55hp 2 Stroke questions.....

[animaljosh]

First things first...

Hello to everyone,

I am a new owner of a fairly unique vessel (at least hard to find info on!) and have some questions...

outboard is a 55hp 2 stroke Yamaha outboard...nothing else on cowling or anywhere other than ID/info plates. No fancy names (Enduro or the like) anywhere to be seen, just a big fat 55 on rear of cowling. The entire motor appears well cared for and has not been altered in any apparent way (paint, stickers, etc...)
the plates on the power-head have the following information:

C 55 ELRR
663 LR 327109

from my research I have deduced that this means I have a C series 55hp manual tilt/electric start, long shaft, yr 1993, remote control...

questions:
1.) did I get my info correct? anything I missed? what exactly is a C series?

1.) Any thoughts on the outboard in general? Reliability, parts availability, fuel usage, etc.....any general info is better than nothing, and "opinions" are welcome! It runs perfect as far as I can tell...starts on first rotation even in cold weather and after sitting for weeks, has ample power and torque for my purposes, doesn't hesitate or miss......

2.) the motor is on a 17ft Wetsig CC well skiff... What is that you are probably asking? In short, its a coastal NC purpose built and designed net boat (small shrimp trawl, gill net, set net, crab pot, etc....) I'd like to know the possibility of converting it to short shaft (15") to gain a shallower draft. Seems to draft a little less than 16" at present, and less when on plane of course, but around here the shallower the better. Is a 15" shaft available, ever made, etc???

3.) on the draft subject....what is a GENERAL draft of a fairly heavy built fiberglass semi-flat bottom skiff. I mean merely in gear and barely making way how shallow can I expect to run in....in other words, how deep is the bottom of the skeg from the bottom of the craft in the "normal" world??? I know this varies, just looking for a GENERAL rule of thumb here for a base line

Hopefully I'll get some info from you guys. This is my personal first Yamaha outboard and I am hoping I didn't just buy a heap of scrap aluminum!!!!

Thanks and look forward to hearing from you guys...

[99yam40]

just like any other outboard the cavitation plate should be about even with the bottom of the boat hull. Some boats with tunnels or pockets can be higher or even on a jack plate to be able to raise and lower motor as needed for running shallow

[animaljosh]

have explored the option of a jack plate, but the offset from "transom" (er, the well transom at any rate...is there an actual name for this) caused by the plate set-back is too great to fit the well... There is precious little room and cutting the well back will result in too many detrimental results. Anybody know if this particular series, model, er whatever was produced in a short shaft (15") version? If so what are the chances of finding the bottom end and switching it out? I am not right in front of it, but if memory serves there is no "extension" making it a 20", but rather a single piece unit. I'll have to check there....

Anybody want to share known reliable parts suppliers for this thing?