I personally like the Opti better myself out of warranty. In warranty, any motor will do because the dealership will cover repairs.

Spare, I havent ever said anything because of the love on this site for Etec but most hardcore fishermen down here dont like them either.

One guy I know in my fishing club fishes Redfish tourneys hard along the Gulf Coast and he has blown up 3. He is actually sponsored by Ranger now and runs only Mercs or Yammies.

I know Yammies are top in popularity down here with Merc second..I am seeing less and less Etecs as the years go by.

Those down here that have never owned a Merc also call them "black anchors" and think they are POS but Ive always loved every one Ive owned.

Before EFI and direct injection you could take them apart and put them in a bag, they were all pretty much the same. Plug in the technology of fuel injection and they diverged rather quick.
300hp should be good for the mid to upper 60's IMO. The speed is only useable on long river runs, intercoastal, lakes and calm days.
The I/O that is so fast looks like a handling nightmare, needs more setup, LOL. Speeds above 55 just aren't practical in a V-20.
Beating an A-drive with a 450-500 hp stroker motor isn't gonna last. I'll stay with the outboards at sub-60 top end.

Darn tootin.

Exactly. Although I will admit that mine does not top out as fast as it did new, but then that was 8 years ago. It's still faster than I need to go.

I work on some HPDI's, once they gets some age on them, they get $$$$$$$$$. They seem to be fading fast around here. One thing you will notice about the differences in outboard preference is the type and temp of the water they are in. We've got hot, salty water around here(harbor temp was listed at 82 yesterday)

Only 82, we had 92 in the Bay a week back(dropped down to 89-90 right now).

Hardly ever run WOT, but we're talking overall " best" outboard to also squeeze out fast top end speed too....
A 200 hp outboard that actually produces 275hp at the prop, weighs only 375lbs, sips fuel and is very durable would be the idea.....oh yeh, and reasonable to buy - new or used would be the ultimate goal !

Then you need a MERCURY 2.5L 280HP. not bad on fuel(for it's HP), makes an HONEST 280HP at the prop, weighs in at about 380 pounds, and will SCREAM to the heaven when you get on it.

Daaaaammmm.!!!. That's just too hot for ocean type water. Might as well just take a shower.

I haven't found too many with the XL shaft Ferm. That is why I would go twin 280's with the 20" legs on a bracket. Go with the sporty's and offshore mids so you could put the pump in the boat where it belongs. Put a couple Yamaha drag 24's on it and a little 100 shot of nitrous. It would be peppy. Finding someone with experience in the setup might be tricky. Trolling for Mahi off the Spacecoast would be damn interesting too.