T
Tanglefoot
Guest
I could use a little advice from anyone who has gone this route…Here are the details.
I have an ’87 Malibu 18.5 hard-top with a 4-cy Volvo I/O engine. The boat has spent much of its life on a trailer, wasn’t bottom coated until 5 years ago when I bought it, and so I believe the hull is sound. The interior of the vessel is ok, could use some TLC but that is do-able. The engine runs well but, and here is the problem, I don’t really trust it to go any real distance away from moorage.
I have a 9.9, 4-stroke long shaft OMC as a kicker mounted on a ‘Spar’ bracket just in case I need to limp home. Mega-torque on that bracket if the sea is choppy!
This is what I’m considering. I’d like to remove the I/O engine and leg, fill the hole and have a grid pod attached to the transom and then re-engine with a new 150 Yamaha and a 9.9 Yamaha kicker. All with new controls, instruments, tabs etc. I think I’m looking at about $25,000 CAD before the kicker. About $4m of the total is filling the hole and adding the grid, the rest is engine and taxes. The mod would add about 2 feet to the vessel length and the 150 Yammy and kicker would put a lot of weight well aft of the existing hull. I think I would need a skookum pod to carry it. I’m told that a local shipwright has done similar modifications.
I realize that I’ll still have a 20 year-old boat but with a new engine. An alternative would be a new boat and engine, about $60m or a second-hand boat and a new engine (I’ve already got the boat!). The new engine is a must.
Anyone gone this re-build route on a similar vessel? Has it worked out? What sort of pod was installed? What did it cost?
Thanks, Tom
I have an ’87 Malibu 18.5 hard-top with a 4-cy Volvo I/O engine. The boat has spent much of its life on a trailer, wasn’t bottom coated until 5 years ago when I bought it, and so I believe the hull is sound. The interior of the vessel is ok, could use some TLC but that is do-able. The engine runs well but, and here is the problem, I don’t really trust it to go any real distance away from moorage.
I have a 9.9, 4-stroke long shaft OMC as a kicker mounted on a ‘Spar’ bracket just in case I need to limp home. Mega-torque on that bracket if the sea is choppy!
This is what I’m considering. I’d like to remove the I/O engine and leg, fill the hole and have a grid pod attached to the transom and then re-engine with a new 150 Yamaha and a 9.9 Yamaha kicker. All with new controls, instruments, tabs etc. I think I’m looking at about $25,000 CAD before the kicker. About $4m of the total is filling the hole and adding the grid, the rest is engine and taxes. The mod would add about 2 feet to the vessel length and the 150 Yammy and kicker would put a lot of weight well aft of the existing hull. I think I would need a skookum pod to carry it. I’m told that a local shipwright has done similar modifications.
I realize that I’ll still have a 20 year-old boat but with a new engine. An alternative would be a new boat and engine, about $60m or a second-hand boat and a new engine (I’ve already got the boat!). The new engine is a must.
Anyone gone this re-build route on a similar vessel? Has it worked out? What sort of pod was installed? What did it cost?
Thanks, Tom
