which motor company?

[stifler51]

thinking about picking up a new/different boat, anyone have suggestions for which company is the most reliable, have the most headaches and whatnot. any bad experience with anyone?

[gregg52]

well here we go lol

yar craft and e-tec here

doesnt say where you from

but if you get around brainerd let me know i 'll give you a ride

hopefully theres bout a 20-30mph wind

you'll go buy one in a min

best scernio would be get some one there with one of those pro vssss

lol

booogity boogity boogity.......lets fishin boooyyyyyyyys!!!!!!!!!!!!

[blakeb]

are you an arctic cat man? you may wanna search a suzuki

i have a Yamaha 115 four stroke, dont let the e tech commercials fool you they do have several problems, when i bought my boat a couple years ago i wanted one based on the hype that there commercials had going.

Dealer talked me out of it by showing me a rack of motors in the service bay, there were about a dozen newer motors, all but one were e-tech,

Also shop for some of the oil that is recommended for them $$$$$$$$$$$$

JUST MY .02

[S.D. Ice Angular]

are you an arctic cat man? you may wanna search a suzuki

i have a Yamaha 115 four stroke, dont let the e tech commercials fool you they do have several problems,

I would agree I have an 07 115 Yamaha four stroke and it has been flawless. Backed it in the water on good friday for the first time and it started like it had been running a few hours ago. I have it on a Sylvan Explorer and love it.

[trolloni]

i had em all, currently have a yamaha,its cost me some money for repairs but anything mechanical will and can break down,just a question of how and when,i had a suzuki very nice and quiet fuel consumption second to none!no mechanical problems whatsoever!downfall not real fast it was a 2000 model i know they have upgraded in performance since.had a merc and i will summerize it this way only the weather ruined my fishing trips more!evinrude and johnson ok, fickle though have to maintain em ,honda hit the key and gone go with a 4stroke you will be happy and able to concentrate on fishin not worry about getten there or back.

[gregg52]

as i said stop i'll take you for a ride

150 on 2095 lauches that boat out of the water never lose site over that bow aint no 4 stroke going to do that for you

can troll with it flat water pulling cranks

very little chop back troll

quit for a 2 stroke

5 mins put it away for the winter

it started last week before i had the key turned all the way

i have heard when they firs come out they had some issues

but when your dealing with high tech like i guess thats a given

stop by i'll let you listen to it purrrrrrrrrrrr lol

[stifler51]

currently i have 16ft crestliner with a 25hp yamaha tiller on it, we're looking to upgrade to like a 17-18ft with with around 100hp on it and a stearing wheel. Main reason i ask was we saw a boat with 115 optimax merc on it, but one of the dealers we talked to said that merc motors tend to have quite a few problems and that 115 optimax motor goes thru coils. Just wondering if that was just dealer talk or if it held some truth. As far as our yamaha it hasnt ever let me down.

@gregg52: thanks for the offer, but im about 5 hours away from you

[blakeb]

i have heard of the coil thing, honestly honda and yamaha have great reliablity for years, some dont buy jap tho, so that is their deciding factor.

[boatfixer]

Fact:

Evinrude breaks down-Evinrude is reliable

Mercury breaks down-Mercury is reliable

Yamaha breaks down-Yamaha is reliable

Honda breaks down-Honda is reliable

Suzuki breaks down-Suzuki is reliable

Is the boat layed out the way you like? Has it been well cared for if its used? If new, is the dealer well established and whats their reputation? What does the dealers service department look like? messy? orderly?

IMO its hard to say which is the best. Some particular models may have had particular issues and we could go on and on for hours bringing up instances of "This motor this and this motor that". If you find a particular set up and have questions, it may be easier to look into that particular engine to see what problems they may have been prone to.

I would have no problem owning 115 Optimax BTW. Just as much as my friend in Nisswa would tell you drop everything your doing if you found an E-tec.

I to would own an E-tec (it would have to be a darn good deal though, REAL good deal )

[gregg52]

Fact:

Evinrude breaks down-Evinrude is reliable

Mercury breaks down-Mercury is reliable

Yamaha breaks down-Yamaha is reliable

Honda breaks down-Honda is reliable

Suzuki breaks down-Suzuki is reliable

I agree and as I.ve said before everybody is going to tell their stuff is the best thats what they believe thats why they bought it

hence the yar craft and e-tec here

you dont see those guys offering you a ride

i think they are afraid they might break down.....lol

hence the name....boatfixer........lmao

[jwmiller33]

his name is boatfixer... not motorfixer

[JohnMickish]

What years/HP are you looking at? I do believe MY choice would be different if I where looking for a 20HP vs a 250HP.

[marine_man]

What years/HP are you looking at? I do believe MY choice would be different if I where looking for a 20HP vs a 250HP.

I agree.. and 2 stroke vs 4 stroke.

Here are the results of a poll earlier in this year in this forum:

marine_man

[harvey lee]

The best motor I have ever owned was a 2 stroke Suzuki. I have a Merc 4-stroke now and have had some issues but Merc took care of them all.

I love the 4-strokes as they are so quiet and troll down very nice.

One cannot beat the mileage either.

If I were to purchase a new motor tomorrow, it would be a 4 stroke Honda.

[muddpuppy]

4 Stroke Yamaha I am excited for the New 4.2L outperforming 2 stroke motors.

2 Stroke Mercury Now I am thinking of the bigger motors. 90hp and smaller I like Yamaha.

[SkunkedAgain]

It's been said already, but is worth repeating. It's tough to go wrong with any of the motors today. They all have their slight pluses and slight minuses. Follow boatfixer's advice and find the setup that you like best.

When I bought last year, I did a lot of research and was open to putting an Etech, Merc, Yamaha, or Suzuki on the back of my rig. I just had to narrow down the boat. IMO, that's where you should spend most of your time worrying. After you buy the boat, all of the motors will perform relatively the same -- until the warranty runs out! However, you'll constantly notice and utilize everything in your boat. Make sure that it's got all of the goods and specifications that you want.

[kdawg]

thinking about picking up a new/different boat, anyone have suggestions for which company is the most reliable, have the most headaches and whatnot. any bad experience with anyone?

You are in a very good position as there are a lot of good boat makers out there now, and just as many very good motor manufacturers. Most of the major players out there have been at it for many years and have gotten very good at what they do. I've owned a alumacraft trophy, a crestliner superhawk with a Johnson motor on the back of both. I just bought a new Skeeter with a 4 stroke yamaha on it. I've been in a few Lunds, which are very nice boats. I would have no hesitation to buy a number of other boats as well. As far as etec's, optimax's, suzuki's, merc's... I'd buy any one of them, they are all good. There's not a boat or motor manufacturer out there that hasn't had some isolated issues/problems in the past, but they all take the proper steps to resolve them. Before I'd buy anything, I'd spend a lot of time perusing all the for sale ad's online to get a feel for what's out there and what the asking prices are. You can never spend too much time looking over a used boat when the time comes to purchase. There is a big difference in how different people keep-up their boats. As long as you spend the time doing a little research, you should have no problem finding a good boat. Shopping for a new(er) boat is fun, enjoy and good luck!

[Got A Byte?]

I have a 4 stroke Tohatsu 18. It has been a great motor. From what I have read they actually make the motors for many others. A nissan is the same thing with different stickers. I have also heard that they make the mercury 4 stroke motors under 25.

[Down2Earth]

115 ETec here.

[bassNspear]

I have ran Optimax and have loved each one of them! Great motor, and if you have problems at all, merc stands behind it!

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Go with what is popular in your area. That way if (when) there is an issue you can get it back on the water quickly.

I've been impressed with the 115 Merc Optimax on my buddy's boat. Very quite and smooth.