chf

Hi everyone.

I was going through the past posts and could not find anything to help me.

I have a Ryobi 30cc motor from a 'weed eater/ whippy snipper'. How do I go about converting it for use in a boat and what size boat can I put it in?

Kind regards.

Tidnab

My Feedback: (51)

If it's one that had the grey housing ,it's one of the newer ones that are 4 ports.It already has a square flex drive and you can cut down the original flex shaft.If you want to run it air cooled and in an open boat with no hatch cover,that will work.First thing is to put on a bigger carb such as a Walbro WA167 with a 11.11 venturi or if you're going to mod it ,a WT257 with a 12.7 venturi will work.I have a carb on my modded Ryobi 30cc that is equal in size to the 257 and it runs great. If it's going to get modded you will want to water cool it and cut off any unneccesary plastic fron the engine.Other things can be done such as lightening and balancing the flywheel,lightening the piston and golf balling it.If you're going to use the original muffler,gut it and drill two 1/2" holes in the top and braise a 1/2" brass tube about 3" long to each hole.You can make mounts yourself or get them from www.majorsmackdown.com He also has water cooling and exhaust parts for your engine as it's the same as the Homelites.As far as size of a boat I'd go with 45" or larger,although some have put them in smaller hulls,but with the weight and size of the engine,handling might be an issue.

chf

HI.
Thanks for the advise. I have got the plans for a 48" deep V', I need something that can handle a few waves.
 I am only going to water cool it and maybe lighten it up a bit. I don't have all the tools to do major work. I will do as you say with the exhaust/muffler. I don't know enough about tuned pipes to go into that yet.

Is the WA a 'big bore' carb? I am assuming that all the hols line up as it would for a homelite. Another thing about the carb that I see in the first photo, what is the clear/blue plastic. I was planning on using a basic card cone filter.

I have discovered that there is no clutch, or it is rusted. I picked the weed eater up from someones skif. The motor seems to run quite well with no hiccups or surges.

Thanks again for your advise. I will start posting picks once I have everything I need for the project.
 

Tidnab

My Feedback: (51)

WA and WT carbs come in a variety of sizes,but don't know if the WA 167 would be classified as a big bore.It's bigger than the original one on the Ryobi 30cc,but going to big can hurt performance on a stock motor.The plastic thing is called a resonator.It uses the spitback of the carb to kind of supercharge the engine.It only works on a motor with a canisted or stock muffler.It also acts as a cover so the carb doesn't suck in water that spashes toward it and gives you a little more time in a flip or roll over to shut down the engine before water is sucked into the engine and causes damage.

rangerfredbob

My Feedback: (13)

if you aren't going to do any engine mods, leave it air cooled, it's easier and works...

OLD_SLOW and in the WAY

ryobi's had rev limited coils at 9500 rpm if you can find an older homelite coil they weren't rev limited