mercury optimax 115

[mrjigger]

anyone out there with any positive/negative comments regarding mercury optimax outboards. Looking at buying a new boat, dealer seems to be really pushing me towards buying an optimax instead of 4stroke.

[Jim Hudson]

I run the Opti 115 on my boat... Awesome motor and has run flawlessy for three years now.... Coupled with the smart craft gauges, this motor does all that I want it to do!! Fuel and oil consumption is great and I do not think you pay more in those areas as if you would if you went with a four stroke... The motor will be a little bit louder then a 4-stroke, but not that much to make a huge difference. Definately do not hesitate on looking at the Opti...

[prov1900]

I am on my second one, a 225, my first was a 135. Great motors, but what do I know, it's the only two motors I have ever had, and the only motor I will ever own. Talked to a Yamaha dealer once. He stated that the Optimax's are better. My buddy runs a 115 on his 1800 Explorer and loves it. Nice running motor and plenty of hp for that boat. Very maintenance free compared to the four strokes from what I have heard.

[mrjigger]

thanks guys, I do alot of trolling at night, does the Optimax troll down pretty well?

[marine_man]

The optimax's troll down pretty good...

As JKH431 previusly mentioned if you get the smart craft gauges you can really dial down the engine and speed... they're somewhat spendy, but if you want to do a lot of trolling with them they're the way to go...

Check out the smartcraft gauges on Merc's HSOforum...

marine_man

[Jim Hudson]

Jigger

My motor trolls my boat down to 2.3 on the GPS... Thats by dialing in my smart craft gauges to 650RPMs... If I want to go slower, I put my bow mount trolling motor in... Creates enough drag to put me at 1.9... If I want to go slower, I reverse the head on the electric and turn it on... I can get .8 this way...

But in reality, if I were to do it over again.. I would purchase a kicker.... If you troll a lot, you will save some hours on your main motor by doing so...

[marine_man]

Your trolling speed (via motor) is somewhat dependent on your boat and your setup... this won't get you to .8 mph, but it can affect it +/- .5 mph or so...

marine_man