Info Merc Opti 150

[phester]

what about a 200 EFI Saltwater Series? A friend of mine has one [year 2000] on a 20' Robalo CC. Although the boat is seldom used I don't think there has been any problems. That motor seems to have a lot of power.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by phester

what about a 200 EFI Saltwater Series? A friend of mine has one [year 2000] on a 20' Robalo CC. Although the boat is seldom used I don't think there has been any problems. That motor seems to have a lot of power.

They be some rock solid engines, but THIRSTY!!! If you don't boat that often though, it isn't a huge deal breaker. The OPTI's are nice, but prior to 03 they were hit or miss.

[Seaducer]

There we go; another vote for Mercury! I'll bet that thing has some power. Other than Optimax those EFI 1.5L-3.0L are the best they make with Verado a close third. Compare that to a Yammie F200 that may get a little better gas mileage but not near the power. As for the original question "Merc Opti 150" the older ones seem to have too many bells and whistles, and weren't good for those who didn't go boating often. But today's Mercs are getting much more user friendly.

[willy]

from what my research has shown me none of the new engines are user friendly, the warranties on all the current engines are effected by a owner installed engine.
the warranties have to be registered by a dealer/authorized service cetner. They have to answer some tech questions about the set up, rpm prop etc. All of them, Suzi Yammie and Etec. Even the two stroke carbed yammies are this way now.
I do like the improvements the new tech has brought us. But I do not like the fact that they are very much computer controlled, which eliminates regular guys doing much diagnosing and repairing. A lot of it is so sensitive to minute program/electronic variances that it makes it like cars today. Buy it and run it until the warranty is finished and then get rid of it otherwise you will be taking major hits in labor and parts.
These hits will make it worthwhile to swap out in the long run.
In fact you go on any of the major fishing sites and that is exactly what most serious fishing guys are doing, they are unloading either the whole boat or the motor and repowering just before their extended warranty is finished.
In some ways it makes a good straight inboard more attractive, the engines can be bought new for less than half the price, a lot of the work you need to do you can do yourself and has a lot of crossover to the automotive industry. Yes you can buy a new engine with all the full computer control but you can also buy simpler set ups with carbs or basic fuel injection setups.
I do not like being taken out of the loop with products I buy for a lot of money, nor do I like being dependant on a 115 an hour mechanic to diagnose and repair the engine

[willy]

I don't think I/O's fall in this ball park because they are a pain in the Balls to work on outdrive wise and every buddy of mine that has had one has had to have work done on the outdrive constantly, every year something that costs him hundreds and hundreds of dollars
JMHO

[Seaducer]

I definately agree with willy on this one. I prefer outboards as well.

[THEFERMANATOR]

I/O's are fine for there application, but not the best for a boat that stays in the water for extended periods. The big outdrive killer is outdrive corrosion in the exhaust cavity from the inside out. Unfortunately you can't get in there to paint it or protect it since it is unaccessible. Also you have dissimiliar metals constantly submerged in saltwater. Outboards are easier to maintain as they can be trimmed out of the water and don't have to stay submerged in it. Up until DFI's and 4 strokes, the choice was easy for economy until recently. Now outboards are pretty much dominating most categories. On a V-21 though, you only have the outboard option due to the built in set-back.

And WILLY makes a good point in regards to current technology, they have gone the way of automotive and have become to complex for the average shade tree to work on. Even doing a tune-up now is involved since indexing is required for electrode clearance and proper burn. N/A 4 strokes have a slight edge in not being as complex, but not by much. And as emissions get more stringent in 09 they'll only get more and more sensors to contend with. And the rumor is by 2012 they'll even have catylic converters in outboards, possibly even sooner as MERCRUISER is already working on prototype cat converters for the 6.0L I/O there working on.

[spareparts]

Merc, Crusader, and Indmar allready have cats in Calinfornia.