BigShark,

I would think very hard about not going 4 stroke on the main power. The reasons are weight, size, fuel economy, and new tech. The weight is out of control not to mention the size. How in the world could you mount a 9.9 and 225 4 stroke next to each other and not have them hit? Let alone mount rod holders. Have you ever backtrolled with a 225 or 250? My expierance has been that the motor is so large that you can't see your rod and that is with conventional 2 stroke efi motors. How about fighting fish in the rear of the boat? Try moving with a chinook or large sturgeon on over and around one of these big *******s, its not for rookies. Fuel economy has been another misconspection about these large 4 strokes. That motor in the rpm ranges of 4,500 to 5,000 burns between 14 and 19 gallons per hour. Those numbers are maybe a gallon or 2 better per hour than conventional 2 strokes. Furthermore, the jet manufacturer has not been able to find an impellar to work right in either the yamaha or honda. The reality is the technology is to new let them go on few guide boats and government rigs. See what happens. If it were my money I would have a 200 carb with high flow pump. Parts and service are easy to find and cheaper to fix. As far as boat wants go I would examine the bottoms much more before making a decision. The north river is not a one piece bottom. They weld the pad in the bottom. It's the same bottom they use in the inboards. Watch the boat run and backtroll if you get a chance. They push a pad of water when back trolling and never run truly clean. The design of a variable deadrise in this type of boat has not been perfected. Every manufacture has tried to build this hull and result is that the boats all do the same thing BOW STEER .. The side height request you have is an opiton that AWB needs to offer, however they are not going to change this model year. Your deadrise request also needs closer examination. The jet manufacture specifies that in order for the unit to work properly the bottom needs to be between 6 and 10 degrees. "Deeper vees are are not desirable for the outboard jet, not just because of increased draft and drag, but because the outboard jet needs a flat apron of water about 10" wide leaving the hull on which to set the leading edge of the jet intake, to mimimize air intake and frontal drag. The deadrise should be fairly constant and not to increase to a deep forefoot at the bow. A deep forefoot can cause spinout in sharp cornering and bow steering" The willie boats has done a good job in building a open boat that performs well. However it is a multiple piece bottom with 12 degree deadrise. The other issue with the willie is the side flair. The side hieghts would be negated by the flair. Just some food for thought. hope this helps.