Which Outboard?

[doubleheader]

The truth is most any choice can be the right one depending on personal preference. I've had Mercs and Hondas and I now have a Merc Verado- all have been great. I'm sure E-Tec, Yamaha, and Suzuki are also excellent choices.

All this Bull on how fast one goes compared to another or fuel economy is somewhat trivial and almost always biased in my mind. Reliability is the most critical feature- period. Personally I like the 4- strokes. The comment that they haven't been around that long is untrue- my 1997 Honda 50 is a 4 stroke and it still runs great. In 10 years I had one problem. The flywheel came apart 2 years out of warranty and Honda covered it 100%.

I would, however, suggest fuel injection. I've heard great things about the new Honda 90 hp. Hondas are bullet proof for sure and they are great at standing behind their products. Make sure whatever you buy you can get serviced to your satisfaction. In other words do your homework on the dealer. Last, look for some great incentives like free extended and/or transferable warranties (read the warranty details as they are not all the same).

[corvette1]

i know they all break but i would like more than two years just my opinion

[doubleheader]

Corvette1, I couldn't agree more. One of the reasons I bought my Verado was a 6 year warranty. Bigcreekdad, beware of people that slam other brands. Most of the time there is an agenda.

[EVINRUDE-DUDE]

your going to need that 6yr warranty and i hope you have a big bank account for the gas consumption.The Verados are gas pigs.No agenda here just letting people know the truth because you won't here from mercury.HIDDEN AGENDA THAT"S LAUGHABLE. ENJOY YOUR BIG BLACK ANCHOR LOL !!!!!!!!!!

[corvette1]

thanks doubleheader i think a verado will be on my next pro-v 40% better gas my freind is buying two 250 verados for lake

[corvette1]

for lake erie

[Tybo]

First I would like to start by saying, the E-tec is all hype.

 

A friend of my that money is no object owned a 2025 Lund pro V.

It was a 2000 with a 225 Opti on it.

 

Beginning of last season he bought the same boat,with a 225 E-tec.

 

Not long ago we were talking.

He tells me that his E-tec has lower fuel efficiency,less power then his Opti and runs like

dirt in the rain.

He tell me that he like the engine. theres truly nothing wrong with it.

The only thing that peeves him, is how much the salesman kept telling how better this engine

was over the merc.

Then he joke. They must have compared there E-tec to a regular merc 2 stroke.

I have tendencies too believe this man. For he puts over 150 hours on the engine a year.

 

True engine efficiency does not come from the engine,but the prop you use.

A stainless is better then aluminum. A cleave over stainless .A four blade over three.

 

Merc will also sell more engines then all the other manufactures will build.

[doubleheader]

E.D. have you read many posts on the site? Generally folks try to get along. We all have our preferences, some as a result of personal experience, some from trusted friends and acquaintances, some for no reason at all other than it's what they believe, but for the most part folks express their opinion and personal bias(that means preference) without feeling the need to attack another person's opinion. It's called maturity. As for the gas my Verado uses here's the deal- I can afford it dude. And guess what, if I don't like my boat or motor I'll get rid of it because.... you guessed it, I can afford it. I have no agenda, I'm not a boat dealer, just a guy responding to a guy with a question. You on the other hand are in need of help before you can help someone else.

[EVINRUDE-DUDE]

OF COURSE MERCURY WILL SELL MORE ENGINES THEY OWN EVERY ALUMINUM BOAT COMPANY EXCEPT FOR FOUR.DO YOU REALLY THINK IT IS FAIR THAT A COMPANY FORCES YOU TO BY THEIR MOTOR ? THE LEGEND THREAD COMES TO MIND.YOU ARE AWARE OF COURSE THAT THE VERADO CANNOT BE FIXED AT A DEALER BECAUSE IT MUST BE FIXED AT THE FACTORY WITH A COMPUTER.OH YEAH I FORGOT MONEY IS NOT AN ISSUE I SURE HOPE NOT LOL !WHERE IS THE PERSONAL ATTACK BY THE WAY I GUESS IGNORANCE REALLY IS BLISS.

[Terry]

oh and

 

 

my dad can beat up your dad

[tonyb]

So Brunswick Marine owns Mercury and Lund right? Why is it that I can put a Honda on the back of a Lund?

 

Does Brunswick also own Honda?

 

Tony

[Headhunter]

TILLER!

HH

[ecmilley]

I would think the 4-strokes have been around near long enough to determine there reliability, a 4 -stroke will outlive a 2 stroke and uhem a 2 stroke will always use more oil than a 4 stroke engine , no mix required i don't mind any of the outboards available today but if slammings required i really wouldn't trust my hard earned cash to any brp product, seeing most of my friends 2-stroke sleds have a hard time getting 2500 km out of them without frying a crank withe either power-tek or sdi controls how much different can a outboard be from brp? let them show me some quality with a machine they have been building for the masses since 1961 i believe i maybe i would buy into that e-tech technology.

At this point after sampling the available technologys on the water. snow ect, i would say 4 stroke technology is just as good if not better than 2-stroke technology and it's here to stay

[boatman]

4 stroke technology is definately here to stay. Its been around as long as we've had outboards. Its only really been the last 20-30 years that the technology has become viable. However, to say that a 4 stroke outboard will outlive a 2 stroke is a bit of an overstatement. Only time will tell. There are outboards still in service that are approaching 100 years old. I have several from the 1950's that run like new and have never been rebuilt.

 

You may prefer 4 stroke, but it hasn't proven to be superior, yet. If it was then all outboards of all hp ranges would be 4 stroke and we wouldn't question it. I certainly don't mind 4 strokes. In fact, I was saddened to hear that BRP is letting the Johnson (4 stroke) line of outboards die. If I was to buy a new 4 stroke outboard I'd get a Yamaha or a Honda even if Johnson was still building them - actually Suzuki was building them. Mercury's will all be Tohatsu's (probably) soon enough.

 

Also, snow machines and outboards are too different to be compared. Snow machines just don't hold up like outboards.

[fishdawg]

In fact, I was saddened to hear that BRP is letting the Johnson (4 stroke) line of outboards die. If I was to buy a new 4 stroke outboard I'd get a Yamaha or a Honda even if Johnson was still building them - actually Suzuki was building them. Mercury's will all be Tohatsu's (probably) soon enough.

 

didnt know they were gonna stop making them. I am the original owner of an '04 30 hp 4 stroke Johnson tiller. Love it, not a single hiccup yet.... I plan on keeping it for a very long time... hopefully aqiring parts for maintenance wont be difficult later on.....

[irishfield]

AS FOR THE VERADO BY MERCURY DO ANY OF YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH GAS THESES MOTORS BURN.275 VERADO IS 2MILES TO THE GALLON LOL !!!

 

Absolute Bull...my 275 Verado burns 12.2 Gallons/hour at 42MPH on a 2150 Baron. That is less than 0.3 gallons per mile. AT WOThrottle it burns 35 gallons per hour and I'm doing 61 MPH...max burn is thus about a half gallon a mile. I've used less fuel this year....with more time/distance on the water...than I did last year with my 115HP 2 stroke Johnson on a 17' boat. Hasn't used a drop of oil since it's first 10 hours break in.

 

...and by the way..how many Evinrude/Johnsons did you have blow up on warrantee this year. Temagami Marine had 9 brand new BRP engines blow their power heads this season. Warrantee's great...but doesn't do much for the cottager up for 2 or 3 weeks with no boat.

 

The previous 2 years it was the larger Hondas with issues. Haven't seen a Merc torn apart on the floor there yet.

 

..and can I hazard a guess that Evinrude-dude = Spectaculure

Edited September 27, 2007 by irishfield

[Marc Thorpe]

Mercury is the Crysler of the boat world.Let's buy everything thing and then ruin the quality buy trying to make them cheaper.Cheaper parts make cheaper motors !!!

 

really I would not say that

I own a Dodge and I run Merc,Ive runned Optimax's and Verado's

Lets see how many hours and miles Ive done

3335 000 km on my dodge and 1000's of miles on all my merc's

Pretty cheap in the long run if I tally up the repairs and probs Ive had,which are insignificant

 

I would have to say,You really do not know what your talking about

 

In a competive and comparative market no one is the best

[Marc Thorpe]

oh and

my dad can beat up your dad

 

Ya but I beat up others for my Dad,so its me you gotta face

[Terry]

chuck liddell offered to stand up for my dad, so I said I would sit this one out

[Randy]

I replaced my 11 year old 50 HP evinrude 2-stroke this year with a new e-tec. I'm pleased with the quietness of the engine and the total absence of smoke. I'm especially pleased with the significant reduction in the amount of fuel I burn. I haven't taken any measurements but it seems I'm using about half the fuel I used to compared to the old 2 stroke. I bought my e-tec this past winter and got the 7 year warranty. It was the warranty that sold me.

 

The big reductions in fuel and no smoke mean big reductions in emissions. My effort for global warming.

[Tybo]

So if Merc is a Chrysler and their suppose to be crap?

 

Why do you see so many Neons and older mini vans on the road.

 

 

No one is saying E-tec's are junk.

What I see is that they don't match up to BRP makes them out to be.

 

I have read some independent testing results and not one said that the

E-tec is a better engine then the Opti, but a equal.

The one thing that the reports said is that they are not as fuel efficient.

the reports on the net, you just have to look.

[PERCHER]

So if Merc is a Chrysler and their suppose to be crap?

 

Why do you see so many Neons and older mini vans on the road.

No one is saying E-tec's are junk.

What I see is that they don't match up to BRP makes them out to be.

 

I have read some independent testing results and not one said that the

E-tec is a better engine then the Opti, but a equal.

The one thing that the reports said is that they are not as fuel efficient.

the reports on the net, you just have to look.

It wont help TYBO he is blinded by Evinrude .And everything else is junk especaily Mercs.