Thread: Anyone ever break the rules when it comes to re-power the main engine?

I don't think the safety issue is much of a factor in this discussion, because thats always a factor regardless of horsepower. Most of these things wont become an issue unless the operator causes them to be.
Hanging a second engine of equal size on that boat most likely wont change the top end speed by 10 mph.
Out of the hole performance can no doubt be improved without more horsepower, but overall performance as for top end speed and fuel milage might suffer somewhat as a result.

Made a few exploratory phone calls today, spoke with several dealers who simply will not install a bigger engine then what the factory recommend. They all give the same song and dance about liability falls back to the installer. My questions to them were how about these pontoons with twin 300’s or the cigarette boats with 3 1000 horse I/o’s hard to believe they are rated for that, I’ll keep you posted


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Originally Posted by Mike58

Made a few exploratory phone calls today, spoke with several dealers who simply will not install a bigger engine then what the factory recommend. They all give the same song and dance about liability falls back to the installer. My questions to them were how about these pontoons with twin 300’s or the cigarette boats with 3 1000 horse I/o’s hard to believe they are rated for that, I’ll keep you posted


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Totally different boats that ARE rated for the bigger engines. Check with your DNR as Some of our officers will ticket boat owners for over powered boats here in Indiana and it’s considered a grey area of the law also, but expensive to fight in court.

Originally Posted by cevans

Totally different boats that ARE rated for the bigger engines. Check with your DNR as Some of our officers will ticket boat owners for over powered boats here in Indiana and it’s considered a grey area of the law also, but expensive to fight in court.

Well I guess boat racing is not allowed in Indiana.

Originally Posted by Barnacle Bill

Well I guess boat racing is not allowed in Indiana.

i guess you have never been to Indiana and seen that our largest res. is only 10500 acres with a third of it in idle zone and a third of the idle zone set aside for duck hunting and Waterfowl off limits till early spring with no,fishing or boating aloud. It’s the reason also we northern Yankees invade the south to fish also. Only racing is on the Ohio River couple times a year. Our Boat Sport & Travel Show in Indy, sells over 300 boats a year and and this coming weekend our waters all over the State is a replay of Caddy Shack also if you want to fish among the masses. Personally, this coming weekend, my boat is garaged and you won’t catch me on a lake here.

I had a similar dilemma about 20 years ago. Boat was rated for a 100, had an excellent deal on a 115, I passed on it. Why? For fear of getting a ticket.
Only to find out a couple years later, dnr didn't care about it, said it was a coast guard rule - not theirs. Maybe they've changed their tune since then?
Boat was paid off, and I would have installed it.
And before it's asked, dealers will not change the rating on the plate, at least not around here.

Ratings plates on boats are federally regulated and mandated. Although some local municipalities have been granted the authority to ticket based on "over horsepower" most of them are concerned with State law and cannot enforce federal law. Thus, the rating plate (USCG plate), for most of them, fall under federal law. That said, get boarded by the coast guard and that will be the first thing they look at on your vessel.

33 CFR 183 will provide all of the information regarding the Label.
Specifically, Sec. 183.53 will tell you everything you need to know about how HP capacity is calculated.

You must be aware of the federal regulations for your boat’s engine power (horsepower) and gross load capacity (maximum weight). According to federal law, motorized boats that are less than 20 feet in length must have a capacity plate in the steering or helm area. Understand that the capacity recommendations for your boat are meant for boat operation in good weather conditions

All of the above being said, there is a way to repower your boat (especially an older one) if you follow todays calculation requirements. If you do so, you can apply for a new ratings sticker. Below is a link to where you can find all of this information along with a place to purchase a new ratings plate or sticker.
Boat capacity sticker replicas | GarzonStudio.com

The reason this has come to light is that many boats (pre 4 stroke era) had previous HP designations that are now obsolete. This gives the user the ability to repower their boats with 4stroke motors. Keep in mind that, in some cases, the HP ratings actually go down.

As for Lund, they are notorious for placing HP ratings on boats based on who they are in bed with in regards to engines. In the case of the 1775 impact, it has a max rating of 135hp. There is only one motor out there that is a 135 and that is an Evinrude 2 stroke. If you want a 4 stroke, you are stuck with a 115. Intrestingly enough, if you put the 135 on it, it is an H.O motor (high output) and is actually closer to a 150hp rated motor! Again, the engine manufacturers way of sidestepping the system.

With this being the case, one could then prove that a 135HO motor would be no different than a 150hp 4 stroke motor thus aquire the proper steps (with calculations) to obtain a new sticker.

Have you considered keeping the motor and changing the boat? lol