Re-powering!

[cliffpaul2]

I haven’t posted for a while because last summer I lost my motor (a 1980, 305 Volvo Penta I/O), when it took in some salt-water somehow. My mechanic said there was water in the cylinders, etc, and it is a total loss, so I’m hoping to re-power sometime in the next several months. He quoted $9,000 for a new one (installed) and $7,500 for a remanufactured engine (installed). He uses top quality parts and I’m sure he would do a great job, but at those prices, I may not be able to afford to get it running again for a couple of years unless I raid my daughter’s college fund!

I love the boat and have put a lot of time into fixing up, and I really don’t want to get rid of it. I’m considering some options that I might choose if I can get the same result and save a few thousand dollars. I might buy a new, lightly used, or remanufactured motor somewhere else and try to find a less expensive way to have it installed, or just install it myself with some help. I would appreciate any suggestions on where to find good motors or installers, or warnings about the pitfalls I might be facing!

Please don’t turn this into a debate about converting the boat to an outboard with a bracket. It would be great, but I’ve already ruled it out and there have been plenty of posts about it anyway. I’m looking for advice about I/O’s.

Thanks!