Ultimate outboards for V21
 

Estimates based on research:

Merc Opti 200 hp ....
Best features - likely best fuel economy, range 200 miles +, over 50 mph WOT.
Drawback - well over 500 lbs, maybe heavy for V

Evinrude 200 hp
Best features - likely very good fuel economy, range 200 +, high 40's WOT,
Weight is reasonable 415 lbs.
Drawback - not quite as powerful.

Evinrude 200 HO
Similar to Opti, maybe not quite as fuel efficient at cruising speeds.

you missed the best, merc 175 Opti, much lighter than the 200 Opti or any of the others you mentioned, better on fuel, makes a lot more than 175 hp. Second consideration, Yamaha 150 4 stroke, a little heavy, but one of the best motors on the market, and then Ridges first choice, merc 300XS, why? because why not(I agree)

Opti 175 ......nice option

Yami 150 4 stroke............too heavy, not any faster than my 150 Evinrude

Merc 300 ........way over hp rating, tough to insure.
Probably push the V to 60 mph +

The fastest V would be a worked inboard - like the one guy who showed one about 6 months ago. Claimed 75 mph or such......fast.

I think a 200 HPDI would be a really good choice. 475lbs and I would think should run upper 40's

As for the big block E-tec I think it would weigh too much. My V-20 had a 225 Ficht and it was too much weight on a bracket for my liking.

i'm with SPare here, a 175 OPTI is a good match or eben a 150 OPTI. And the 150 YAMAHA 4 stroke is a powerful 150 with many dynoing closer to 175(hence why YAMAHA doesn't make an engine between the 150 and 200 4 strokes). 175 or 200 small block ETEC, and the 175 SUZUKI would both also be good choices. But for the ultimate match I would say the 175 OPTI or 200 small block ETEC.

175 hp Optimax.......... weight 431 lbs......or approx 56 lbs more than 150 Rude carb'd.
Advantages
Likely much better fuel economy.....weight a fair compromise........WOT on V21........likely 44-47 mph.

200 etec...................weight 425 lbs.........50 lbs more than 150 Rude carb'd.
Very good fuel economy, WOT on the V21 likely the same as the Opti, maybe slightly more.

Lots of sevice options for either...and likely the " best all around outboard choices for V's"

I have the 200HO 3.3 E-tec and love mine. The weight is more than the 2.6 200 for sure--but has not caused me a issue yet--including 65 miles offshore. Fuel burn is awesome for the engine--It is better than my freinds with the 200 Yammi 4 strokers and I eat them up in out of the hole and the top end.

Personally--the 45mph range on GPS is comfortable in these boats--getting over that is starting to get a bit light feeling for me.

The 200HO is rated at 218hp at the prop. And yes--I have hit 53.4 on GPS with it--but why?
As mentioned before--how often can you actually run that fast? Not often--but for me in the Northwest waters--the extra power is important when you are throwing a extra 900 lbs on for a Tuna run, then Tuna on the way in. I have run over 200 miles in the ocean fishing on a tank and had 5 gallons in the 60 left--and that includes 4 hours of trolling--7 to 8 knots and we all know what that does to fuel burn.

I don't know where you got those weights at, but I've had most of those hanging on my cherry picker, I'll be the first one to tell you all the manufactures lie, the eagle series v6 150 Johnrude is a light engine, and a good motor, but its not lighter then an equivalent carb Merc. The ones around here are rotting away, don't see to many of them lately, and your stuck with plastic carbs that aren't available any more. Most of those other engines are much heavier than they list. I've seen the shipping invoices on a lot of newer motors, according to them, the crates must weigh close to 200 lbs. Down here, you can't give an etec away, or find some one that will admit to being able to work on one. theres a reason or that.

That is because everyone is scared from the Ficht nightmare.

If no one knows how to work on them--it is because BRP is keeping training in house to their dealers, everything is controlled by the computer and you have to have the software to do almost anything on them. I have a certified Evinrude guy that says they are great and almost no issues (all engines have issues). There are not alot of dealers for sure. But evryone I talk to with a E-tec will swear by them--I ran into one guy at the dock, he had a pair of 150 e-tecs that had 900 hours on them in less than a season and swore they were the best engine he has ever owned.

Now I hear that the Opti's blow up around the 400 to 600 hr range and the Verado's are just junk. The Opti's have a issue was new to me--I always thought they were a great engine.

But I will disagree with you on the E-Tec's.

For every person you find that swears by an ETEC or OPTI, you will find one who swears at an ETEC or OPTI. There are good and bad ones in both. Personally I would probably go with the OPTI over the ETEC myself, but that is based on fuel economy which the OPTI wins pretty much everytime. And the OPTI seems to be alot more forgiving with set-up whereas teh ETEC must be set up properly and propped out perfect to live a long life. ALOT ofETECS popped the first 2 years from dealers who didn't prop them correctly, and that is why EVINRUDE will no longer sell one without verifying that it was set-up properly now.

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.

The sound of twin 280's would scare off everything within 2 miles probably. Would make for a fun holeshot, and could you imagine the rooster tail of twin 280's surfacing off a deep v hull. Might be a TAD tippy at speed unless you put a pad in the stern.

The KEYS during sportsman lobster season are like bathwater. Not uncommon to have 95 degree water in 20 feet on the gulf side.

Ruh-roh . . . I don't like hearing that. I've been very pleased with mine, but then I don't put the hours on it that some of you guys do.

Hardly ever. Uses too much fuel!

its been raining all week

Ridge and Ferm, my buddy Marc(the T-Top guy) just got his 25 Sea Vee up and running, its been a long restoration and its looking sharp. He's got a pair of stock 200 EFI mercs on the back of a twin bracket, with 20" offshore mids(sounds great) spinning 24 choppers, he got 68.2 running against the rev limiter. Tried it this week with 26 choppers, still hitting the rev limiter, GPS stopped working, having water pressure issues. So far he's not even trimming the engines. Thought about the porta marine low water nose cones(the plastic ones), will probably end up with Bobs cones on them. He' got the prop shafts 5 1/2 inches above the bottom(lots of set back) and it still launches like a rocket. I'll get some pics for ya'll

sounds freaking sweet

V's man.......we're talkin V's

Water runs low 90s here this time of year. Of course that's what a 105 to 110 heat index will get you. God I'm ready for fall!!

Since we are on the subject. What about twin 200 2.5l? Hell with the bracket i plan to build it is more than capable of taking them and with the added flotation the V will sit about where it sits now with one motor on the transom.

My uncle had twin 140 crossflows on a bracket fabbed out of steel and then glassed over. That was alot of weight.

A 2.5L 200 is about ten pounds heavier than my 150 Johnson. Holy cow steel framing on a bracket would almost take away the flotation the bracket would provide. Not to mention if water did get in it, it wouldn't have much life.

You are right that boat would sit low in the water. He took the bracket off after a year or two due to rust.

2-stroke smoke makes me Horny! Wish they didn't make me broke-2

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/...6/DSC00438.jpg

Showed us - very nice boat. Now tell us - how fast with that Yami 200 ?

My old V20 cc that cterrebonne is now rebuilding had a 3 liter Merc 225 carb saltwater series motor. The boat saw 53 top end with 40mph cruise and averaged 2.5mpg. If I had another, I would go with a 250 Opti. I recon that is the best combo of power and efficiency.

FWIW, with the 3 liter on the back, the balance was great and I hardly ever used my tabs.

Also FWIW, be careful with weight placement once you bracket your boat. Even if you are able to get enough flotation at rest with the big bracket, you may still have porpoising issues if you have too much weight aft. You want to ensure that you don't find yourself in a position where you need full tabs and max motor trim to run a low cruise speed.

She goes!
 

I got 49 Mph WOT on a 1" ripple with 2 guy's and a 6 pack for ballast weight. She jumps out of the hole and away you go problem is I got to go to the gas station. Any one run a Honda??? My dad has a 225 o/b Honda on a 25' welded aluminum. It's dry wieght is 2700 Lbs the motor is around 700 (heavy *****). He plowed through a 7-9' sea then run on it trolling for 6 hours and then came home on a 3' sea at the pumps all he put in was 98L. In three day's out this year my smallest fuel comsumption was 190L:nut:. When I start his boat got to walk to the back and check if the water is circulating to make sure it's running Very quiet motor lot's of torque.

The 225 HONDA is to heavy for a V-20. The smaller 4 cylinder 4 strokes are ok, but the big V-6's are just to heavy for most situations(like having an extra person sitting on your outboard all the time).

I dunno Ferm, I would definitely do the Honda 225 if I could justify the expenditure. Hell, I'd to a 275 V-Rod if I thought I could get approval from the Mrs.

It's alot of weight for a V-20, it would be like having 2 150 MERCS hanging off the back.