All about Outboards ??. Educate me.

I think the first thing you need to do is what kind of boat you want. The size of the boat is the next thing A 21' center console with a 150 hp Yamaha has enough power. If you get a 21' with a cuddy cabin on it you would want a 200 hp.I am a fan o yamaha engine at idle you can not hear them run. Go on youtube and lookup some of the boats you want.
 
Although I have had a few other brands (and have one now) I am another vote for Yamaha. Over the years I have had 6 of them over 40hp and they all were extremely good to me. Since you are looking at used boats/motors as I always have done keep in mind that a number of the Mercury outboards in the mid HP range were made by Yamaha under contract and are almost exactly the same as their Yamaha counterparts except for the color and badges. While that deal ended a few years back it is worth the time to research if you have a boat selected and really want to know details about the power on the back.

Good luck and hope this helps
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

For me mercs are a deal breaker. Period.

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What he said!

Most of the Sea Tow boats I ran had Mercs on them. I would NOT personally own one.

for me it's Hondas or Yamahas, period. JMHO.

Bob
 
Glenn, as someone who's been running a 30' boat with twin Honda outboards for the past 10 years, I'm all in for this conversation! I started with older carb'd 50s but re-powered with EFI Honda 60s a few years ago. The 60s move my boat at nearly 18 knots (again, 30' boat, 9'6" beam, 7,500 lbs), are NMEA2000, and are very, very quiet. I would have no reservations buying another boat with modern 4-stroke outboards.

My two cents:

Evinrude E-Tec - stay away. Light for their power, but a PITA service-wise. The owner is limited to what they can do as it's all software-driven and only dealers have the software.

As for the Japanese brands, I don't think you can go wrong with Yamaha, Suzuki, or Honda. The one thing to keep in mind if you're in FL and especially if you're going to venture to the Bahamas is that from what I've heard and read Yamahas get stolen much more often than the other brands. I've seen Yamaha-powered center consoles in the Abacos literally chained and locked to the pier. The local thieves don't seem very interested in Suzuki or Honda (due to lack of black-market parts from what I've been told).
 
Maybe they get stolen more often because they are so popular... Again, take a look at any group of big tenders and center consoles and its 80 to 90% yamahas so chances are 80 to 90% of thefts will be yamahas,

For smaller boats (small dinghies under 30/40hp) you see a few more mercs and tohatsus
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

Maybe they get stolen more often because they are so popular.
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Exactly. There are more parts and more dealers for Yamaha so thieves select them more often. The black market for parts is much larger with Yamaha than Honda. Don't get me wrong, Yamaha makes a great outboard. I would have gone with the Yamaha 70s when I re-powered the other year but it would have cost me a lot more as I already had 10-year old Honda controls that were compatible with the new 60s.

Note: Evinrude E-Tec - A few years ago a friend of mine (with a sister-ship) had his ECM go bad on one of his E-Tecs in Bimini. He not only had to fly the part in but also a technician to program it!
 
rbenton wrote:
<<..."What he said! Most of the Sea Tow boats I ran had Mercs on them. I would NOT personally own one.
for me it's Hondas or Yamahas, period. JMHO."...>>

Thanks, Bob! Of the Mercs you ran, were any Merc Verados? Or were they the older technology Mercs? So far, most of the negatives I've read in online reviews about Mercs go along the lines of something like, "I used to have Mercs back in ____. Never again." Given so many boats have 4-stroke Merc Verodos now, I don't want to automatically eliminate a whole segment of possible boats from the list because of a reputation earned by older technology 2-stroke Mercs, when the current 4-stroke Merc Verado owners seem pretty happy with them. If some of you have had issues with the 4-stroke Verados, I definitely want to hear about it.

Hopefully, we find the right boat and it has Yamahas (or Hondas or Suzukis). But, if we find a great boat, and it has Verados, I don't want to necessarily automatically eliminate it on the basis of bad reviews on Merc 2-stroke Optimax outboards (or other old tech Mercs), when the 4-stroke Verados are fine ... IF they are in fact fine??? That's why I'm trying to find out who has had Verados here. ?? Any Verado owners or former owners?

By the way, the quietest outboard I have ever heard was a Suzuki. It was amazing. I couldn't hear it at all at idle. I'm surprised there are not more out there.

Much thanks for the replies, everyone!
 
quote:
Originally posted by Chesagansett

It likely comes down to Government bids, and Honda might have been the low bidder for the USCG.

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Hondas are usually more expensive than any other brand (I stated above I was looking at Yamahas for my re-power). I've asked some techs that work on Hondas for USCG and they've told me that the bids put out have specific requirements that are unique to Honda. In Baltimore harbor all the city boats are Honda and I've personally never seen USCG use anything but Honda for outboards (both in MD and FL). In Key West all the commercial boats with outboards are Honda.
 
quote:
Originally posted by mixman

quote:
Originally posted by Chesagansett

It likely comes down to Government bids, and Honda might have been the low bidder for the USCG.

Click to expand...


Hondas are usually more expensive than any other brand (I stated above I was looking at Yamahas for my re-power). I've asked some techs that work on Hondas for USCG and they've told me that the bids put out have specific requirements that are unique to Honda. In Baltimore harbor all the city boats are Honda and I've personally never seen USCG use anything but Honda for outboards (both in MD and FL). In Key West all the commercial boats with outboards are Honda.

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Thanks Kurt. I think TowBoat U.S. uses them, too.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Chesagansett

There are 3 main negative issues I see for us in looking at outboard powered boats:

1. They seem to be mostly made for fishing. We're not against fishing, but the primary use will be pleasure cruising, etc.

2. Most have very little shade, and we're not really thrilled about cooking in the sun all day, and facing future skin cancer.

3. Many have less seating than cruisers. Again, most seem tailored for fishing.

oh, and a forth item

4. Most have very small cabins compared to a similar sized cruiser. Again, the fishing thing.

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Based on these comments, it doesn't seem you'll be doing a whole lot of fishing on this boat, then that begs the question; why switch to OB? Anglers love OB's because they take up zero cockpit space, and when you're pulling in the big ones, you want every inch of cockpit space usable (the same is true for rescue or work boats). However, if your main plan is cruising and overnighting, there's probably not a big benefit to going with an OB, and it will probably be harder to find a design that fits your needs.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Chesagansett

rbenton wrote:
<<..."What he said! Most of the Sea Tow boats I ran had Mercs on them. I would NOT personally own one.
for me it's Hondas or Yamahas, period. JMHO."...>>

Thanks, Bob! Of the Mercs you ran, were any Merc Verados? Or were they the older technology Mercs? So far, most of the negatives I've read in online reviews about Mercs go along the lines of something like, "I used to have Mercs back in ____. Never again." Given so many boats have 4-stroke Merc Verodos now, I don't want to automatically eliminate a whole segment of possible boats from the list because of a reputation earned by older technology 2-stroke Mercs, when the current 4-stroke Merc Verado owners seem pretty happy with them. If some of you have had issues with the 4-stroke Verados, I definitely want to hear about it.

Hopefully, we find the right boat and it has Yamahas (or Hondas or Suzukis). But, if we find a great boat, and it has Verados, I don't want to necessarily automatically eliminate it on the basis of bad reviews on Merc 2-stroke Optimax outboards (or other old tech Mercs), when the 4-stroke Verados are fine ... IF they are in fact fine??? That's why I'm trying to find out who has had Verados here. ?? Any Verado owners or former owners?

By the way, the quietest outboard I have ever heard was a Suzuki. It was amazing. I couldn't hear it at all at idle. I'm surprised there are not more out there.

Much thanks for the replies, everyone!

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I look at it this way: Remember that line of outboards that Honda made that were junk? What about Yamaha?
 
Tim R wrote:

<<<..."Based on these comments, it doesn't seem you'll be doing a whole lot of fishing on this boat, then that begs the question; why switch to OB? Anglers love OB's because they take up zero cockpit space, and when you're pulling in the big ones, you want every inch of cockpit space usable (the same is true for rescue or work boats). However, if your main plan is cruising and overnighting, there's probably not a big benefit to going with an OB, and it will probably be harder to find a design that fits your needs."...>>

Ah, good question. I should have explained from the get go. In the upcoming years, we plan to be doing a lot more salt water boating ... specifically in FL, with a good chance of moving there (next fall/winter?) and being down there for the better part of the year. O/Bs are much more suited to salt than I/Os, and seem easier to maintain in that environment.

So, this is not a boat switch that we'd be doing until a move, but I'm trying to gather the knowledge about various O/Bs now.
 
<<..."I look at it this way: Remember that line of outboards that Honda made that were junk? What about Yamaha?"...>>

?? I don't know all the history of the O/B lines, ... hence my inquiries here. My father has a Yamaha on his 20' Grady that has been nothing but trouble, but I assume it's more of a fluke than the rule for Yamaha. He got it used, so who knows how it was treated before he had it. I'm trying to find out which lines (within brands) are good/bad. I'm still looking for any large-scale dissatisfaction from owners of the Verado line, and I'm not finding it (yet) on a large scale. After reading some more reviews the last few days, it looks like Merc earned a bad reputation years ago, and is having a tough time shaking it, despite overall satisfaction with their Verado line. Any Verado users here? ... Would love to hear about your experiences with those O/Bs.

Much thanks, all!
 
quote:
O/Bs are much more suited to salt than I/Os, and seem easier to maintain in that environment
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Had both OB and IO in FL for years. IMO they both belong on lifts with easy flushing access. That's what I had and maintenance wasn't too bad with either. The engine of the IO was easier than leaning over the transom but I backed the boat in close so I could get to them and more easily drop tools into the water. I had a trailer for bigger jobs but rarely uses it.
 
quote:
Originally posted by pdecat

quote:
O/Bs are much more suited to salt than I/Os, and seem easier to maintain in that environment
Click to expand...


Had both OB and IO in FL for years. IMO they both belong on lifts with easy flushing access. That's what I had and maintenance wasn't too bad with either. The engine of the IO was easier than leaning over the transom but I backed the boat in close so I could get to them and more easily drop tools into the water. I had a trailer for bigger jobs but rarely uses it.

Click to expand...


Thanks, Bruce! Yup. The boat would likely be lift stored. What are the flushing requirements for outboards? Is it just like I/Os, where it is a must to flush them after each use, or can you skip it if you're using the boat the next day? When I use my I/O in FL, I flush after each use. If O/Bs need to be flushed after every use, why do people say to get O/Bs for salt? Is there still an advantage to O/Bs in salt as many people claim, or is it a tall tale made up by the O/B companies?

Much thanks!
 
Well, OB's don't have major cast iron components, so they have a major advantage in that respect. What OB's do have is aluminum castings that are formed for light weight.

So... there's risk for corrosion either building up and causing cracking. I've seen this on Suzuki. I also saw through-casting corrosion on Evinrude. Much older engine, but OMC had some of the best anti-corrosion alloys.

Therefore, I'd say, Flush, engine running, often, using a product like Salt-A-Way. Every evening on a long weekend, no. After that weekend, or before a week's layup, YES.
 
quote:
Originally posted by j-d

Well, OB's don't have major cast iron components, so they have a major advantage in that respect. What OB's do have is aluminum castings that are formed for light weight.

So... there's risk for corrosion either building up and causing cracking. I've seen this on Suzuki. I also saw through-casting corrosion on Evinrude. Much older engine, but OMC had some of the best anti-corrosion alloys.

Therefore, I'd say, Flush, engine running, often, using a product like Salt-A-Way. Every evening on a long weekend, no. After that weekend, or before a week's layup, YES.

Click to expand...


Thanks, j-d!
 
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