Searider 5.4 Project

[Bushrider]

Matt ,

No doubt that the old Yamaha is the best respectively lightest motor in his class but the question was which of the current available motors would fit best .
As for balance - with the ETEC on the transom + even a Ribcraft A frame I never felt during the 1000 miles of the RI that my boat was not well balanced .
I think this also depends a lot of the remaining load distribution in the boat . I had for instance a. 90l inbuilt tank in my Osprey console rather than the fuel tanks near the stern on deck as often used .
To say just in general that the boat becomes stern heavy I disagree .

[benjytaylor]

Originally Posted by teamplonker

Just looking at your set up and it looks similar weight to mine, what speed were you getting ?

The boat does 34knts with a little trim with a 18 P SS prop. So do the other craft with the same set up but the Suzuki df90 is a bit faster

[benjytaylor]

Originally Posted by colcreate

The time has come to splash out on a nice brand new motor for this Searider! So what's it going to be? E-Tec 90 is looking favorite, weight is about right, still negotiating on price! Suzuki DF90 seems to be on the weight but it's an extra £grand at least! But can it pack the punch of the E-tec? Mercs & Mariners Opti's or EFI too heavy! Maybe at 177kg with this plate on the back I can get away with a 115 V4 E-tec.... Anybody got an E-tec 90 on a 5.4 that is willing to take me for a spin?

What a great job you have done on your SR. Very jealous. Any of those engines suggested will work a treat for your boat. I have changed all of my craft from yammie 2S to big fat 4S. Saving half on fuel, quiet as a mouse and hardly changed the characteristic on any of them. I guess it all depends on how you lay out your kit, weight of kit etc, pitch of prop using and so much more. Good luck deciding

[benjytaylor]

Originally Posted by colcreate

The time has come to splash out on a nice brand new motor for this Searider! So what's it going to be? E-Tec 90 is looking favorite, weight is about right, still negotiating on price! Suzuki DF90 seems to be on the weight but it's an extra £grand at least! But can it pack the punch of the E-tec? Mercs & Mariners Opti's or EFI too heavy! Maybe at 177kg with this plate on the back I can get away with a 115 V4 E-tec.... Anybody got an E-tec 90 on a 5.4 that is willing to take me for a spin?

P.s don't forget your fishing rod holders if you haven't got them already. Some lovely shiny stainless on eBay for seriously cheap (top of a frame on pic)

[colcreate]

Originally Posted by matt h

the ideal engine for the SR is a yam 90 .. not because i like them (i do actually) its because its a narrow beamed craft, 150kgs on the rear was so unbalanced and stern happy.. yam 90 is 119kgs i think and perfectly balanced

Unfortunately the 2 stroke Yamaha is not a new option any more! Closest to it might be a Selva Tiger Shark 80hp 3cylinder fuel injected two stroke weighing in at just 120kg!
3 year warranty and a £grand cheaper than an E-tec.

Re 115 A-tec seems to be a similar weight as some of the four strokes others have fitted, any thoughts on this?

[colcreate]

Hmm!
Spoken to several Evinrude dealers and the E-Tec 90 price is now heading up to around £7K fitted. Some even a lot higher than that!

But been offered a really good deal today on a brand new Mercury 90 Optimax, got to decide tonight though.

Heavy lump but they sound so good, look awesome and they are Black!

Need some positive vibes here (so nobody mention Yam90 2st). Just honest practical comments! Anubody running this model on a 5.4?

My hull is blocked off and the the engine thats on in the picture is 136kg (Opti is 171kg)

[benjytaylor]

IMHO I really do not think you will see any difference on how she sits in the water with an extra 35kg at the back.
Go for it, treat yourself. Used to run 115hp opti's in the marines replacing the Suzuki 140 2S on our MK1 rigid radar and 2x 22' arctic's. Not to shabby on fuel. Big lump with plenty of grunt, with a capped hull you will certainly appreciate the power. Hope it doesn't get twitchy up there at high end

[colcreate]

Thanks Benjy,
Really wanted the lighter weight e-tec 90 but it's at least another £1100 on top of the Opti and truth is I shouldn't be spending that much anyway....

It was also disappointing to see that BRP Evinrude weren't even at the Southampton boat show and that extra BS discount offered by Merc/Mariner has really made the difference!

I think I'll get rid of the auxiliary engine, leave the spare prop and anchor at home and go on a diet. At east I'll be colour coordinated.

[Bushrider]

Originally Posted by colcreate

Hmm!
Spoken to several Evinrude dealers and the E-Tec 90 price is now heading up to around £7K fitted.

I installed my ETEC 90 myself and the dealer just registered the motor at their system for warranty startup .
That saved me lot of money .
But I agree that EVINRUDE does not have the best dealernetwork ..

[benjytaylor]

Bad news took my searider out today with a blocked hull. It has a 75hp 4s Honda 170kg. Experience was not pleasant. Have to add I was being followed by my inst sunny on a flooding 5.4. In wey harbour on an easterly it was choppy out there. The searider handled like a pig. Wollowed around very unstable so can honestly say I am not a fan of capping the holes. The other searider had a great time very balanced with a heavier engine :-(



Perhaps if you are going to have the holes capped go as light as you can. Slow speed manoeuvres are a pig in any wind an tide also. I'll be soon unblocking that

[benjytaylor]

Must as that not all SR 5.4 handle or act the same. So yours might be great. However mine is certainly not. For my capped SR I think the phrase 'Glass Eye' works well, looks great but is absolutely useless

[matt h]

if you uncap it there will be no water at speed anyway.. 170kgs is over the limit for a SR5.4. for unbalanced/stern heavy and not pleasant ride.

if you uncap it, the take off will be awfull as 1/4 tonne of water rushes to the stern and will really dig in...

[benjytaylor]

Matt I have 4 of these boats all with heavier engines non of which do as you explain. The capped hull wollows and rocks about, handles poorly and is effected massively by the wind. Perhaps my vessel is an exception. 170kg is above max yet the other craft don't suffer from this. The other craft that was out there with me had a heavier engine, has a flooding hull and was far far far better in the sea. Like I have said no two seariders I have ever been in act 100% the same.

[sunnyboystanley]

Why would any sane person cap this hull????? I can't see what you hope to benefit from this. I work with a fleet of 5 seariders only 1 has the hull caped and it's dogshit. As for the weight issues I'm a fatty and working at the rear of the boats makes no difference. These boats with the 4 strokes are so good i'm going to get one for my family

[colcreate]

Avon have frequently quoted 175kg as a max engine weight for an SR5.4. The majority of the spec. plates factory fitted to transoms state a single 90hp or 2 x 40hp although over the years there are several examples of 115hp and even 120hp max engine plates quoted. I posted a copy of a 120hp plate the other day. So 170kg is not over max just uncomfortably close to the edge!

Also, as I understand it the flooding hull is primarily intended in allowing the deep v hull to sit lower in the water at rest adding stability and ease of entry from the water. Once "on the plane" and the hull is fully empty it's irrelevant.
The disadvantage of that large volume of water is that it adds some considerable weight which slows the acceleration "hole shot" when on the move.

Blocking the hull on mine has drastically improved the hole shot which is really handy when wake boarding with my girls. The 90+hp 2 stroke 136kg lump that I'm currently running can spin a 21" prop and reaches around 47mph but dropping to a 19" pitch gives better handling/response when in the rough (and yes it has cut up quite bad on some return trips).
I was also extremely glad to have blocked the hull when I had to recover 4 kited divers, 8 cylinders, and tow a 5mt bombard rib with a duff Suzuki some 8mile back to shore. Even with my engine we struggled to make much headway with wind over tide. I think if I had a flooded hull we would have had to call in additional help.
As far as a blocked hull and diving is concerned I admit it is slightly more difficult to pull myself in over the tubes so now ask the helm to put their weight on the entry side which helps as much as if the hull was flooded. Please bare in mind that I have been diving from ribs and especially Seariders on and off for around 25 years and have regularly run a 4.7mt blocked hull and a 60Mariner alongside a 5.4 flooded hull and a 90Merc and a 4mt with various engines blocked and unblocked.
For me and the way I have set this rib/high console position and the use I put it to, I vote "Blocked up", but hey it's personal choice and easy enough to try both ways with a blanking plate.

Now for more news on the engine saga.....

[colcreate]

Decided yesterday based purely on price to order a brand new Mercury 90hp Optimax. I had spent the day ringing dealers and waiting for calls that didn't get returned.....! Listened to dealers quoting me their best price that was dearer than you can casually see on the first page of Goggle.
But you know what, I still wasn't happy so on the way to pay the deposit on the Merc I took a detour to Liverpool Power Boats!
Ian at LPB had patiently listened to me the day before, he had phoned me back when he promised and gave me some solid advice on all aspects of engines, regardless of make.
So guess what? Yep Ian took a deposit off me today for a nice new E-Tec 90..... Yeh now I'm happy! Unfortunately Evinrude haven't got around to painting them Black so I have compromised and ordered Blue.

[Festinghouse]

by god i hope you are happy - youve spent that long dithering over it! its also a bit girly complaining about the colour!

[colcreate]

Originally Posted by Festinghouse

by god i hope you are happy - youve spent that long dithering over it! its also a bit girly complaining about the colour!

By who's god?
Anyway I have spent a lot longer scraping the money together than deciding on which one to splash the cash on! Especially when even the 'experts' can't agree on which to buy.
As for the colour, call me girlie, (i've been called a lot worse), but turns out Evinrude have seen the light and are bringing out special versions for the military? Low reflection technical black paint.....

[Chris Caton]

Originally Posted by colcreate

Decided yesterday based purely on price to order a brand new Mercury 90hp Optimax. I had spent the day ringing dealers and waiting for calls that didn't get returned.....! Listened to dealers quoting me their best price that was dearer than you can casually see on the first page of Goggle.
But you know what, I still wasn't happy so on the way to pay the deposit on the Merc I took a detour to Liverpool Power Boats!
Ian at LPB had patiently listened to me the day before, he had phoned me back when he promised and gave me some solid advice on all aspects of engines, regardless of make.
So guess what? Yep Ian took a deposit off me today for a nice new E-Tec 90..... Yeh now I'm happy! Unfortunately Evinrude haven't got around to painting them Black so I have compromised and ordered Blue.

Well done, enjoy it

[Festinghouse]

id say get it vinyl wrapped but i think that may be quite tricky. anyhow, the more youve scrimped and saved to buy something, the more you will appreciate and enjoy it. when do you take delivery?