Sea Trials for new Evinrude E-Tec

Got my boat back today, repowered with a 90HP Evinrude E-Tec. Here are the
results of the "get acquainted" ride of about an hour.

Boat: 1997 Smoker 161 ProMag, 16.5-foot aluminum v-hull walleye boat, loaded
full of fuel, 3 batteries, PinPoint bow mount, usual "stuff", and driver. Gross
weight, probably around 1350-1400 pounds estimate.

Old motor: 1996 Johnson 90HP V4
New motor: 2005 Evinrude 90HP I3 E-Tec

First impression: "Are you sure that's a 90HP? It sure looks awful small."
Interestingly it weighs 9-pounds MORE than the old V4 (310# vs 301#). Nice
streamlined package. Lower unit looks beefier than the old V4, but otherwise
seems much more compact.

Second impression: (Turned the key for just a second.) "Is this thing running?
Yep, the tach shows 650 RPMs." At idle the thing is dead quiet. All you here is
a slight sound of mechnical "hum", and the splash of the cooling water
'tell-tale'.

Ease away from the dock --- yes, it must be running because we're moving. Still
whisper quiet at around 1200 RPMs.

OK, let's cruise.... throttled up to around 3500 RPMs. The boat pops up on plane
smoothly/effortlessly and trims out solidly on a moderate chop. "C'mon, are you
sure this isn't a four-stroke? Where's the roar?" The sound level is incredibly
subdued, a nice solid low pitch throb, but it seems so far away!
OK, lets HIT IT! (Yes, no break-in recommended!).

On the old motor (even when it was new) you scratched and clawed for speed,
topping out around 37.5MPH after about 4-5 minutes on a flat-water downwind run,
constantly tweaking the trim to avoid porpoising.

As the old guys says on TV "Everyone Loves Raymond" if fond of exclaiming ----
"HOLY CRAP" ---- The E-Tec ramped smoothly from 3500 to 5500 RPMs in seconds,
and the GPS clocked at 45 MPH. "But where's that famous Evinrude howl?" Even
wound up to 5500+ RPM, the engine is just a solid "thrum" at a db level that you
can easily hold a conversation over.

Acceleration from any speed is smooth and strong without even a hint of
hesitation or stumble. Prop is a 13-7/8 X 19P Viper stainless steel. It's
amazingly insensitive to over trim, holding the bow nicely up until you overtrim
to blowout.

All the above on a modestly windy lake with a confused/irregular chop. I can
hardly wait for a nice flat lake to put it through its paces.

Suddenly I'm glad I couldn't afford the four-stroke I wanted!

Hans/MN
--
"Walk softly and carry a big fish."