Outboard advice

[kennneee]

Hi Guys,
I am building an Outerbanks 26 which has a lot of similarities to the Great Alaskan.  The designer calls for a 90hp outboard.  This boat is not intended to travel as fast as the GA.  I am about to pull the trigger on an Outboard and would love any input.  My knowledge of modern outboards is pretty limited and I am sure most of know more than I do about this subject.
Long story short,  my choices have come down to a Suzuki 90 or either of 2 Yamahas. Yamaha has a standard 90 and a brand new 90VMAX SHO which is supposed to have more punch that the standard model.  I am leaning towards the VMAX SHO and would welcome any input.  Fuel economy, quiet and reliability are pretty important considerations for me.  I had a dealer give me a great price on the VMAX which is only a few hundred bucks more than the standard model.
Thanks in advance.
Ken

[Todd j]

Well I am certainly no expert.  I can tell you about my own experiences.  I have boats.  I do not yet have a GA, but I am getting a building together to start construction.  Anyway...
I did a speed run through your build just to see the photos.  It looks like your the first for this hull design. 
What is the transom weight rating?   Start there.  I tend to use the largest Outboards  the law will allow.  I won't go into why. If my memory serve me right the GA plans use 1 hp per 40 pounds of boat.  I didn't look it up for the purposes of this post.  If I'm wrong  Brian or anyone please correct me.  That puts you at 3600 pounds for 90 hp.
   Your boat is gorgeous and it looks like you are going to be well equipped.  It is too bad there are no others to draw experiences from.   Rambling...   I would want more hp on a similarly equipped GA based solely on what other builds look like. 

[kennneee]

Todd- Thanks for the reply.  No actual rating for the transom but the designer, Graham Byrnes, specs out a 90 hp for this boat.  The finished displacement should be around 3,300 lbs which fits the formula you mentioned.
Thanks for the kind words.
Here is a link to build photos.
https://goo.gl/photos/42vU3BKQDsnMxbPp9

[Todd j]

There is a thread just below this one that is a good read.  I don't know if it helps or not.  It does have a post from the designer of the GA with his hp to weight recommendations.   

[kennneee]

Thanks Todd!