Replace old 2 stroke engine

[Mshimer]

I've found a used C-Dory 22 I maybe interested in, but it has a 2 stroke Johnson engine. My question: When it comes time to reengine, will the greater weight of a 4 stroke cause problems? I heard the later C-Dory were redesigned to accomodate the heavier enginers.

Thanks,

[Pat Anderson]

You know, that old Johnson 2 stroke might just run forever...but I would not worry about repowering in the slightest.

[dogon dory]

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

[Alyssa Jean]

I have a 16 with a 88 Johnson 40HP 2 Stroke. Unless totally abused it will run forever. Several things going for it. It is paid for. It is stingy with the gas. I can run it at cruise for a gallon per hour. It is paid for. It is less weight than a 4 stroke. It is paid for.
It has a lower profile than most 4 strokes. And did I mention that is is paid for?

[Sea Wolf]

I replaced a 1987 2-stroke Evinrude 90 hp (301 lbs.) with a 2005 Yamaha EFI 90 4-stroke (369 lbs.). At the same time, I also got rid of the kicker, which was a 1987 15 hp Johnson long shaft (77 lbs.) because I believed the reliability of the new main motor was so great that I no longer needed the back up engine.

This resulted in a net lost of 9 lbs, but I've added batteries and other heavy things on a temporary basis, and know the boat can handle 450 to maybe even 525 lbs on the transom, because some of our members run a 90 hp Suzuki (416 lbs) and a kicker (up to 120 lbs), for a combined weight of almost 540lbs!

You'll feel the extra weight on the transom if you add quite a bit, but the boat can handle it!

Hope this helps!

Joe.

[RonMac]

I have a 1990 22 cruiser with the original Johnson 70 that has about 420 hours on the meter. The electric trim motor looks like its about to erupt into a cloud of rust but the engine runs like a top.

I bought the boat in June 2007 kept in on a mooring until late november and ran the engine for 74 hours . I added a Yamaha 8 HP 4 stroke for peace of mind.

Naturally Ive been shopping and reading about engines, its winter in New England. I've narrowed my choice to the Evinrude etec 90 / 75 or the new honda vtec. I travel light its usually just me in the boat.

[Captains Cat]

Nothing to add in the thread but to welcome RONMAC! Lurkers are always welcome, particularly those with C-Dorys or wannabees!

I used to live in Hanover (1970-1973) and worked at the Quincy Shipyard so I know Marshfield well! Welcome again!

Charlie

[Les Lampman]

Here are my thoughts on the subject:

The C-Dory 22 was designed with the Johnson 70 2-stroke and a Johnson 9.9 kicker on the stern in mind (and in reality). No amount of hammering the keyboard will change that; it is what it is. The boat will always be "at its best" if that weight is adhered to.

However...a lot of things have changed over the years. There is more fuel in the stern (50 gallons versus 36), usually more batteries, and generally heavier engines and the CD22 does alright. Is it as "good" as the original configuration? Depends on how you use it and what you're after. Is the suspension on a Porsche 911 better than on my Suburban? Not if you're towing a C-Dory but sure as heck if we're slicing and dicing on a mountain road.

It's all about balance; when a designer gets things right the ends of the boat react as they should for the best handling and ride (at the designed speed). If you radically change the weight at one end the boat is no longer "in balance"; at least not as the designer planned it. For instance, you drive your pickup around with no weight in the bed and that's what you're used to. Now you pick up about 1000 pounds of gravel and I can guarantee you're going to notice a difference in the ride and handling. Good? Bad? Not important (as long as you don't exceed safety limits) but it is DIFFERENT.

There's a world of difference in how the CD22 handles in tough conditions with a single E-TEC 75/90 on it versus say the old Honda BF90 and BF9.9 kicker. It's not even like driving the same boat if you're running Deception Pass on a nasty day in the same conditions. But...some folks may never need concern themselves with that because they never operate the boat that way. I could hand my mother the keys to the most superbly tuned sports car in existence and after a day of use she'd never be able to tell me if it handled better than her current daily driver; she'd never drive to the point where "better" ever started to show up.

Keeping the weight down on the transom of the C-Dory 22 yields the best handling and performance from a technical standpoint and I encourage folks that will routinely operate in rough conditions to kick that a little higher on the priority list. If average to calm conditions are more the norm than the heavier weight on the transom is not as much of a factor. And generally we're not talking about safety here since the boats with heavier main engines and kickers do fine. We're specifically talking about refining your choices to get what you want (and anticipate) out of the boat.

There was a major revision in the hull in 1986; the earlier boat were truly flat-bottomed and then they became as we know them now. The hull has not been redesigned for heavier four stroke engines but I'd argue that since the consumer has control over the engine choices that's not a huge issue.

You have to be careful on the twins and really watch the weight as you can go from lightweight Honda BF40 or BF50 (at 205 pounds apiece) to some really heavy ones (around 260 pound apiece). Again, it's all about what you're looking for in terms of handling, performance, use, and cost.

[T.R. Bauer]

My experience with envinrude and johnson (I have four of them) is that they are very dependable and last seemingly forever with the use that the average guy puts on them. I love all three of mine - especially my v4 90 hp evinrude.