Re-powering an AA BroadBill

S

Scott Gilliland

Active member

I have a long thread on a rebuild of an AA Broadbill here: Advice on sneakbox - AA Broadbill or MLB Wigeon. Last year I was looking to re power the boat. I have a 15 hp 4-stroke fuel injected Suzuki. I'm generally happy with the motor, it is light and fuel efficient and with me and the dog it runs great. But when I load it with a second person and a few decoys it is really sluggish. I have a hard time getting up on a plane and it performs poorly - even in light weeds. I was thinking of finding a used 2-stoke for it. The is an option to change out the ECM and a couple of other components to convert it to a 20 hp. I was thinking about this option and I found someone that will re-flash the ECM instead of buying a new one.​

I was a bit surprised when he quoted the price for reprogramming the drive ~$1000 CAD. A new 20 hp ECM is $4-500. He told me that the reflash is not the same as buying a new ECM. They do a lot more tweaking of the programming and they can boost the HP for this motor by 10 hp. Because I'm not interested in more speed, they suggest keeping the same diameter and pitch prop, but change to a 4 blade. This will give a better hole shot getting the boat up on plane sooner. ​

I do not know a lot about motors ... the hull is rated for a 25 and I'm wondering if if there are concerns about wear and tear by pushing that motor by 5 HP beyond its designed capacity. Here is a link to the company that does the re-programming (http://www.htmcoating.ca/outboard-efi.html). ​

​

Any thoughts appreciated.​

 
Scott

There is no replacement for displacement. I ran my AA Broadbill with a 15hp Evinrude and it was underpowered. I upgraded that motor to a 25hp Johnson and it was a whole new boat. Plenty of power with two guys and gear. Maybe you could sell your 15 and find a second-hand 25. I bet you could upgrade to a 25 hp used motor for no more money than the upgrade you are considering. Going this route there is no risk you will be disappointed. The 25 on that hull is proven.
 
25 is the way to go carrying a load. When I first bought my Blackjack (similar design & weight). I used a Merc 2 stroke 25 on it from a previous jon. It would fly but also would carry a load easily which seems to be important to you. I sold that blackjack as kids got to age to go and out grew boat. I bought and redid a 14' Steury and used same 25 on it for a while. Several years latter I bought back the Blackjack and by that time 25 was long gone and I replaced with a 2 stroke Merc 15. Serious lack of power for that hull with blind installed and decoys and retriever. With 2 adults it barely would plane after pushing water for a long stretch. Definitely search for a 25 2 stroke to save a bit of weight.
 
Thanks Guys. I was convinced that going back to a 25 hp 2-stroke was the the right motor of the boat. A real advantage for the 4-stroke I appreciate is I can use the same gas in my larger boat and my generators. I was intrigued by the option of getting ~25 hp out of the 15 Suzuki. For most of the 4 strokes the 9.9, 15 and 20 are all the same motor, when you jump to a 25 it's in a different family. The 25 4 stroke is about 40 lbs heavier than the 15 which could be a real advantage.

I chatted with the owner of the business. The reprogramming only pushes the motor ~ 5 hp beyond is it's design. He said that the original programming of the ECM has to work across a variety of fuel grades and to get the extra HP from the motor the programming is optimized for higher octane fuels (93 Octane). I'm not sure why it would cost so much to refresh the drive, apparently it takes only a few minutes. It seems like a good option, but as Eric says, a used 25 is proven and might be cheaper.
 
I,m growing kind of fond of the 4 stroke 25 Tohatsu I have on my 1648 jon. Starts easily on cold morning with the electric start, and sips gas. Easy enough to service yearly. I still have a couple 2 strokes also in use though. A 15 merc on the 1436 and a Etec 90 on the 2072. That Etec sips gas as well. Your going to love the 4 stroke come cold weather , especially if electric start.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top