90 ETEC on a Potter 20 CC???

[JohnC]

I have been lurking on this site for quite a while and I am impressed with the amount of knowledge that is shared. I am looking downsizing my current boat and getting a 20 Ft CC Seacraft – probably a project. It just seems like a good fit for the kind of fishing I do in S. Florida and the Gulf. I am a bit of a do-it-yourselfer and I would like to have a boat that is “of my own making” so to speak.
When I first started looking I thought (and still do) that an older “light” hull with a bracket and a Suzuki 140 was a good power option. After reading quite a bit about the motors this hull was designed for, and with my own experience with the way motor weight affect the ride, I am leaning towards the 90 ETEC on a bracket instead. I have owned a few boats and been on a few more and the ones that impress me the most are the ones that were properly balanced, not the ones with the most powerful motor. Fast is nice but smallish boats that are well balanced just seem to do everything well. My current ride is a Hydrasports 230 WA with a Yamaha 200 OX66. It’s a little over 24’ and well over 5K ready to fish and I can cruise at 25 – 28 and hit 42 – 44 WOT. I have been on the same boat with a Yamaha F250 and it really doesn’t do much better (it is a little faster WOT and gets better fuel economy but that is just the newer motor technology). I actually like the way my boat rides better with the smaller motor.
That being said, does anyone know how the Potter 20’s do with the 90 ETEC? I figure that setting a motor back 2’ from the transom is mechanically the same as adding weight to the transom so the 140 Suzuki at 410lbs + mechanical leverage + bracket weight may be pushing the limit. I wonder if the 90 ETEC is a better fit at 320lbs. I know there are folks here with 200’s on this hull and they don’t have a problem with it; I just think the best performance (fuel economy and ride) for my type of boating comes from optimal weight distribution. I go offshore quite a bit and I am a diver so the closed transom and bracket with a platform is a must have. I would also have a T-Top for 360 degree unobstructed fishing.
Any help would be appreciated.