engine suggestions/help

ok so i recently acquired 2 boats at the bargain price of "free if you get em outta my yard". now the first one is a 1977 wellcraft nova 250 offshore. im planning a complete restoration back to original but its gonna be my long a slow moving project. here are a couple pics from the day i brought it home



the hull is in great shape all the original teak is there and the original controls but other than that its bare bones empty. i will be dropping a 302H/O with an alpha1 drive in it but probably wont hit the water for a couple years at least.

the other is a 19' 1984 century arabian, originaly cam with an inboard(not sure what was in it) but im gonna be converting it over to a 70-90hp outboard. now i dont have current pics of this boat but it only needs motor and controls to get it running again( controls are there but im guessing they will need to be changed to work with the outboard) my question is1- is it worth the trouble of plugging the hole, putting a jack plate on it and running new controls.i only wanna do a cheap restoration on this one so i can get it in the water and bring my kids fishing. now im new to this whole boating thing but i do have excelent resources for help and assistance but would like to do this mostly on my own

 

I did quite a similar project last winter, thou I threw out an inboard jet (along with all of the interior ) so the hole was somewhat larger..

 

do you have pics of your project to give me an idea of how much work is involved, was it worth it in the end???

 

Some pics..

 

It's more of a matter how much one preciates his own work. For me it was worth it.
Just the work related to the engine swap took about a week..

 

found pics of a 1979 arabian which is same colour and setup as mine( but in much much better shape) so this will give an idea of how i wanna convert it
the ouside view

current seat setup (i will be changing the layout a bit)

there is a platform over the engine bay which i will be removing as it will become wasted space and i will then move the seats back to about 1 foot away from the transom

now here is where i need opinions cuz im really not sure if it'll work or not
i wanna cut cut out whats mark in red on the next picture to give my outboard some room to tilt for when its out of the water
do you think it'll work or should i do something different.... i plan on stopping the cut where the little step is on the pic as ive got the same thing on mine and im thinking ill be able to get a nice clean finish that way

 

Install a high output inline diesel like a Yanmar right in the middle of the boat.
Or gas if you can afford the fuel. Run a well balanced high speed drive shaft from engine to the IO. Now you've got a well balanced boat. I saw a Rawson in the PNW powered in such a manner.

Easy Rider

 

for the small one im putting an outboard in it as there currently is no outdrive on it, so instead of spending thousands on a new or used inboard i think itll be much cheaper to just plug the hole and put an outboard on it. not planning to go fast with this one anyway just wanna be able to go out and enjoy the water and a lil fishing

 

Bottoms-uP,
It's a real classy boat. Well worth restoring. Much better looking than the chunky Wellcraft. I have a feeling what you mean by fast is 30 or 40 knots.
I don't think either of these boats will be graceful or happy going less than 20.
I'd say mount the OB on the transom ..not aft of. And a light OB would be better for balance.

Easy

 

There are a couple more things to think about. The transom height has to match the leg of the outboard so you may have to cut into the nice finished top shelf. Is there enough room to steer the outboard with it tilted up between the upper finished side sections? While you may not need to do this, it will happen at some point and you don't want to mess up the cover or innards on the motor.

Then there is the balance to consider. The inboard and IO leg is probably heavier than the outboard and may give you too much nose down trim. That is, if its balanced correctly now. This may be a case where a bracket or short pod makes sense. There would certainly be less cosmetic modification necessary to make the change. I'd prefer a transom mount because the structure in the stern already has the longitudinal space needed for a splash well and to tilt the motor.

 

i know the boats wont be happy, the wellcraft is actually in amazing shape and the pics do it absolutly no justice,and its deffiently my baby to restore back to original(with maybe a bit more power.......thinking of the 502 mmmmmmm.)
but the century being a really nice lil boat and in also pretty good condition will only be for the kids to mostly enjoy so speed is not a big concern on it. i was thinking of mounting a 50-70hp but im not sure if itll be big enough for it or will it only let me go as fast as the guy swimming next to me