I've got a Suzuki 200hp that I looooooooooooove...
Pick an engine - 25HP 4-stroke
- Thread starter OVERKILL
- Start date
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
What's the reasoning, if you don't mind me asking?
Warranty, price
We fished for 1 year in the Lund pictured, down sized from our larger boats and the wife wanted carpet and better ride of a side concole as she was getting the brunt of the wave hits on bigger lakes. My boat before this was a New 17.5 YarCraft walleye boat ( I am a bass guy, don't fish for walleye) bought new and fully rigged/drilled (<-- ha ha) by me with 150 Yamaha V-Max. That was a grand white cap bashing boat. Also at the same time I made a custom tunnel (Wooldridge tunnel design) Jon boat with a outboard Jet outboard for smallmouth small river fishing. I could run 4 ft from the shore line with that boat and in 12-14 inches of water. That was a fun boat and it even had decks. I wish I kept that boat with all TIG weld time I had into it.
So the wife wanted another better small boat and we downsized cars, so it had to be pulled by my Kona AWD1.6T. Chose a 14.5ft side console Alumicraft Escape I found used 1 year old with 5 hours on it. A retired guy could not use it as he got vertigo really bad right after buying it. AND the boat had to have a Suzuki on it if I was buying it. And it did. The boat drove me nuts as I was use to more high performance boats. At the highest motor bolt setting the motor felt like the lower unit was still way too low, and it was. It felt like I was dragging a 6x6 deck post 4 ft down through the water. So lucky the Alumacraft had an aluminum beamed transom that could have a chance to handle the load of a 4 inch setback jack plate. That allowed me the lift the motor and stop dragging the lower unit and turn a 4 blade modified SS prop. I was able to plug one lower unit water hole and still get enough water pressure for a static non moving jack plate. Even the wife felt the difference of not dragging the 6x6 deck post through the water. The 40 is a 55 now by pulling the TB air restrictor. Minus 100 rpm by rev limiter difference of the 40 tune vs the 60 tune, so I say 55. 32 mph vs 27. Oh yeah ....my 25 was a 30 by the way, TB restrictor change. But I actually enjoy driving it vs dragging the 6x6 deck post drove me nuts. It wasn't about speed it was almost all about boat fell and driving enjoyment. The speed was just a plus. The boat still needs a hook pounded into it, but moving all the battery's to the front helped 80%.
At the time I wanted to buying a new motor, the Yamaha was 2 cylinder and the 25hp was a hopped up 20hp and the Suzuki was a 3 cylinder 30 detuned to a 25hp. The Suzuki was smoother and of course had more toque then the Yamaha. You technically did not need a battery with Suzuki's fuel injection, but I wanted tilt and trim as "performance" is # 1 in my book, and T&T gives you planning options and proper boat control in shallows/loading/ect. Also cost was less with the Suzuki as I bought it from Online Outboards. ( no issue with shipping and it was shipped in a couple of days, would do it again in a heartbeat). Warranty on the Suzuki was at the time 6 years with a special going on. The technology in the Suzuki was superior at the time to the Yamaha 25hp. If at all possible when buying new I rig my own boats and have had great luck finding dealers where I get that option in the few new boats I have bought. They must not have the transom drilled as I spend time lazer aligning them instead of tape measure and drill with a over used transom jig. ( that's an OCD thing of mine on bigger boats).
We fished for 1 year in the Lund pictured, down sized from our larger boats and the wife wanted carpet and better ride of a side concole as she was getting the brunt of the wave hits on bigger lakes. My boat before this was a New 17.5 YarCraft walleye boat ( I am a bass guy, don't fish for walleye) bought new and fully rigged/drilled (<-- ha ha) by me with 150 Yamaha V-Max. That was a grand white cap bashing boat. Also at the same time I made a custom tunnel (Wooldridge tunnel design) Jon boat with a outboard Jet outboard for smallmouth small river fishing. I could run 4 ft from the shore line with that boat and in 12-14 inches of water. That was a fun boat and it even had decks. I wish I kept that boat with all TIG weld time I had into it.
So the wife wanted another better small boat and we downsized cars, so it had to be pulled by my Kona AWD1.6T. Chose a 14.5ft side console Alumicraft Escape I found used 1 year old with 5 hours on it. A retired guy could not use it as he got vertigo really bad right after buying it. AND the boat had to have a Suzuki on it if I was buying it. And it did. The boat drove me nuts as I was use to more high performance boats. At the highest motor bolt setting the motor felt like the lower unit was still way too low, and it was. It felt like I was dragging a 6x6 deck post 4 ft down through the water. So lucky the Alumacraft had an aluminum beamed transom that could have a chance to handle the load of a 4 inch setback jack plate. That allowed me the lift the motor and stop dragging the lower unit and turn a 4 blade modified SS prop. I was able to plug one lower unit water hole and still get enough water pressure for a static non moving jack plate. Even the wife felt the difference of not dragging the 6x6 deck post through the water. The 40 is a 55 now by pulling the TB air restrictor. Minus 100 rpm by rev limiter difference of the 40 tune vs the 60 tune, so I say 55. 32 mph vs 27. Oh yeah ....my 25 was a 30 by the way, TB restrictor change. But I actually enjoy driving it vs dragging the 6x6 deck post drove me nuts. It wasn't about speed it was almost all about boat fell and driving enjoyment. The speed was just a plus. The boat still needs a hook pounded into it, but moving all the battery's to the front helped 80%.
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Yamaha, Merc (Tohatsu), and Suzuki are all good choices. The weight differences are so small that I can't see that as a deciding factor. Electric or pull start? Power trim or not? Both add weight.
Print out the engine specs for each maker and compare them. Who offers the best warranty? Which dealer is closest/most convenient? Obtain pricing for all. How close are you with your neighbor? Conducting business with a neighbor can go south quickly.
I'm a Yamaha fanboy, but I favor the 3 cylinder engines in this power range. The Merc-branded Tohatsu would get my money.
Print out the engine specs for each maker and compare them. Who offers the best warranty? Which dealer is closest/most convenient? Obtain pricing for all. How close are you with your neighbor? Conducting business with a neighbor can go south quickly.
I'm a Yamaha fanboy, but I favor the 3 cylinder engines in this power range. The Merc-branded Tohatsu would get my money.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Closest dealer is the Merc, they are our marina.
You know me, I'd search high and low for an old school 2 stroke.....
What makes the Honda different? Honestly curious
Not sure what makes it different however I do know that with the Tohatsu,Nissan,Mercury as well as Yamaha and Suzuki share tons of parts. The Honda is completely different but they are very good outboards. I learned a lot about the 40hp and under outboards because I bought my 9.8 online and the company selling them sold all the brands I have listed with the exception of Honda. Honda may very well be better than the other brands however in the state of South Dakota nobody really sells very many of them. I have never heard anything bad about Honda's to speak of however I don't see them around here very often.