Re powering ribeye A500 with Yamaha F115

[Tft]

Looking to purchase a ribeye A500 with a mercury 80 but would like to mount a Yamaha f115 on it. Has anyone done this ? I know the hull is rated to 100hp but I don’t think it won’t be able to handle the f115.

[mhill]

You will likely find your insurance will not like this or entertain it in any way as the transom will not be rated for the weight or power.

If you really really have you heart set on this you could be a sneaky "plonker" and put the sticker decals for a 100 on the 115 cowling if your buying the second hand and then plead ignorance and hope such a defence holds if theres a major issue / survey.

Ive run several SIBs over powered and you dont particularly achieve much and it's not worth the pit falls in my experience.

[Tft]

Appreciate the honest feedback. Currently have a tornado 585 with the Yamaha f115 and has low hours but has been awaiting tube repairs since last September . Was going to purchase the A500 so as not to lose out on the rest of the summer (crap though it’s been) was toying doing the engine swap over the winter as the Ribeye is in much better condition and wanted to look into the feasibility of such a swap as wasn’t really wanting a downgrade in capability or performance . I’m not sure the mercury 80 would be that much of a drop from the 115 in all honesty. I’ve run a rib overpowered before and notice over the last decade or two that the same sized hulls tend to have lower power ratings as the years have advanced.

Note the insurance issue which may prove difficult which I get, can’t really draw parallels to the car industry for example where people re power minis with Hayabusa motorcycle engines. There must be some insurance companies willing to cover but as you say whether it is worth all the hassle for the marginal performance gain . Probably not.

[jonp]

The yam f90-100-115 are very much the same weight. Power difference is pretty small. Contact ribeye and ask if they can give you a statement to ok going to 115 so you can insure without issue.

When I wanted to put a Yam f115 on my 4.3m boat, it wasn't so much the power but the extra few kg's which were more of a concern to the maritime engineer agency. I had to add 12lt of buoyancy foam.

The difference in performance on this particular hull which Ive had a Yam f70, Honda 90, Merc 90 and now the F115has made 7kts of difference from the smallest to the biggest.