I'm an inexperienced boat owner who is learning fast (the hard way) and needing to repower a 1989 Cruise Craft Charger. She's a 1989 glass hull bowrider weighing around 462kg (1020lb), 5.06m (16'7") long, a max beam of 2.21m (7'3") and in the day rated 90 to 150 hp. Transom, stringers and floor redone 18 months ago. Deadrise at the transom is 20 degrees. Currently powered by a 1989 Johnson V4 140 hp 20" leg weighing 166kg (365lb) and soon to be an anchor. Battery and oil for VRO are aft. With this engine on the back the hull sits in the water about level with the chines at the stern and water just moves in and out of the splash well drain holes. If i add 20kg (44lb) of weight over the engine and 35kg (77lb) in the bow, the chines at the stern sit just out of the water. Fully laden with crew, gear and fuel i estimate the total weight to be around 1100kg (2425lb). Without the experience this is doing my head in and i would appreciate suggestions for a repower and why. My concerns are how low the transom sits and whether or not i will achieve the same performance of the old engine. The Suzuki DF140A looks good but weighs in at 179kg (395lb) and the Merc 115 CT weighs 163kg (359lb) but i'm not sure if it will be enough grunt. Yamaha F115 or 130 and Etec 115 or 130 are all candidates. Your thoughts? Cheers Martin
