Seaport 2400 XL POD Conversion Project

[Captain PartyMarty]

Hi all,

I though I would share my winter project with you guy's. This winter I will be converting my 2000 Seasport 2400 XL from diesel inboard power to twin Mercury 200hp outboards.

This is what I started with:

I now have this:

My next steps are focusing on getting ready for fiberglass:
1) Remove all the components from the transom inside and outside
2) Remove the fuel tanks
3) Clean the bilge areas

I will post more pictures as I go.

I would appreciate any feed back or suggestions as I progress with this project so keep the ideas coming

Capt

 

[ab1752]

Awesome, I look forward to the build thread. How did you model the new weight distribution for ballast? Are you planning on relocating the batteries to the deck level? Good luck, hope it all goes smoothly.

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

To be honest I was planning on heading down to the Seattle boat show next year and taking a bunch of pictures of the seasports they have down there. I am installing the factory POD so I should be able to mimic there layout pretty accurately

 

[ab1752]

There is a pair of sea sports for sale on the north shore, new boats with pods. I believe these are (they were anyway) in the sheds at lgm.

Have you asked sea sport for any assistance with your project? They may be able to lend a hand easily with ballast configs.

That's my biggest concern when I weigh podding my hourston. I would guess hiring a naval architect for a one off sport boat would be cost prohibitive however.

 

[Rain City]

Do mine next please. Twin 300s or single 450?

 

[ab1752]

Do mine next please. Twin 300s or single 450?

Yours needs a pair of the new V8 300HP Verados for sure...bam just like that, all the client's prices just went waaay up!

 

[Rain City]

If my boat is 15000lb now what would my net weight loss be? Not enough to make up for the increased fuel cost I'm assuming. But I guess if I'm spending 100k on that kind of project I probably shouldn't care about fuel burn lol.

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

These are the fuel number published by Seasport for my model of boat. I expect I will get slightly better numbers with twin 200's but we will see.

 

[Sir Reel]

Maybe you need a diesel outboard. RC you need 2 of these. The test boat weighs 1300 pounds so pretty close to a Commander 30.

Sorry to derail your thread Captain. I had a SeaSport 2700 with Volvo 41 series diesel so really look forward to your build!

https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/video/testing-cox-cxo300-diesel-outboards

 

[Sir Reel]

I would suggest you tap around all those side boards for rot. I had some in my 1996. It is only regular plywood with a fiberglass wrap and a lot of things get screwed into them over time without proper caulking.
Looks like you cut your floorboards so you can see what the wood looks like but do all around the fish well and side panels in the engine bay too

 

[Rain City]

Yeah my bad. Classic Rain City derail

 

[EZZ70]

Lov this thread, keep it coming, looking good!!

 

[triplenickel]

This is gonna be awesome.

 

[dmurph]

Seems strange to go from diesels to outboards. Are the legs just to problematic and diesel fumes annoying?

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

I know that question was coming, there are a few reasons

1) I am strong believer in begin able to help yourself in case of a mechanical failure out on the water. For me that means I rely on my Kicker motor to get me home. With diesel I have two fuels on board and only 8 gal of gas for the kicker. 8 gals don't get me very far
2) A lot of people mention the fuel savings of running a diesel and yes its true you burn a few gal/hr less, but if you look at the required maintenance costs and the cost of replacement parts for Volvo diesels the cost far exceeds any fuel savings.
3) Its hard to find mechanics willing to work on older diesels these days.
4) I really hate working on inboard engines, access sucks, its a pain in the butt, sucking up the oil to do an oil change is a terrible job which I really hate

 

[dmurph]

I know that question was coming, there are a few reasons

1) I am strong believer in begin able to help yourself in case of a mechanical failure out on the water. For me that means I rely on my Kicker motor to get me home. With diesel I have two fuels on board and only 8 gal of gas for the kicker. 8 gals don't get me very far
2) A lot of people mention the fuel savings of running a diesel and yes its true you burn a few gal/hr less, but if you look at the required maintenance costs and the cost of replacement parts for Volvo diesels the cost far exceeds any fuel savings.
3) Its hard to find mechanics willing to work on older diesels these days.
4) I really hate working on inboard engines, access sucks, its a pain in the butt, sucking up the oil to do an oil change is a terrible job which I really hate

All good points, gonna be awesome to have new power. Look forward to the build.

 

[ab1752]

If my boat is 15000lb now what would my net weight loss be? Not enough to make up for the increased fuel cost I'm assuming. But I guess if I'm spending 100k on that kind of project I probably shouldn't care about fuel burn lol.

It's gonna be the sweetest rig on the docks too...so 15,000 lbs? Tri power is what you're gonna need for sure.

I know that question was coming, there are a few reasons

1) I am strong believer in begin able to help yourself in case of a mechanical failure out on the water. For me that means I rely on my Kicker motor to get me home. With diesel I have two fuels on board and only 8 gal of gas for the kicker. 8 gals don't get me very far
2) A lot of people mention the fuel savings of running a diesel and yes its true you burn a few gal/hr less, but if you look at the required maintenance costs and the cost of replacement parts for Volvo diesels the cost far exceeds any fuel savings.
3) Its hard to find mechanics willing to work on older diesels these days.
4) I really hate working on inboard engines, access sucks, its a pain in the butt, sucking up the oil to do an oil change is a terrible job which I really hate

Great points, one more I would add is having less really big holes below the waterline is awesome. Also if you smoke something fast you have a better chance at not sinking the boat with outboards as opposed to IO, at least that's what I tell myself anyway. There is so much junk in our waters its ridiculous.

 

[Rain City]

It's gonna be the sweetest rig on the docks too...so 15,000 lbs? Tri power is what you're gonna need for sure.


Great points, one more I would add is having less really big holes below the waterline is awesome. Also if you smoke something fast you have a better chance at not sinking the boat with outboards as opposed to IO, at least that's what I tell myself anyway. There is so much junk in our waters its ridiculous.

Well I figure I'd drop a few pounds pulling the diesels out.

If I was faced with a forced repower I'd consider it. Couldn't justify pulling a working system apart though.

 

[saanauk]

Awesome project! I have a 2007 Seasport XL that is a factory outboard boat with a Yamaha 250. Not sure but with singles you need a 30” motor shaft. May want to check what you need with twins.

A buddy converted his 24’ XL from a gas I/O to a single 300 and has been very happy with it.

 

[EZZ70]

More pic's please, lets see progress...