Replace Engine and ICW

[Richard Bain]

This may make no sense, but my 86 has the original Universal, with 650 hours on it. I believe it is an M25
Has anyone ever upgraded this enjine with a larger one? Is the cost worth the power?
We are planning a trip down the ICW and have thought about buying a newer C34 just because of the engine issue. It is not under powered, but from Lake Huron to Key West....it may be??

Any other ICW info....please feel free to share...
Can you make 75 miles per day??

Thanks

Richard

[Howard Armstrong]

i have been on the ICW from Charston SC to St Augustine and about 5 kph is about what i have averaged.  So depending on the daylight hours and how hard you want to push. will this be a hurry up to get there trip or enjoying the sights trip?
I can't give any advice on the larger engine.
Howard

[Stu Jackson]

75 divided by 5 knots = 15 hours a day.  It's not so much what the boat can do, but what YOU can handle.

The M25 is a great engine, why bother swapping it out for something larger physically, which would only get you less access room.  Our M25 has 1,888 engine hours.  Ron Hill's M25XP, essentially the same engine, has over 4,000 hours.

One recommendation for the M25 is to replace, as we did, the old 2 inch HX with the larger 3 inch model.

[Joe Kern]

I have been on the ICW from St. Simmons, Ga to West Palm Beach. 

I agree with Stu that it is mostly about what you can handle.  For most of that segment of the trip I would not travel at night.  Very few lit markers and the daymark reflective stuff is hard to pick out even with a good spotlight.  Leaving at dawn always works but you may have to stop earlier than you want some days due to lack of marinas and anchorages in some sections in Florida.  Of course our summer afternoon thunderstorms can play havoc on a schedule as well.

There are plenty of places on that trip in Florida where your daily average will get totally shot waiting foir bridge openings.  Mostly starting around Ft. Pierce but also St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Daytona.  South of Ft. Pierce and especially starting in North Palm Beach it is one bridge after another and most on a schedule that does not always work for the time it takes us to travel.  Ft. Lauderdale to the Keys is supposed to be a miserable trip on the ICW for a sailboat.   Never done it.  I always get to West Palm and turn east for the Abacos.

Joe

[karista]

I came down the ICW starting in Annapolis, as mentioned previously, I would not count on making 75 miles a day. I would not recommend sailing the ICW at night, so depending on the timing of your trip you need to consider daylight time. There were days were we easily made 60 miles a day, but there were also days were we could only make 45 miles due to availability of marinas and anchorages. We sailed to the Gulf coast and there you will not be able to make 75 miles a day. Your low hour engine should be just fine, no need to replace it.

[Ron Hill]

Richard : I've been down the ICW from the Chesapeake to Key West.   You'd better count on making about 35 - 50 miles a day.  If you go down in the fall you're in the time of year when daylight is SHORT.  You'll have to decide on a marina or anchorage and maybe which marinas have had hurricane damage and aren't open / don't have fuel??
Nobody except tugs travel the ICW at night - I wouldn't think about it even in a emergency!!

I know a number of people that have an M25 engine that have done the ICW - I strongly recommend a 3 bladed prop. 

[Ken Juul]

I would suggest the three blade as well,  smoother running, more thrust at lower power settings for those long days under power.  I looked into repowering a couple years ago.  If I remember correctly, to upgrade from the M25XP to the M35 was in the $6K range for just parts.  I don't need the extra horsepower that badly!  The 3" heat exchanger upgrade is very advisable, the water gets a lot warmer as you leave the lakes for the keys.  As far as engine longevity, Ron has published his hours, can't remember but I think he is well over 2000.  I just passed 1000.  If you take care of them, do the preventative maintenance, our engines will provide you power for a long ong time.

[Richard Bain]

Thanks to all.....
I have a MAX prop so I seem to be ok.....I think I even have a 3" HX.....
We will truck the boat to the Chesapeake....and go from there...

Richard

[John Langford]

Hi Richard,
Many many years ago I bought a 27 ft Pearson Renegade in Ft. Lauderdale, sailed it for 9 months in the Bahamas and then took it all the way to Toronto mostly on the ICW. It was a wonderful trip and the section from the Chesapeake to NYC, up the Hudson River and the Erie Canal was a great part of the experience If you don't do that section on the way down then I thoroughly recommend it on the return. Sailing into New York is an amazing experience. I found a slip at the West 79th St Boat Basin and walked into town after a day and night sailing along the New Jersey coast. A stunned sailor wandering around the Big Apple. It was great.

In those days I had a Universal Atomic 4. We poked along at 5 knots the whole time and it all worked out fine. Coming north I got quite a lot of sailing on very fine SE winds.

[captran]

On our trip down the ICW I wasn't so much concerned with time but just making steady progress. It was June and the wind was only occassionally a help.
St Simons Georgia to Fernandina Beach @41 miles 
to St Augustine @54 miles
to 6 miles S of Daytona @60 miles (adventure Yacht Harbor)
to S tip of Merrit Island @71 miles
to Ft Pierce 630am to 1400- @45 miles
to Peck Lake  25 miles
to Lake worth Inlet, @ 26 miles

That was really pushing it, some of those days were very long,  but we were headed to the Abacos.  There was really alot to see and do, so we missed alot.  We have the M35 that we pushed to about 5 to 6 knots, but there are alot of bridges and a few shallow spots when we transited the area in 01.