[Bruce]

One of the only advantages to this motor is the fact that its a force motor.

I don't know what y'all have seen, but being a svc mgr at a mercury dealership i've not seen a stronger motor in a commercial environment then a force, granted the serviceability is lacking, and it is a 1 time use motor IMO. The last force i worked on a the service center before i resigned was a 125 on a dock barge with well over 4500 logged hours of hard intense abuse.

On that note, under powering your boat will always and i mean ALWAYS leave you with a world of regret.

Power the boat with what the sticker allows, and enjoy the speed of getting in ahead of a squall, the higher cruising speed with better MPGs and the fact your motor is simply going to last longer because its not working as hard as a smaller motor would to push that boat.