Brand of motor

[Notime]

I am in the market for a new boat. I have not decided 100% on a brand but I am leaning towards an Alumacraft fitted with a Yamaha or an Evinrude. I would also be looking at a Crestliner but I have never had a Mercury motor. I am looking for a rig about 17 feet long and a 90 HP in 4 stroke. Several years ago if you bought a Crestliner it left the factory with a Mercury pre-rig and you had to purchase a pre-rig in the brand of motor you wanted for extra, not sure if it is still that way but if it is I really do not want the extra cost or hassle. Are there any issues with Mercury motors? Are they as quiet as the Yamaha and Evinrudes? Is the fuel economy comparable? I do understand that the Evinrudes are 2 strokes. I have also heard that the Suzuki's have been pretty good, super quiet and good economy. Thanks in advance for any input!

[delcecchi]

I, and the folks I know that have them, really like their Suzukis.  

 

But, honestly, I haven't heard anything bad about the 4 strokes from any manufacturer.   The Optimax and Ficht/etec had issues back in the day and I don't see much around about them.  

 

If it were me, I would go with any brand of EFI four stroke.  The convenience and quality of the dealer is probably more important than the brand of motor, although there might be some weight etc differences among 90s. 

 

One other thing is to get close to the HP the boat is rated at.   Don't try to save a few bucks and get something underpowered you won't be happy with in the long run.  

 

 

[RebelSS]

Uh, you do know the Ficht and the ETEC are two strokes, right?

[Ufatz]

Suzuki outboards are great!  Dependable and fuel efficient and quiet. Same with Yamaha but you might be able to get a Suzzzy for a few dollars less. I just sold a Crestliner Fish Hawk I had for ten years with a 110 HP Yamaha on it.  Never had a problem with the boat and the Yamaha was usually running by the time I could get my hand off the start key!!!

Don't be afraid to put up with some extra dollars and some annoyance to get the Yamaha engine-you'll never regret it. Or a Suzuki. Have had several small Suzuki's we hauled around in boats and planes and trucks and they started every time and ran all day.

Have fun.

[RebelSS]

Suzuki built the powerheads for the Evinrudes and Johnson's some years back. Don't know if they still do, but I'd pop for a Suzuki any day.

[BoxMN]

I am a black motor fan, and my 82 50hp and 97 150efi and a 2012 60hp four stroke (over 100 hours a year on my pontoon), all that get used a ton, and never been in the shop. I advise all my friends to get Mercs, and none have been disappointed. (One Verado buddy had to get a new oil line under warranty.)

 

Family has yammies and like them, but ironically they have been in the shop a few times (older 50hp and a 2012 90 hp, both on pontoons). Friends have a 115 suzie and it is a really nice motor. Buddy is going with a 300 suzi this spring, from a yamie, but he is keeping his boat with a 150 yamie as well since it is a tiller boat.

 

Optimax's are still out there in droves and are pretty bullet proof, and FAST and fuel efficient, just a tad louder. The new Evinrudes are good, but I just can't get over their uglienss   (The bad "Opti-pops" were only in 2001-2002 years and only 200-225 hp models, and they did suck. As did Ficht...)

 

Basically all motors are good these days. All four strokes are pretty much the same in terms of performance and fuel economy, pretty darn close. The new two strokes are also pretty pretty fuel efficient compared to my old two stroke models, and even when comparing to the four strokes, you just have expensive oil though luckily they don't use much these days. But the two strokes will blow away any four stroke out of the hole or water skiing, period. Anybody who tells you different is lying or they have not driven all models and have no clue. We compared a 150 efi (my old motor, and on our slow hull, with three fat guys) to a ranger with 175 Verado and two skinny guys and to a Triton with a 150 four stroke and skinny guys.... our old boat blew them all away out of the hole but the 175 eventually caught up and passed us, the other boat goes about the same as our old tub. All boats about the same size. Only saying this because the difference between four stroke and two IS noticeable in a big way when you hit the throttle. If you want quiet, go with four stroke. If you want out of the hole (skiing or heavy loads) got with a two stroke. On a pontoon no way would I not get a four stroke (and I did!) but on a boat I personally would get an Optimax ProXS, I know they have it in a 115 as a buddy just ordered one, not sure about a 90 in ProXS.

 

From my own experience, I would not get a Honda outboard (and I own a honda bike and atv and like them very much) as the ones I have driven cannot get out of their own way.... they are quiet, and start fine, but go slooooooooooowwww....  probably due to setup, though )

 

Good luck, you really can't go wrong!

 

btw - Evinrudes are NOT quiet compared to 4 strokes. They are two strokes (unless they have small hp models that are 4 stroke) and they are not nearly as quiet as any four stroke, if a dealer tells you this, they are lying. Brothers father in law has 40 hp  e-tec rude and it just can't compare to any four stroke in terms of noise.

Edited February 9, 2017 by BoxMN

[delcecchi]

5 hours ago, RebelSS said:

Uh, you do know the Ficht and the ETEC are two strokes, right?

Yep.  That is why I mentioned them separately.  Optimax is two stroke also.  But both are direct inject so not as annoying as a carbed two stroke. 

 

And the OMC 4 strokes were suzuki all the way, not just powerheads so far as I know.   But that was pre bombardier days.  OMC is no more.   Ficht era quality problems killed them off. 

Edited February 9, 2017 by delcecchi

[RebelSS]

They bombed right when I needed warranty work thru them on my new engine. Dealer still took care of it. 

[Notime]

Big Thank you to everyone for the insight! I appreciate all the info!

[SkunkedAgain]

On 2/9/2017 at 8:07 AM, delcecchi said:

If it were me, I would go with any brand of EFI four stroke.  The convenience and quality of the dealer is probably more important than the brand of motor

Best advice right there.

 

Go with the best deal you find on a Merc, Yamaha, or Suzuki along with what Delcecchi said above. I've been running a 90hp Suzuki on a Alumacraft 165 since 2009. It's awesome, dependable, and quiet.

[Notime]

2 hours ago, SkunkedAgain said:

Best advice right there.

 

Go with the best deal you find on a Merc, Yamaha, or Suzuki along with what Delcecchi said above. I've been running a 90hp Suzuki on a Alumacraft 165 since 2009. It's awesome, dependable, and quiet.

What is your top end on that beast? That is about the style of boat I am looking for.

[SledNeck]

Merc has a new 115 proXS 4 stroke now. Good option in the little motor category. Plus the satisfaction of buying American.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/engines/outboard/pro-xs/115-pro-xs-fourstroke/

 

[delcecchi]

What makes it a pro?  instead of just a regular?