merc engines

[throwback]

There recently was a post about merc verardo outboards and a few replies about merc engines in general. First let it be said that verados are decent engines but expensive and complicated . On the otherhand the optimax is far less complicated and the reality is the opti uses less fuel than the varardo runs just as clean and is far less complicated . I run my 225 opti on a 27 foot trophy pro and do about a dozen trips to the wash canyon per season and use about 70 gallons of fuel per trip. See my article in the July Aug Big Game Fishing Journal Small boat offshore fishing Va style. The most fuel I used on a trip was 88 gallons and that was on a 24 hour overnight trip deep into the norfolk canyon. I fish out of Chincoteague Va. Want to get a feeling for what works check out what watermen use. Down my way the guys who make a living on the water almost all use mercs. One guy I know has over 4000 hour on a opti and its still ticken. Some guys tried hondas had nightmare problems.
The reality of the situation is the 4 strokes were forced on the industry by uncle sam and the reality of the situation is they are not what there cracked up to be.
The downside of the opti is the cost of oil to perform well and last they require special oil which merc screws us on. No I don't own stock in merc but I operate a charter business- Magic Dragon Fishing Charters- and understand the bottom line. I also have a V20 and at some point plan to put a 200 opti on it just for fun. DON'T GET HUNG UP ON THE 4 STROKE MYTHS.