbed Merc 200's- it wont plane on a third motor and it tops out at about 35 kts and still gets 1.4 mpg at cruise.

Seems like if the hull is right shape - twin 250's should do quite well.

i have a siimilar boat (chris 313) center console with twin 200hp outboards that has been very satisfying -except the top speed! i had expected more but am getting similar performance to the z33 above.

haven't measured fuel burn "officially" but plan on 1 mpg which isn't too far off. always wish it was more efficient, but won't trade the ride for a little better fuel burn.