[BarryB]

Hi Shawn,

The max transom weight is 250lbs. so, it's up to you how much weight you want. I wanted at little as possible on my 170CC so I went with a 70HP 2 stroke yamaha. The lightest engine of the big three. I like the motor because it is simple. Carbs, CDI ignition, oil injected with a tank built right next to the powerhead. Other motors have more computers, fuel injectors, etc. I am not necessarly a fan of high tech in wet areas.

Of course, the 2 stroke may get 1 to 2 mpg less than the 4 stroke, so that may be a consideration for you.

With my 70 I traveled 75nm using a bit over 18 gallons at about 4000 RPM. At WOT, you use the most fuel.

Check out the yamaha web site. There are performance bulletins that may help you.

I downloaded two performance bulletins from yamaha. For the 4 stroke 75Hp, my boat would use 3.6 gallons per hour at 4000 RPM which = 26 MPH (5.8 hours of fuel would be about 150.8 miles) With the 2 stroke 70Hp, my boat uses 3.9 gallons per hour at 4000 RPM which = 24.6 MPH. So, I burn about .3 gallons more per hour. (5.4 hours of fuel would be about 132.8 miles) So, I loose 18 miles per tankfull.