Mate Fin Hunter Sportfishing www.moreheadcitysportfishingcharters.com
Shark:
I run a 2005 Johnson 4 stroke 225 HP (suzuki in OMC/Bombardier clothing). I have been burning only 22-27 gallons of fuel each time out to the stream for full day trips (93-143 round trip nautical miles out of MHC).
Did burn about 30 gallons or so last time out. Taking from the front quarter on the way out and right into it swell and wind on the way in. BOW down and tabs down. Most of the time its with a crew of 3 or 4 fully iced down and 3/4 to full tank of fuel.
Hope this helps with your decision.
BTW Still want that tagstick?
Let me preface this by saying I have a Merc 2 stroke on my duckboat and Cummins in the Hatteras, so I don't have experience with either Suzuki or Honda BUT I have friends with both. I don't think you could go wrong either way but I am hearing a LOT of really good things about the Suzuki's. Very efficient, good performance and I hear they are lighter than the Honda.
Can't really comment on the hondas. Never had one. My friends love theirs. I did, however, have a 140 Suzuki (4 cyl) on a 19ft bay boat for 10 yrs. As I'm sure you know, already owning a 200, I've never had a problem with it. Cranks on the first turn of the key still..
I'm pretty sure they both come with the same warrenty. And I too think the Suzukis may be a tad lighter. Either way - bot great engines...
Shark
Your current 2 strokes are quite a bit lighter than what your looking at ... I think your at around 470 lbs an engine. The 4 strokes are going to add at least a 100 lbs each ... the Honda, I think, is almost 600 lbs !!
I ve been on boats with both engines ... both are very nice. I've considered the Hondas. Some reviews I've recently seen on them really like the Hondas ..... BUT they will put a hurtin' and rock the savings account !!!
gotta jump on this one before i head to the shop....
those 4 strokes-yeah they're quiet,but think about this....
the newer generation of 2 strokes-the e-tecs as well as the tried and trusted yamaha hpdi...these engines have way fewer moving parts-think about this,less potential for failure on the 2 strokes,as well as less up keep...
i guess it's pretty apparent i don't like the 4 strokes.if i were you,i would check out the e-tecs if you reall believe you need to repower....
a quick note about longevity of the 2 stroke carb'd yamaha engines....i have a customer with '85 yamaha 150 carb'd engines,he just turned over 3,500 hrs-zero problems....i've never even had to replace the seals in the lower unit yet....if the engines you have are running great then why dump 'em????
I have both Honda 4 stokes and Suzuki 4 strokes on the survey boats. As far as dependability/reliability goes, its a crap shoot. The honda's have had a few more minor recall issues, but Honda has been great about the service. The one set of honda’s (130hp) are 2001 and have 3300 hours on them. No light amount of use. They are also used much more rigorously than if you where fishing them. Constant shifting, frequent groundings, debri laden operating zones, etc. Two months back with 3000 hours I finally had to replace both the port and starboard lower units. The gears and shift mechanism gave up the ghost. In the operating conditions encountered by our boats 3000 hours is a remarkable run for those lower units. Fuel economy is good, but true # are hard to give you since they are used far differently than on a fishing boat.
The suzuki’s are also good. We have a set of 115 hp suzuki’s on a privateer that we use in florida. They are 2002 and have 2700 hours on them . They are fine engines as well. They lead an even rougher life than the Hondas as we use the boat to do hdro surveys in the surf zone. They spend a good amount of time dredging sand and getting slammed with surf breaking over the cowlings. Even with continuous use and frequent abuse, they are still going strong, very little in the issues department.
If I can’t thrash a set of engines in my work enviroment, you should have very little to worry about. One note is that the Suzuki’s are considerably lighter than the honda’s…
Here is the deal, The engines had around 200 hrs on them when we bought them last year. Actually, a little under 200. They now have just under 500 on them and have honestly been a BREEZE to deal with. No real problems, just every day things that all boaters have to deal with.
My main problem is that I carry 200 gallons of fuel on my boat and I cannot get to 1000 fathoms in the washington, or run to the norfolk if that is where the bite is. I would like to be able to leave the dock, go where I want, and know that I have fuel to get me safely home. . .and I would also like to know that when i run to the jackspot or somewhere close, it wont cost me an arm and a leg.
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