Repowering Seawind 1000

[viking2seafarer]

Has anyone installed the new EFI high thrust Yamaha FT25 to a Seawind 1000? Wondering what issues you had and do you think the extra power is a big improvement. I am currently running Twin FT9.9 2009 model and find they struggle in the fast currents (4 kn's) around Fraser Island. Look forward to hearing your experiences.

[JasonL]

What are the specs on the new FT25?
Weight increase wouod be one. Gearbox ratio and prop size/pitch?

I'm gently looking at a few Seawinds, majority run the 9.9, due to gearbox ratio and large prop

[sailjumanji]

There is one that I know of. A California boat. Written up on the seawind owners forum. I think boat name was Barramundi. If I remember correctly he had to do a lot of fiberglass work expanding the motor box aft to accommodate the motor. He posted a video of the reporter boat pulling a child water skiing. He did a lot of other cool mods as well.

[catsketcher]

I can't find any specs on the EFI model. I have a 25 Yammie and it works well on my 38ft Chamberlin. When it was the only motor I had it did 9 knots top speed.

I went for twins and did not get another 25 as they are pretty heavy and I don't need to go faster under power. I now have an assymetric system with a 9.9 on one side and the 25 on the other. I get a whole 1 knot extra at full throttle - 9.9 actually.

You will pay for any extra speed with fuel bills. I hate turning petrol into wake so usually keep to 7 knots or less. Maybe Honda 20s would fit in the nacelles better than Yammies. Orams owners like the Hondas and Tohatsus.

cheers

Phil

[smj]

The 25 Yamaha doesn't appear to come in a 25" shaft, maybe they make an after market shaft extension? Also appears to be really heavy!
I considered purchasing the 20hp Yamahas with after market shaft extensions for our old Seawind 1000 as they appear to be light and pretty compact. Stuck with the 9.9's though.
There is a Seawind on the east coast with a pair of Honda 25's installed but I'm guessing it took a lot of modification to the motor pods.
The Honda 15 or 20 would be nice as they come in xl shaft and are quite light, but you would have to remove the outboard from the motor pod to change the oil filter as it's accessed under a panel on the side of the powerhead/lower unit.

[viking2seafarer]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I had our local Yamaha dealer measure up the mounting system and as the 25 has much wider brackets and with T&T much longer brackets he's confident that it won't fit on the swinging transom. His advice was to remove the swinging arrangement and fibreglass a fixed transom into the engine well. Looks like I might be stuck with 9.9 Yamaha or 20 hp Honda's.