shaft lenght and weight of motor

[anders.kraft]

Cheers everyone and thanks for a great site and congrats to 4 years of service! I suppose I don´t add much to help others but for a wellcraftrookie like me reading the service sections has sure helped me a lot! Right now I am thinking of getter a new outbord för my V20 -88. Today the boat is powered with a Mariner 135 hp -88, wich in my opinion is to weak for my purposes.
Does anyone one know what shaftlenght I´m looking for. 20" or 25", Large och Xlarge? Do both fit, are we looking at different performance depending on what lenght I chose? How do I measure the length of the present motor?
And secondly; since today´s outbords are heavier, does anyone have a clue about the maximun weight to put on the back of the boat? I am thinking on getting a newer Optimax 175 or 200 and they seem much heavier than the old sleak 135 Marathon.
Grateful for any answer or linksuggestion I can get!

:) Best regards
Anders Kraft
Halmstad, Sweden, Europe