hawg_hauler

Right on the money.

Late spawn season for most fish this year, all hatch is very small still. I always prefer small baits for walleye. Smaller baits equals more fish.

Just looked up a cowl for a 9.9merc, $560 w/o decals, probably another $100 for decals and then labour to install them. I'm afraid that $800 is reasonable, since Yamaha parts are always more money.

YES!

If you have a leak through the transom assembly, you should replace the driveshaft bellows, shift shaft bellows, exhaust bellows, gimbal bearing and shift cable if it has not been recently replaced (will most likely break trying to change the bellows anyway). You will also need an outdrive gasket kit to put the drive back on. This will save you a lot of unnecessary work in the future. Not a job recommended for someone who isn't very mechanically inclined. Greasable universal joints are a thing of the past, so unless your boat is ten years old or older don't worry about taking it apart to grease the drive shaft. Keep the gimbal greased though!

If your having a hard time getting good holeshot with a 13, a 14 (unless it is a four blade) won't help and a 15 would make matters even worse! There seems to be a lot of bad information in this thread, confusing at the least.

You will have to pay tax on the boat, it may not be today or even next year, but they will send a letter to you asking for proof that you paid the tax. Then they might even ask the seller and buyer questions. One wrong answer could lead to heavy fines and possible jail time! Do yourself a favor, PAY THE TAX!

Putting an aluminum prop on a 200 would be like driving a car with no tires!

Math lesson! Water pump=around $40. Opti Powerhead=$7500w/o labor=what should be an easy decision for most of us!

Change the gear oil at the end of the season, keep it greased (tilt and steering tubes). I would change the spark plugs next spring and do the water impeller annually. Opti's in my experience are more reliable than 4 strokes! Use good oil and get your gas from a tried and true source.

Why not take it back to the dealer. Should have a three year warranty.

What color is the smoke. White means steam, blue means oil. There should be no visible blue smoke during idling. Your opti should have no problem trolling all day, but invest in a temp gauge if you don't have one. Idling is the worst thing you can do to any engine. Fuel is harder to burn and engine runs hottest while idling.

Yes and no. Prop pitch should be based on the boat and the normal load that said boat would see. A guy that spends most of his time in the boat by himself would get away with a higher pitch than a family of four would in the same boat! This is especially so with smaller boats. you want to see max rpm or close to it under normal load and normal conditions in order for your motor to perform well. This also gets complicated with small engines as most manufactures supply props with engines under 25hp.

One important factor to keep in mind! There is a Mercury dealer on every corner in Ontario. The same can't be said for the competition. Summer is short and being able to get service and/or parts fast might be key in choosing your brand!

You don't, buyer beware when buying used!

Go with the two stroke, it's cheaper and it is five more horsepower. Both should come with a three year warranty (verify this with your dealer). You will get better performance from the two stroke. In my honest opinion, anyone who could have had the opportunity to take both engines out for a test on the same boat would pick the two stroke every time. They even run pretty quiet nowadays.

This year is the final build year for all Mercury two stroke carburetor engines from 20hp to 115hp. If engines were not ordered by dealers by July 1st they won't be getting any. The price for annual service to a four stroke would not be anymore than the amount of oil a two stroke is going to burn in a season.

First and foremost Mercury is my brand of choice, however with a two stroke direct injected outboard available in a 25hp model, I would have a hard time buying black. Two stroke direct injected engines run as clean if not cleaner than a slobbering four stroke carburetor engine (which the majority in this hp range would be). They use very little oil and are extremely good on fuel and you don't have to stand at the dock for five minutes while your engine warms up! In this case don't worry about the brand, go for the technology.

Sorry guys but if you read the wording correctly, Nipissing is right on the money. However, with that said I am not convinced it is an ignition failure. It may just be what the tech is telling you whats wrong, because he really doesn't know himself. Reeds on that block are very simple to check. Without witnessing what is happening, I think most would have a problem trying to properly diagnose your problem.

I have a 65# thrust powerdrive that I love. However, with that said I would much prefer a cable steer model as a lot of the fishing I do is shallow water. I have started to notice that the powerdrive model with its electronic steering is spooking many fish. If I had the money I would exchange it for a cable steer model for this very reason.

Don't use 90w in the lower unit, once again the additives package for automotive and marine are different, they are this way for a reason. Get the high performance gear oil from Mercury or Quicksilver, this stuff has the ability to mix with water which regular 90w doesn't. Can save you huge money in the end.

Pretty hard to change the heads on a 9.9/15 Merc. Is it really worth all the effort just to gain 5hp. I don't believe that you will find a conversion kit to do what you want from a dealer.

Stay away from the built-in antenna. Have heard nothing good about them.

If your gonna buy an outboard then leave it to Mercury, Yamaha, Suzuki or (I can't believe I am saying this) BRP. If you want my opinion buy Suzuki for quality and reliability, buy Mercury or Yamaha for reliability or settle for the BRP cause it looks nice.LOL

JohnnyB, we weren't having much luck until we started exploring new water. I have fished the Pike opener on Chandos Lake for the last 8 years and have always gone to the same spots. Totally different ballgame this year. Lots of unusual happenings this year, like the bass not in spawning mode yet! There is a tournament on the lake that almost every year sees someone bring in a 20lber. It is in June this year so I would imagine the weights will be a bit lower as the big girls start to descend to deeper water.