Does anyone have any experience with a Yamaha CV30? I want to buy a new Yamaha 30hp engine, however the extra weight of the Yamaha 30 DMHS is of concern to me. I'm putting the outboard on an Arancia A380.

Hi there, I have the 30D on the back of my boat and it runs very well. only weighs in around 60kgs, cant imagine that would be too much weight?

Yamaha 30CV on Arancia Hulls go brilliant! Mate has them on old surf boats with prop gaurd etc and go awesome.
If loaded up regularly maybe look at changing the prop., I just wouldn't see the advantage of paying extra for the 3cyl on that setup considering the Merc 30hp (2cyl also) is on all surf boats and they do heaps of hours nationwide, a 2cyl 30 will be ample.

Thanks everyone for your comments - all very helpful.
I'm certainly aware that the Yamaha 30D is a better outboard than the 30CV - however I'm wanting to keep the weight down over the transom. The reason for this is that sometimes I'll be using the boat by myself in the surf on the west coast - so less weight on transom will make it easier to get off the trailer in surf, and help keep the bow of the boat down when going over broken waves.
Penty - sometimes we will be loading the boat up with a heap of dive gear and going out through the surf - can I ask why you suggest changing the prop if loading the boat up?
I know the Mercury 30MLW that the surf clubs use would do the trick, but I the Yamaha outboards I have owned previously have been awesome and I would prefer to get one again, hence why I'm looking closely at the lighter weight Yamaha 30CV. I had read mixed online reviews on them

The extra weight difference certainly wouldn't put me off the 3cyl, unless I was having to take it on and off all the time, and even then the 2cyl isn't the lightest of things. The 3 cyl starts, idles and runs better, as well as having more torque, which I would want in a surf launching condition.. More instant acceleration.. especially with gear onboard.

If you're worried about the bow being light heading out, just fill a couple of heavy duty bags with sand, put them in bow, then once clear of surf, can empty sand over the side ;)

If money is an issue go for the teeth wrecker. If you going for a 2, i agree the merchatsu is a good option.

Thanks Blindspot, great to hear from someone that has an Arancia IRB with a 30D. The $ weren't the issue, it was the extra weight I was concerned about. Have you ever launched your rig in the surf by yourself, if so how easy was it to get off the trailer with 1 person?

if you are doing long range missions then the comfort of a 3cyl will be substantially noticeable.  if its just ripping out a few KMs, who cares.

comparing the 2 in real life would be the ultimate, not always possible unfortunately. but if you can get to a 3cyl you can compare it to most 2cyls and get the difference in torque and smoothness. only you can judge whether its worth the extra cost though. best of luck.