Info Merc Opti 150

[randlemanboater]

I think if you wait another month the flood of nice used boats on the market will make prices drop like a junkie on pure horse.

I was listening to the news on the radio this morning and their feature story was on the slow down in the New England boating industry. They were talking about a marina that last year had a waitting list and this year has 30 empty slips.

One guy was talking about how he had his 28 foot Baja forsale for a while and hadn't had a single call on it.

Although they said that the really high end boats are selling well, I guess all the oil executives are doing their part to stimulate the economy.

[bigshrimpin]

Willy - what are you doing with your old merc 150? What's wrong with it?

[Seaducer]

A Merc optimax will get you out of the hole quicker and carry the boat faster than any 4 stroke will. Consider a new Optimax or other DFI. Carb engines will burn a little more fuel and will be a little louder. DFIs are the best of all worlds - good speed, good gas mileage, and usually a better price than 4 strokes. Do remember though that good oil will make for a longer lasting of any type of engine. Period.

If you really want a four stroke, though, I would highly recommend Zukis. I just sold a 22ft bay boat with a 140 Zuki 4 stroke and I know it got close to 6 mpg on a cruise and still topped it out at 46 mph on a good day. Those new 150 and 175 big block in-line 4 Zukis I'm sure will carry that V21 pretty well.

[Chesapeake Troller]

Guys again I am the new guy but what a load of great advice and support can be found here! Reading the comments on the various engines is a huge help as I am looking at that very issue for my project.

On the Zuki's, I did a Boat Trader search within 500 miles of me here in North Central FL and found a 140 hp 2007 new in crate for $7,999 and the 2008 in the mid to high $8K range. That price for a 150 yammy 2 stroke from Ed's is a great one for sure though.

I have a charter boat captain friend who added a 26 Panga to his fleet and swears by his Merc 225hp Verado 4 stroke. Price is higher that the Zuki (I found a 150hp 2006 for $8K and the 2008's are in the $10 to 12 range depending on dealer. I noticed nobody said much about the Verado in this thread... no likely it?

CT

[cterrebonne]

[QUOTE=

I have a charter boat captain friend who swears by his Merc 225hp Verado 4 stroke.

CT[/QUOTE]

i have never heard that phrase before in my life and i am not joking either. i can tell you this much about the verado's i would shy away from the ones that had non-forged internals. i would like to say they are either the 06 or 07 and older.

[Seaducer]

I don't know much about Verados other than that they are heavy, but can get a boat out of the water twice as fast as other four strokes fo the same HP. A huge disadvantage is that they are supercharged and will use twice as much fuel as most four strokes. Don't believe me; google mercury and yamaha marines. Click on engine tests and find a suitable comparison. They are pretty accurate. I am a pretty big Merc fan though. Optimaxes are my favorite. The older ones can get you in a bind though.

[spareparts]

the problem with the verado is that you have to be just about married to a dealer. All the new engines require more advanced diagnostic equipment, but a lot of that stuff is ready available. The verado stuff is dealer only(right now anyways), the engine has to be set up by a dealer(electronic shift and throttle). All the new engines are going to be or allready are this way, you will have to go to the dealer for anything. Not a bad thing if you have a good dealer(it helps if you buy the engine thru your local dealer), but for those that don't have a good dealer, it sucks. The days of rigging your own new engine are over. Yamaha and Suzuki 4 strokes can be rigged by anyone that knows how to rig an old style 2 stk(just dont add double oil for break in). But for the Verados and E-Tecs, you will have to do everything thru your dealer. If you are spending that kind of money on an outboard, you better have a good dealer iin mind, otherwise you're going to be stuck with an engine that can't be serviced