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I purchased a complete SE106 Friday Sept 15, 2006 at 4pm.
Picked it up at their office and was really impressed with the facility and people I dealt with! Very courteous and professional.
I installed the drive Saturday and it went together well! No serious problems. Tested it for about an hour on land with a hose connection. The temp stayed where it's always been. There was no whining, it shifted very smooth.
I checked the oil, no water. Everything looked great, so I launched the boat. Between Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening, I cruised the boat around Boca Ciega Bay, following the break-in procedures, for about 7 hours. The temp was fine, no whining, and it shifted great.
The last 15 minutes, feeling pretty confident on how well it was working, and on my way home from John's Pass, I went about 1/2 throttle for the first time. 1800 RPM.
I was really amazed at how quickly the boat came up on plane, with little to no trim adjustment. And it was reading about 5 mph faster at 2000RPM than it did with the old Mercruiser drive I replaced. I actually pulled back on it because it has never taken off like that.
I don't know if it's the new drive or the fact the old outdrive had a Sting Ray Hydrofoil Stabilizer on it that I did not put on the new drive.
Probably a combination of the two. Either way, I like IT! The boat is much more responsive at lower RPM'S than ever before. It might sound stupid, but I could hear the motor wasn't working as hard as before. And it was proven by a whole lot less fuel consumption.
After a few more hours of "cruising" when I get home from work this week, I plan on pulling the boat out this weekend and doing the 10 hour oil change and adjust the shift cables just a little.
I am extremely happy with my decision to buy a Sterndrive Engineering SE106. When I stripped out my old drive I was really wondering what I was going to do. My boat is a 1987 Four Winn's Freedom 160. It's in great shape, a fresh motor, but even on it's best day, even if everything in all the heavens aligned, it's not worth a whole lot. Because of the great condition, $3000-3500, maybe $4500 if the right nut walked by with some distorted emotional attachment or other mental problems...
Spending $2000+ for a rebuilt outdrive on-line? Never mind $5000 for a new one, I was really questioning the future of the boat.
I'm very mechanical and would have no problem rebuilding a drive. When I started pricing out parts on-line to rebuild my old drive, to do it right, I was easily over $1000. Then there's the specialty tools to do it correctly, about $250 on EBAY. And then there's my time, alot of time. Truth be told, the twenty plus hours it'd take me to acquire the parts and tools on-line, screw around, disassemble and reassemble it. I'd have way more in it than buying a new SE106. And, NO WARRANTY!
I really want to thank everyone at Sterndrive Engineering. Offering a $1200 complete drive is much more than you know. Even from a guy that's rebuilt almost anything you could think of.
It's the difference of me being back out on the water I love last weekend and seeing my boat tied up to the dock, ready to go, when I get home at night.
Or pulling in my driveway every day after work, trying to get around the boat on a trailer. Thinking about whether or not to dispose of it. Is it worth spending $3000 on a $3000 boat?
You offer a $1200 solution to alot of boaters problem. Very reasonable for a new product and a warranty. Peace of mind, knowing 6 months from now I won't have to be deciding, if it goes out again, do I put another couple thousand in the boat???
From what I've seen and read, I have no fears that you'll back your product and make it right.
Which leaves me with my only complaint. As I logged on tonite, I read the warranty changed over the weekend???
If I had any clue the warranty would change from 1 year to 3 years, 3 days after I bought it, I would have waited the 3 days to buy it...
Thank you! You got me out on the water, with out having to rebuild a drive with no AC! You saved me alot of time, money, and more importantly, frustration.
Steve
Picked it up at their office and was really impressed with the facility and people I dealt with! Very courteous and professional.
I installed the drive Saturday and it went together well! No serious problems. Tested it for about an hour on land with a hose connection. The temp stayed where it's always been. There was no whining, it shifted very smooth.
I checked the oil, no water. Everything looked great, so I launched the boat. Between Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening, I cruised the boat around Boca Ciega Bay, following the break-in procedures, for about 7 hours. The temp was fine, no whining, and it shifted great.
The last 15 minutes, feeling pretty confident on how well it was working, and on my way home from John's Pass, I went about 1/2 throttle for the first time. 1800 RPM.
I was really amazed at how quickly the boat came up on plane, with little to no trim adjustment. And it was reading about 5 mph faster at 2000RPM than it did with the old Mercruiser drive I replaced. I actually pulled back on it because it has never taken off like that.
I don't know if it's the new drive or the fact the old outdrive had a Sting Ray Hydrofoil Stabilizer on it that I did not put on the new drive.
Probably a combination of the two. Either way, I like IT! The boat is much more responsive at lower RPM'S than ever before. It might sound stupid, but I could hear the motor wasn't working as hard as before. And it was proven by a whole lot less fuel consumption.
After a few more hours of "cruising" when I get home from work this week, I plan on pulling the boat out this weekend and doing the 10 hour oil change and adjust the shift cables just a little.
I am extremely happy with my decision to buy a Sterndrive Engineering SE106. When I stripped out my old drive I was really wondering what I was going to do. My boat is a 1987 Four Winn's Freedom 160. It's in great shape, a fresh motor, but even on it's best day, even if everything in all the heavens aligned, it's not worth a whole lot. Because of the great condition, $3000-3500, maybe $4500 if the right nut walked by with some distorted emotional attachment or other mental problems...
Spending $2000+ for a rebuilt outdrive on-line? Never mind $5000 for a new one, I was really questioning the future of the boat.
I'm very mechanical and would have no problem rebuilding a drive. When I started pricing out parts on-line to rebuild my old drive, to do it right, I was easily over $1000. Then there's the specialty tools to do it correctly, about $250 on EBAY. And then there's my time, alot of time. Truth be told, the twenty plus hours it'd take me to acquire the parts and tools on-line, screw around, disassemble and reassemble it. I'd have way more in it than buying a new SE106. And, NO WARRANTY!
I really want to thank everyone at Sterndrive Engineering. Offering a $1200 complete drive is much more than you know. Even from a guy that's rebuilt almost anything you could think of.
It's the difference of me being back out on the water I love last weekend and seeing my boat tied up to the dock, ready to go, when I get home at night.
Or pulling in my driveway every day after work, trying to get around the boat on a trailer. Thinking about whether or not to dispose of it. Is it worth spending $3000 on a $3000 boat?
You offer a $1200 solution to alot of boaters problem. Very reasonable for a new product and a warranty. Peace of mind, knowing 6 months from now I won't have to be deciding, if it goes out again, do I put another couple thousand in the boat???
From what I've seen and read, I have no fears that you'll back your product and make it right.
Which leaves me with my only complaint. As I logged on tonite, I read the warranty changed over the weekend???
If I had any clue the warranty would change from 1 year to 3 years, 3 days after I bought it, I would have waited the 3 days to buy it...
Thank you! You got me out on the water, with out having to rebuild a drive with no AC! You saved me alot of time, money, and more importantly, frustration.
Steve