# Repowering Beavertail B2



## GraySkimmer (Feb 17, 2019)

Anyone repowered their B2? What motor did you replace the Etec with? Whatd you do with the poling platform? Pics welcome. I've been looking at the 60ho tohatsu's. 1


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

My boat is at Marine shop having a 60 Hp Tohatsu put on. The guys say the poling platform may/will have to be raised by at least 3 inches. They suggest putting a plate or tubing spacer under footing of platform to raise. I'm not sure if I start dipping the boat trailer will allow me to not have to raise to platform. It may be that to pole the skegg will drag if the motor is not trimmed. I need to relook at it when I go see boat this week(the boat shop is 1 1/2 hour drive away). I suspect that a Zuke will likely have the same issue. It is likely from a taller power head since the Etec has only 2 cylinders and the Hatsu and Zuke have 3. If I do need to have the platform raised then I'll have to modify the boat cover too.

One other issue is the Hatsu shifter. Some have had issues with the binnacle and are using the Yamaha 704.
Looking forward to other experiences and opinions.

Will likely have more ideas later this week.


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## GraySkimmer (Feb 17, 2019)

I was curious if anyone had modied the poling platform to clearance the motor. I'd hate to raise it anymore as it's already a sky scraper lol. Tohatsu seems like the good choice, does anyone know a shop around NC that sells them? I'd also be willing to buy one from a member here. Looking for a 60hp.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

GraySkimmer said:


> Tohatsu seems like the good choice, does anyone know a shop around NC that sells them? I'd also be willing to buy one from a member here. Looking for a 60hp.


Outboards have been in short supply due to corona virus.. Hopefully this shortage is coming to an end soon. I found mine at Northeast Marine in St Petersburg, Fl thanks to another reply on this forum site. Was $6125. I arranged shipping thru uship which added $280 (UPS) to my expenses. I am having a Tohatsu dealer get the needed gauges and harness as well as put on hull to get the warranty.

I agree polling platform is higher than i like and am hoping for ideas on modification too.


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## RobA (Aug 21, 2015)

I'm in the process of repowering my B2 with a 60hp Suzuki, but the motor hasn't been delivered yet (ordered in early Nov). In the meantime, I pulled up all of the seadek and I'm having the cockpit gelcoat completely removed and replaced. I need to have the poling platform refinished but I'm waiting on the motor to be mounted because I'd love to be able to shorten it somehow if there is additional clearance with the new motor, but I doubt it. I hadn't even thought about having to raise it though. I really hope that isn't necessary.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

The other way I was going to approach this problem was take it to the place that has done work like this for me before. This is likely not new to these places. That's there business.


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## FSUDrew99 (Feb 3, 2015)

Repowered my Osprey (CC version of your boat) with a Suzuki 60. Badass motor and went with the jack foreman prop on it. Runs 33-35 WOT and Im not small with another guy and gear. I had a buddy who ran both the Tohatsu 60 and Suzuki 60 ( both within a year or two of each other) on his B2 and he told me to my surprise that he would take the Suzuki all day over the Tohatsu....

I also cut my poling platform at the bottom of the highest step and added longer legs making it 8" taller. Its pretty nice from a vantage point and it clears the bigger motor just fine!


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## Salt (Mar 19, 2019)

I have an ‘07 B2 and repowered to a 60 MFS in July. I am just now reaching 100 hours. What would you like to know?


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

GraySkimmer said:


> Whatd you do with the poling platform? Pics welcome.


Did you lift the poling platform? If you did or didn't, does the motor tilt without problems with bottom of platform? If you didn't does skegg drag when poling? What prop are you using (diameter/pitch)? Using cavitation plate? Speed at WOT? What is peak RPM


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## FLmatt (Dec 11, 2017)

@Salt, very nice skiff. Were you on the water around Amelia this past Sunday?


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## Salt (Mar 19, 2019)

@FLmatt Yep, that was me. Was that you in the green blue skiff? Beautiful day out there


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## Rookiemistake (Jan 30, 2013)

Salt said:


> I have an ‘07 B2 and repowered to a 60 MFS in July. I am just now reaching 100 hours. What would you like to know?
> View attachment 162142


Who did the work?


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## FLmatt (Dec 11, 2017)

Salt said:


> @FLmatt Yep, that was me. Was that you in the green blue skiff? Beautiful day out there


Definitely, awesome day to be on the water. No, I was in my skiff, its a white Spear with a Tohatsu tiller. I ran by you heading south in the afternoon.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I’ve fooled around, raising a poling tower once or twice (then finally had a new tower made for my old Maverick skiff).

Years ago many motors had a smaller profile so towers were originally built shorter but over time, became taller and taller to meet the clearance needs as motors became “taller”...
Ideally you should have at least two inches of clearance between your platform (the top of that tower) and the top of your motor .when it’s tilted all the way up (but I’ve gotten by with only one inch - and some are willing to put up with a clearance that won’t allow them to raise their motor all the way up..). Nothing I’d recommend... 

Yes, there are several mods you can do to an existing tower. The first I tried was two pieces of 1x3 teak board on edge as spacers up underneath my platform on each side to raise it without doing anything to the aluminum tower at all - not ideal but it worked for me... The second and better solution was to have a pipe-welding outfit, cut each side of the tower and re-weld a single longer section of pipe on each side to raise the entire tower’s height to what was needed. This was better but the best solution was when I finally had a new tower welded up that met my needs (using the existing fiberglass platform...

Good luck with whatever you choose - make sure to post up whatever you came up with (photos, of course...).


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## Salt (Mar 19, 2019)

Rookiemistake said:


> Who did the work?


Citrus Marine in Homosassa initially hung the motor for the warranty. I rerigged the cables in one main tube and hydraulic hoses with thru hull fittings in the bilge to eliminate water getting into the electronics hatch. This cut the leaks by 90%. I suspect the remaining culprits are the livewell and cabin drain tube fittings. If I did it again I would’ve had these with me for Citrus to install during the repower. I also inverted a rigging hose coupler to run the powerpole and transducer cables through the bilge (cleaner look, less holes).










Rich11111 said:


> Did you lift the poling platform? If you did or didn't, does the motor tilt without problems with bottom of platform? If you didn't does skegg drag when poling? What prop are you using (diameter/pitch)? Using cavitation plate? Speed at WOT? What is peak RPM


 My poling platform is aftermarket and a foot taller than the original so I’m not sure about clearance but I’m happy to take any measurements that might help you. I can tilt the motor all the way forward without any issues with the jackplate raised up to 4”. Any higher and the air duct on the rear cowling will contact the bottom of the platform. I run it normal height most of the time without issue and almost always tilt the skeg out of the water to pole so no issues there.
I’ve tried several prop setups with and without a Stiffy Shaw Wing cavitation plate:
Stock aluminum 3 blade 11x15p: Too sensitive to porpoising and blows out in hard turns - Best mph = 38.
PT SRD3 15p: Speed prop. 38mph w/o cav plate, 36mph with plate but much better holeshot and easier to control bow rise. Hated this prop without Shaw Wing but am currently running this and am happy, but I know there’s a better option. 
PT SCB 15p (true 14p stamped as 15p): Great prop without Shaw wing, not much change with it. 36mph best.
I’ve been told that the Solas Rubex C4 is a great prop for the motor due to larger diameter. Maybe the C3 will also work great. I plan to bite the bullet and call Jack Foreman after the New Year. 
I also live in NFL with big tide swings so my mph’s may be +1-2 more than what you’ll see but I have reached those speeds several times with each prop.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

Salt and lemaymiami that is very valuable feedback information. Thanks.

I just got back from the boat shop after checking on progress.. The boat shop was hoping to elevate the poling platform at least 6 inches to minimize the chance of the cowling hitting the bottom of the platform. They were going to use a rectangular aluminum tubing that looked like 4 inches tall then put a 1 1/2 inch starboard under that. It did not look good so I'm going to try and get by with 3 inches of added elevation with 2 layers of starboard under the platform (see starboard 1 1/2 inch picture below). This will not give me enough clearance to fully tilt the motor with cowling on which I am ok with since I don't see that i would want to do this other than off the water. I don't know if the skeg will be in the water some with this setup but I don't want more height. The boat shop tries to set up motor to avoid owner from having the cowling hit the platform at all angles ie trimmed up fully as well as fully turned motor as some owners are accident prone. Long term I may just remake the platform to get it lower but I want to test this first. I don't really have the cut and weld option with my platform as it is powder coated and therefore I would have to recoat all the aluminum.

I had the Bauman water pickup screens added. Also I have the 12.5 x 14 cupped Bauman prop. Seeing Salt's experience I may need to add the cavitation plate.

Hope this helps GraySimmer.

Thanks again for ideas *lemaymiami and Salt*


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## Salt (Mar 19, 2019)

@Rich11111 Anytime, glad to help. I did not know about Bauman props so thank you, I’ll have to look them up. I may be wrong but I believe Foreman’s go to Tohatsu prop is something like 12x14. Did you see the HB Professional platform that was just listed today? Looks tall. Might work great for your setup. In for a penny in for a pound.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

Salt said:


> I believe Foreman’s go to Tohatsu prop is something like 12x14


You are correct, my bad. I bought mine from Foreman though Bauman also tweaks props too. Foreman was on the way to drop off boat and motor. Also intake screens are from Foreman.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

Salt said:


> @Rich11111 Did you see the HB Professional platform that was just listed today? Looks tall.


I am hoping to minimize height. An additional dislike for me is people I take get the boat rocking when they move about the boat which is really felt more up high.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Wait until you’re standing on a broken tower, trying to make it look like nothing’s wrong...
Seriously though, check in with competent pipe welders. It might be less than you think to have the tower modified and powder coated again...
The wooden extension we did on my rig was at the top instead of the base...


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

lemaymiami said:


> Wait until you’re standing on a broken tower, trying to make it look like nothing’s wrong...





lemaymiami said:


> check in with competent pipe welders. It might be less than you think to have the tower modified and powder coated again


That's the plan. My repower is white so may get by with anodized (no powder coating) which may be economical


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Me, I always just go with plain anodized finishes on any aluminum work - much more durable in the long run - but not as pretty... The other small plus for plain anodized aluminum is that you see any small cracks or corrosion issues sooner than you will with powder coating.

This from a guy who makes bucktails and leadheads - by the hundreds and powder coats, then bakes every one of them...


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

lemaymiami said:


> a guy who makes bucktails and leadheads - by the hundreds and powder coats, then bakes every one of them...


Playing on the water can cause a sickness of varying degree. The vessel, the rod/reel setup, the terminal tackle ect. There is a pill for obsessive compulsive behavior. I'm not taking it.


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## Pudldux (Mar 3, 2016)

Couple more points.....if you bend the platform toward the front be careful not to bend too much. It can hit you in the back while standing up and running. I had an osprey that had this issue. The remedy was a custom made platform that was notched on the back for the motor to raise into.


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## whoislang (Jul 29, 2020)

Salt said:


> I have an ‘07 B2 and repowered to a 60 MFS in July. I am just now reaching 100 hours. What would you like to know?
> View attachment 162142



Hey did you land the new platforms feet in the the same location as the old feet?? I am scheduled to get a completely new platform and backrest installed Feb 1 and need to know if I need to install reinforcement under the mounting location if I move it further rearward.

Thanks


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## whoislang (Jul 29, 2020)

Salt said:


> @Rich11111 Anytime, glad to help. I did not know about Bauman props so thank you, I’ll have to look them up. I may be wrong but I believe Foreman’s go to Tohatsu prop is something like 12x14. Did you see the HB Professional platform that was just listed today? Looks tall. Might work great for your setup. In for a penny in for a pound.


hey where was that Professional platform listed for sale?


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

I am using the original poling platform for my B2. There are about 4 layers of starboard. Total height added is about 1 1/4 inches.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

Measuring just now --> 1 3/4 inches. It took 4 layers of starboard and each layer was countersunk screwed with flat head stainless into next layer. The boat shop was wanting to go 8 inches total with aluminum 4 inch(?) square tubing and Starboard. That would make it to high for my liking though it would make it so motor could totally tilt/tuck under platform ie make it idiot proof. I just have to be careful when tilting motor.


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## Salt (Mar 19, 2019)

whoislang said:


> hey where was that Professional platform listed for sale?











Poling Platform / Hells Bay


Selling poling platform for Hells Bay Professional. Can be used with jack plate ($400). If interested call or text 407-401-1201




www.microskiff.com


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## TX_Salt (Nov 13, 2018)

Rich11111 said:


> I am using the original poling platform for my B2. There are about 4 layers of starboard. Total height added is about 1 1/4 inches.
> View attachment 164842
> View attachment 164843
> View attachment 164844





Rich11111 said:


> I am using the original poling platform for my B2. There are about 4 layers of starboard. Total height added is about 1 1/4 inches.
> 
> Rich11111,
> 
> That's the Tohatsu short shaft? Just curious.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

"That's the Tohatsu short shaft? Just curious."

No 20 inch. Only the dark comes in a 15 inch per my discussion with Tohatsu.


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## TX_Salt (Nov 13, 2018)

Rich11111 said:


> "That's the Tohatsu short shaft? Just curious."
> 
> No 20 inch. Only the dark comes in a 15 inch per my discussion with Tohatsu.


Good to know! Looks like I will be powder coating my platform.


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