Ok, this pertains to a '76 135 Evinrude, all stock, in remarkable condition for it's age. Former owner was the proverbial old man who took it fishin on Sundays. Kept records of all the service, etc. It weighs 271 lbs, according to the specs.

The boat...is going to require some explanation.
The boat that this will be used on is a 17' Ranger Bassboat (1776 Super A). Up until 1976, Ranger made some pretty cheesy bassboats, by todays standards. To commemorate the bicentennial, and because Ranger was sponsoring a major bass tournament that year, they introduced a new model, the Super-A. The designer of the hull was a man from Tennesee by the name of Darris Allison.....
The hull is identical to the Allison offerings of the late 70's, but the Allison models (of course) kept the extras to a minimum to conserve weight. I have De-Rangered the boat, by removing all the carpets, chrome doo-dads, the rod locker. New stringers and deck using Marine Plywood, S-glass and Epoxy, moved the seat and steering closer to the center. The lids for the compartments weighed 80lbs alone! I have not weighed it yet, but I suspect it weighs around 500 bare of seats, gas, batteries, motor. Oh yes, I put in all new 4lb flotation throughout, except for the bilge that runs through the centerline. I spent 4 months of free time on the structural, and would trust my life to this boat.
I still have cosmetic things to do when the weather warms up. I do plan on having a trolling motor on the bow, and will make the livewells usable if needed.

What I want to do is make this a one-man fishing boat that has some 'giddy-up'. Id like to use the 135, but others have cast doubts that it will perform to my expectations, and suggested that I 'hang a 225 merc on the back' if I want performance, and that it'd be a miracle for this old OMC v4 to do much better than 55. Granted, I didnt say what kind of boat I was using, so they may have a preconcieved notion of a 20', heavy bassboat that Ranger is typically known for...

What I plan to do is see where Im at rpm-wise with the stock prop, get familiar with the handling, and then maybe some of you guys can help me put together a game plan for the best approach.


But I do have one burning question: Has anyone ever adapted a sportmaster (Or similar perf. lower unit) to a stock v4 x-flow?

Is anyone aware of any books written about outboard motor engineering? The science/art of gear ratio selection, prop pitch, and the many other variables involved?

Its late, but my other questions will have to wait....

Remember, just the facts!