Black Watch 25 Centre Console - Project Boat Update

Long-term readers will remember our 6.4m Pacific Sportfish was powered by twin 90hp Hondas and now it's our Black Watch 25's turn to receive some four-stroke power - this time twin fuel-injected 130s.

The Black Watch was nearing the end of its project period when Honda approached us with the idea of a re-power. We thought it would make some interesting reading. The fact that there was some uncertainty surrounding OMC's future at the time (since resolved - see news this issue) also weighed on our minds.

So a re-power - unbolt the Evinrudes and bolt on the Hondas, right? Wrong!

There were several issues to take into consideration prior to the re-power and none more important than the additional weight of the four-strokes.

Each 130hp Honda weighs around 43kg more than their 175hp two-stroke predecessors. With the pod providing just enough buoyancy to efficiently float the Evinrudes, some lateral thinking was needed before the heavier four-strokes were bolted on.

That's where resident naval architect, Editor-in-Chief and general dogsbody, Mike 'Sinkers' Sinclair came in and designed a new pod to provide enough buoyancy for the Hondas. (Is there anything this man cannot do?)

The Evinrudes were then ripped off at Boronia Marine in Melbourne and the Black Watch was sent to Deep-Vee Marine (the company which builds the BW25s, 26s, 30s and 34s under licence from Black Watch) on the Gold Coast for the facelift. Or, perhaps more apt, a bumlift.

The Black Watch returned to Melbourne nine days later with its new shorter and deeper pod and Boronia Marine set about installing the new Hondas.

For the record, the installations of both the pod and the Hondas went off without a hitch. No easy task, given they were both really re-installations.

We can report that Sinkers' sums must have been pretty close [Ed: ye of little faith] and the extra buoyancy the new pod delivers has the boat floating around 50mm higher at the rear.

Since the transplant took place it's been a on day of prop testing at the National Watersports Centre and then another rapid trip north to the Sydney Boat Show. Suffice it to say, it's been a little hectic. We'll write more about the goings on next issue...