What's your favorite outboard and why ??

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I think the Honda smaller outboards are way behind the times. My Merc 30hp is a way better than the Honda 30. Less fuel, more power, less noise.
 
Im a jonboat guy. I have several and I have 2 favorite outboard. I LOVE the old OMC 15 hp outboards 74-92. They are light, tons of parts available, almost unchanged for nearly 20 years, easy enough to work on, bulletproof, easy to carry, they troll well, and for nostalgic value.
I also Love the 20 and 25 2 stroke mariner/mercury outboard with the shifter on the throttle. A little heavier than the 15 but much faster, tons of parts, easy to work on also, love the throttle shift.
 
Originally Posted By: RTexasF
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My current motor on my tunnel Jon is a 20 mariner. Took me 3 years to talk a buddy into selling it to me. Highly coveted motors for river fisherman.


Many of early Mariners were made by Yamaha. If the ID plate says Japan then it's a Yamahopper.


Yeah, it was Yamaha's entry into the US outboard market in the 80's as I understand it. There were a few of those Mariner 15-25 hp engines on CL this year near me.
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
If I was buying one today I'd buy an Evinrude E-Tec. Throttle response and holes hot power is out of this world. No oil to change. Quiet and powerful. I really like them all around.


Of today's offerings, especially in 150 HP and up, I must agree with you. They are also considerably lighter in weight than the 4 strokes and no break in procedure.
 
I had a 40 hp Yamaha made mariner but my current mariner is a US made model. A 96 model, and no longer a 20, I changed the carb Thursday to a 25 carb making it a 25. Hole shot is awesome now.
 
Had an OptiMax 115 (2006) and ran it six years ~ really good/clean power …
Traded with boat and never back to dealer …
 
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my current mariner is a US made model. A 96 model, and no longer a 20, I changed the carb Thursday to a 25 carb making it a 25. Hole shot is awesome now.


You need the exhaust tube for a 25 as well to get to 25 on Mercs and Mariners.
 
Always preferred Yamaha outboards over other brands. They seem to really have an outstanding reputation among it's users....commercial included. Reliable, tough, and good service availability (at least on the west coast).
 
I have 4 outboard powered boats
98 23ft Outrage Boston Whaler with twin 2006 Yamaha F150 (400 hours)
08 30ft Master RIB with single Suzuki DF300AP (600 hours)
06 30ft Panga sytle dive bota with single 2011 Suzuki 200HP (2200 hours)
98 34ft Venture 34 with 2016 twin Suzuki DF300AP (250H)

I be almost my whole life on botas and had, saw and worked on a lot of boat engines.

It is my belive that
- Yamaha makes the best painted outboards and generally very good outboards, even if some of them had someunneccesary problems
- Suzuki because they are much cheaper and work great but painting is not top notch
- Honda make very reliable (but no high HP) outboards and have the longest experience with 4 stroke engines

Chris
 
I have 4 outboard powered boats
98 23ft Outrage Boston Whaler with twin 2006 Yamaha F150 (400 hours)
08 30ft Master RIB with single Suzuki DF300AP (600 hours)
06 30ft Panga sytle dive bota with single 2011 Suzuki 200HP (2200 hours)
98 34ft Venture 34 with 2016 twin Suzuki DF300AP (250H)

I be almost my whole life on botas and had, saw and worked on a lot of boat engines.

It is my belive that
- Yamaha makes the best painted outboards and generally very good outboards, even if some of them had someunneccesary problems
- Suzuki because they are much cheaper and work great but painting is not top notch
- Honda make very reliable (but no high HP) outboards and have the longest experience with 4 stroke engines

But as already mentioned, you should get the brand used in your area, useless to buy engines and there are no mechanics around.

Chris
 
Originally Posted by SteveSRT8
Originally Posted by FlyNavyP3
If I was buying one today I'd buy an Evinrude E-Tec. Throttle response and holes hot power is out of this world. No oil to change. Quiet and powerful. I really like them all around.


Yeah, and 500 hour service intervals!

or 5 year
 
My main engine is a 1987 Johnson 60 hp, and my kicker is a 1972 Johnson 6 hp, both run great.
 
I think Yamaha makes the best outboards in the world right now, or at very least the most reliable. There's a reason why they utterly dominate (last I saw, over 70%) the commercial and government markets, because they simply make a better motor. Hondas are good too, used by the Coast Guard and for good reason, but they're usually a touch overpriced and I know a lot of people who don't like the centrifugal clutch.

When it comes to the rest, Tohatsu makes a good little motor (and they also make all of Mercury's sub 50s) but I've never actually seen one of their high HP units, Suzuki is the best value and generally pretty reliable if lacking bells and whistles, and I will never entirely trust Evinrude. The old Johnsrudes were cheap, simple and easy to repair, which was nice, but all their flirtations with advanced tech have been disastrous. Now they're incredibly complex and expensive.

When it comes to Mercury, well, I just don't get the point anymore. Back in the day when Kiekhaefer ran the show, Mercury were legitimately cutting edge engines that outperformed everything else by a mile. You paid for it with increased maintenance and often nightmarish complexity, but the benefit was there. These days, everyone else has caught up to Mercury. They're no longer tech leaders, but the lower reliability and over complexity remains. A Yamaha does everything a Merc does, and better, for the same money. Their smaller motors are just Tohatsus with a different sticker package (for more money) but I really dont understand why you'd buy one of their in house outboards anymore. I say this as the son of a Mercury mechanic, who was himself the son of a Mercury dealer. There's just not much reason to buy them anymore.

Originally Posted by FastLane
Originally Posted by southernjeeper
Which 20hp engine would anyone put on a 14footer?

Or would I just need to stay with the late 90s 15evinrude. It runs fine for me. It's just a small boat for smaller water though I have taken it in big water just for kicks last year when the wind and chop wasn't too bad. I just have always known the hull was not going to start leaking due it's excellent build quality.

Just have to get around to changing out the impeller soon.



Mercury 20hp 4 stroke is a nice outboard. Its a rebadged engine. My Dad owned one. Great outboard.


Unless you get a really good deal on the Mercury, get the Tohatsu instead. They're 100% identical but for the stickers, but the Tohatsu tends to be a little cheaper.

They're good motors, though. Suzuki also does pretty well for a lot less.
 
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The 1978-1984 OMC (Johnson/Evinrude) 85hp-140hp mechanical shift crossflow V4 2-cycle engines were my favorite. I have owned several of them. Smooth, quiet, reliable, and bulletproof, but very thirsty. I still have one (115) and it still runs perfect, even on E10.
 
The old chrylser version of the west bend 3 and 4 cylinder inline were my favorites. So easy on gas,, never gave problems. Many mechanics did not know how to tune one, but with the carbs clean, and the timing set right and linkage balanced, they were smooth, and would pull hard for water skiing.

Rod
 
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When it comes to the rest, Tohatsu makes a good little motor (and they also make all of Mercury's sub 50s) but I've never actually seen one of their high HP units


Ever seen a Honda? The large Tohatsu engines are rebadged Hondas.
 
Originally Posted by RTexasF
Quote
When it comes to the rest, Tohatsu makes a good little motor (and they also make all of Mercury's sub 50s) but I've never actually seen one of their high HP units


Ever seen a Honda? The large Tohatsu engines are rebadged Hondas.


That I didn't know. I've never seen any big Tohatsus in the wild. Never even seen anyone selling them around here. If that's the case then I'd imagine they are very good motors.
 
I've seen them at boat shows, but have yet to see one on any boats around here, SWFL. Honda powerhead and simple control etc should be a good combination.
 
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