No tougher than a newer Merc 300xs. I think I read on screamandfly that the 300gt Johnson is only 11 pounds heavier than the Merc 300xs. The real weight gain is going to come in adding a fuel tank big enough to feed the big old v8!!! But I would do it in a heartbeat!!!
That is correct.
As one that's spent the last 100 yrs defending my over weight, pig refrigerators, I think it's absolutely hilarious that they're now considered light by the same idiots that've been bashing them
Couple of interesting tid bits too.
To those quoting the light weight Hi Perf Mercs weights remember that their (20 lb) trim is in the boat and the OMC's (and non race Mercs) are on the motors.
Not bashing them at all cuz they are bad ass, just that reality tends to be a bit different than most think.
Net to net, the non race Mercs are way closer to the weight of an OMC than most know.
Also, I remember a story in Bass and Walleye mag (I think) where John Tiger weighed all the different breeds and compared actual weight to advertised.
Want to guess who lied the worst
I think over 10 lbs.
A 3.0 liter EFI Merc is heavier than a carb'd OMC
On the 8 on the Starflite, I came close on one in Fla that had a bunch of Land and Sea goodies screwed to the motor.
And actually, it's a way better balanced rig than you'd think.
The transoms hate em but the hull is big enough to carry it easy and IMO it's one of the few (smaller) boats that looks good with it on there.
An 8 will be the final chapter for my Starliner.
Consider that they have the torque of a small block Chevy, make 400 HP's on carbs easy and are near bullet proof when done right.
Even stock we used to see them all the time in Fla w/well over 1K hrs.
I sold Checkmates in '1989 and we had a Starliner w/a an Evinrude XP 300 V-8 w/power steering (on the motor, from the factory in 1989!) on a 6" jack plate.
I wasn't an open bow guy but I always thought that thing was THE best open bow I'd ever seen. It would bury the 80 MPH speedometer in the boat and if you could fly a vee bottom, on the pad, it was about as much fun as you could have w/your clothes on.
I remember demoing it for a customer comparing it to a Ski Nautique.
They wanted to know what it would do that the Nautique would not.
Took them to our local pond on a Sunday (!), rough as ****, wakes coming from every direction, 6 miles between bridges.
I lit it up, never lifted, one end to the other and back.
Got back to the ramp and said, "that's what a Nautique won't do".
Never seen two people more scared in my entire life
