Ok im hoping to have a good discussion here and get some great info going on to help me and others.
What outboards motors would you choose and why ?
Also im very interested in hearing info on honda , i have grown up using honda products and loved everything i have ever bought cars ,dirt bikes street bikes , generators , mowers but what is up with honda marine we dont hear much about them but i know they are around.
Well John,
I'm sure you already know what my answer is! But I'll let everyone else know! E-TEC'S!!!!! I have not had one problem with them at all! Right now there is probably over 600 hrs on them!
John
I agree with you about honda being sweet. Through their whole product line they are top shelf stuff. I've run em on one of Earnhardts boats and you had to check the tachs to see if they were running because they are so quiet. I have a buddy that runs some big ones on a regulator and he swears by them. He uses that boat to run from Palm Beach to Nassau 170 miles away a few times a year so that shows faith
Now that I have laid out what I have observed with honda I'm gonna answer your question....
Yamaha... Pure and simple they are my choice. Yes the Honda is nice but getting service can be tough. Yammies have a serviceman most any place you go. Then past that they just don't get a lot of problems. I am in marinas with outboard service racks near me a couple hundred days a year. I get to see what is getting worked on and also get a feel for what percentage of that product is represented.
The yammie 2 strokes seldom show on the racks. Their four strokes were on the racks in the beginning but that is now a thing of the past. I see the e-tecs in some numbers (usually at about 1000 hrs), some honda, suzuki, fill in a spot or two. I know you have black hung on your boat. I love the rig and you but honestly I see more verados and opti max than any others out there. Also I hate to say that I see a lot of new ones replacing the blown ones...
I have 4860 hours on my little yammie115 and runs still like new. Thats diesel kind of life. My 225 excells ran 4100 and 3900 respectively. The 3900 hr one was still running fine before the boat went down at the dock.
I just came off a tripple rig with 250's and 1.4 MPG was a real number for them, so I'm impresed. I won't post your numbers here that I was watching over your shoulder at SJ but you know them. The boat I ran early last week also had them but just a pair. We did a 67 mile run out, a few hours of trolling and 91 back to the beach. The saddle tanks (40 each) were half spent and we sucked about 60 out of the center tank. So thats like a hundred gallons for a long hard trip.
The milage and reliability screams "Go grey" for the charter game. Down time sucks and I havn't had any of that with mine...
john,
when I repowered I went with yamaha hpdi's. Why, because I knew guys that were using them and regulary catching Bft's and marlins. I also considered yami 4 strokes, like the beast has, but i was afraid they wouldn't fit in the motor well.
If they didn't fit I would have had to glass in the back and buy a bracket, which would have put another 3-4 grand on there that I didn't have.
If you look down the row of boat in a marina. 9 out of 10 will have Yamahas.
OHHH yeah one more thing.....they can burn 87 or 89 octane.
Last edited by Sea Draggin; 07-31-2006 at 06:48 PM.
One man's opinion but you really can't go wrong with ANY of the current crop of outboards out there, DFI 2-stroke, 4-stroke carb, or 4-stroke EFI. Go to some of those "other" boards and you see all the childish stupid-ass arguing and postulating that goes on.....kinda hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when you read all that stuff.
I have faith in and would install ANY of the following engines on a boat I owned:
The last four outboards I have owned have been Mercury but that was mostly due to having huge Merc dealerships nearby. If those dealerships had been Yammi, Suzuki, or otherwise, I likely would have gone with another brand. Still, the Merc's served me well but so would ANY of the above brands and technologies. Guam has a little of all these brands and one thing remains a constant:
1. Irregardless of brand, those who take of their equipment (no matter what brand) usually get long life and few headaches
2. Irregardless of brand, those who abuse and/or fail to maintain equipment will pay the price.
Of course there are exceptions to this rule but it still is a fairly accurate rule.
for a balancing act I would go lighter weight or 2 stroke, or load the nose and use a four stroke. Suzuki 250's @ 580 lbs/per. Yamaha 250 @ 603 lbs/per. Honda 225 @ 610 lbs/per.....what and who is in your service area is where i would go when choosing
With todays outboards, I dont care who's it is, are a quality unit. Every dealer, again I dont care which brand it is will have one problem child. You just have to hope that its not yours. With that said I would purchase the brand that has a strong service dealership in the area you use the boat. Now as for the 2 stroke - 4 stoke. I am a 2 stroke person. Even the kids 4 wheeler's are 2 strokes. You can not give me a 4 stroke. Its the same as the Ford, Chevy, Dodge, debate. If I was looking for a outboard I would look at what I was after. Fast, Light, Fuel Efficent, Quiet, Clean, Easy Maintance. It points to all of todays outboards. But one stands out above the rest. The Evinrude ETEC. It gives you everyting the 4 strokes offers plus more. Yes I am a dealer for them but if you look at them and compare them you will see that.
Well looks like i am going to go against the flow here as i am a Mercury man. Why? because we bought a boat in 1984 w/ a 1983 Merc 200 on it. ran perfect up to 1994 when we sucked an ice bag over the water intakes at speed that hasd just been thrown over by some inconsiderate head on a head boat at bowers beach. went and got a new 1994 merc 200 put on and that is on the boat today that i have for sale in the classified section of this board. sea trialed it last week for a guy and it ran perfect. i bought a new boat in 2001 and it has a 250 EFI merc on it. it has also performed flawlessly since new and is decent in the gas mileage. i also have a 40 hp merc on my duck boat that is a 1993 and it still has the original plugs in it and runs super also. i do believe that once you have good luck w/ something it is hard to change. also i have a good service dealer in my area in Almars in new castle, del.
One point on the DFI 2-stroke candidates if you decide to go with that technology (Opti/E-tec). The Opti requires a very strong battery to run without problems (1,000cca). Some would say this is a non-issue and if I were dead-set on going with Opti, I would probably be in that camp. Still, to be be fair, this ought to be considered. Bottom line on this is....if you had a weak or dead battery, the E-tec would get you home where the Opti would not. My blood generally "runs black" but to be fair, this is a consideration.
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