25" VS 20" shaft outboard

[keepitgreen05]

i was wondering what will work best the 25" shaft or 20" shaft it seams the 20" shaft a cheaper and i was wondering what will be the differance beside the legenth of the shaft. i mostly will use the boat for bay and inshore

[chumbucket]

Measure from the top/center of your transom to the keel/center of the bottom of your boat. It should be either 20" or 25". You really don't want to change that length on the motor unless you start messing around with jack plates and such.
So if you have a 25" transom, you don't want a 20" motor on there and vice versa.
Wellcraft made them both ways.

[randlemanboater]

25" is better for ocean use because the powerhead is 5 inches further away from the water...but my 20" works fine for me.

As CB said, you dont want a 20" motor on a 25" transom, but with a jack plate, you can put a 25" motor on a 20" transom.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Like stated above, the shaft length is dependant upon what your boats transom height is.

[Seacrets]

Your 87 should be a 25" transom.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by Seacrets

Your 87 should be a 25" transom.

ALL V-20's could be either from about the late 70's on. Before about 77 all you could get is a 20", but when the new cap came out they offerred BOTH for all years right up to the V-21. ALL of the V-21's are 25" transoms. And don't forget that through 25+ years of boat owners and passing hands, many 25" transoms have been cut down to 20's through the years. So measure your transom before engine shopping. Otherwise look for a 25" shaft and put a jackplate on it if you have a 20". A 25" will work on a 20" with a jackplate, but a 20" doesn't work so well on a 25"(most of teh time). Of courese, a V-20 can always be cut down to a 20" fairly easily(V-21's cannot be cut down).