with a Yanmar 3gm30 and I never heard him complain of lack of power. He cruised the Caribbean a couple times with her. I'm assuming that we're talking the same boat here; my friends was a sturdy double ender designed by Graeme Shannon (IIRC) built in BC. It was a nice boat with similar performance and dimensions to my Perry designed CheoyLee 35. BTW, when I repowered Bob suggested the 27hp Yanmar as appropriate and I find it plenty powerful for East coast waters (no big currents here). The 3" exhaust size sure drives up the costs so I can understand your hesitation but a bigger consideration for me would be if the other choices offer the same access to maintenence points on the motor. My old engine had awkward service points so this was a big issue for me. In any case, enjoy your new motor, ours is fantastic and I don't regret one penny of the cost!