Merc 4 stoke 40 or 50 or Yamaha???

[Bobber952]

Checked out the tiller 4 strokes at the boat show recently. I am concidering a 40 or 50 4 stroke merc. for my 16' sea nymph. Or maybe get a new boat & motor ... the prices seem pretty reasonable now...

Originally was going to go with a Yamaha but the price and warranty seems better on the Merc.

I am concerned that the Merc is made in China. Any information that can help me with this dicision??

 

[chris.olson]

Re: Merc 4 stoke 40 or 50 or Yamaha???

I am concerned that the Merc is made in China. Any information that can help me with this dicision??

The Mercury 4-strokes are built by Tohatsu but I believe 50hp two-strokes are still available. When I was looking at a new Alumacraft a few weeks ago the salesman said I could get a 50 Merc two-stroke and he quoted me a price for it. The two-strokes are built in Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin.

--
Chris​

 

[Bobber952]

Re: Merc 4 stoke 40 or 50 or Yamaha???

Really am leaning toward a 4 stroke of some type. All of the package deals not contain the Merc. The boat/motor combo I'm concidering is a Lund with a 50 hrs 4 stroke.

If they are made in China, I am worried about the quality...The salesman is of course says it's not an issue...

 

[chris.olson]

Re: Merc 4 stoke 40 or 50 or Yamaha???

If they are made in China, I am worried about the quality...The salesman is of course says it's not an issue...

The four strokes are built by Mercury Marine's joint venture with Tohatsu in various plants around the world. AFAIK, only the under 30hp engines are actually assembled overseas - and they are Tohatsu engines wearing a Mercury badge. The others are built here in the US with both imported and domestic components.

Mercury Marine is a global company and is one of the largest manufacturers of marine propulsion systems on earth.

That being said, I have two Alumacraft boats - one with a 90 four-stroke Mercury, the other with a 90 OptiMax. The OptiMax beats the four-stroke three ways from Sunday in every category. It's faster, has more torque and less time-to-plane, it's lighter than the four-stroke, much less complicated, and you don't have to change oil in it. Over 90% of all professional inland lake tournament fisherman run OptiMax outboards. There's a reason for that, I would suppose.

Aside from all that I have not had a single problem with my four-stroke and half the components in it are made in China.
--
Chris​

 

[Bobber952]

Re: Merc 4 stoke 40 or 50 or Yamaha???

Thanks! That's great information. I don't know much about the OptiMax? I love the "quiet" of the 4 stoke engines! Care to share more details about he OptiMax?

 

[chris.olson]

Re: Merc 4 stoke 40 or 50 or Yamaha???

Thanks! That's great information. I don't know much about the OptiMax? I love the "quiet" of the 4 stoke engines! Care to share more details about he OptiMax?

The OptiMax is Mercury Marine's state-of-the-art direct injected two-stroke line of engines.​

In the old days two-strokes used to be noisy, smokey, dirty fuel-guzzlers. Not anymore. My OptiMax 90 is more fuel efficient than my 90EFI four-stroke. I still prefer the two-stroke because of it's high power/weight ratio, simplicity, and greater reliability - the same reason two-strokes are preferred by professional tournament fisherman, and the vast majority of the pros select the Mercury OptiMax.​

You can read more about the OptiMax on Mercury Marine's website:
http://www.mercurymarine.com/​

When I was pricing a boat recently for the upcoming season, the salesman told me that I could still order a Mercury 50hp two-stroke in leiu of a four-stroke on an Alumicraft Classic 165 Tiller. For rental and guide boats I prefer the two-stroke, and that's why I asked.​

But as I said, I think it all gets down to what you want. If you need the slow idle speed of the four-stroke for trolling (I don't because I use an electric trolling motor for that), and don't mind giving up some performance, I think the four-stroke is fine. I have two seasons and 480 hours on my 90 EFI Mercury four-stroke and not a single problem with it. It just doesn't deliver the flat-out performance and fuel economy that the OptiMax two-stroke does on the same identical boat (Alumacraft Tournament Pro 185 Tiller).
--
Chris​

 

[Bobber952]

Re: Merc 4 stoke 40 or 50 or Yamaha???

It seems that OptiMax doesn't make a 40 or 50, thanks for the info.

 

[chris.olson]

Re: Merc 4 stoke 40 or 50 or Yamaha???

It seems that OptiMax doesn't make a 40 or 50, thanks for the info.

Well again, the OptiMax is a Mercury engine, it's not a seperate brand of motor. Mercury Marine builds outboards in a joint venture with Tohatsu of Japan. The 50 two-stroke that is available, but not shown on Mercury's website, is a Tohatsu low-pressure direct-injected two-stroke wearing a Mercury badge. They are excellent engines.​

I guess I wouldn't be afraid of any of Mercury's current lineup of engines, either four-stroke or two-stroke. Mercury Marine has a large dealer base, they are financially stable in the currently unstable economy, these engines have excellent warranties, and Mercury will stand behind them whether they are built in China, Japan or Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin.​

I just have a personal dislike for the four-strokes because of their complexity and additional weight as compared to a two-stroke. And just wanted to point out that your main reason for wanting a four-stroke, "quiet", also applies to modern direct-injected two-strokes.​

If you're having trouble wrapping your head around the differences in performance between a two-stroke and four-stroke, Evinrude has an excellent comparison on their website. Go to this URL:
http://www.evinrude.com/en-us/
click on where it says "E-Tec Challenges" and watch the "Hole Shot" video. The E-Tec, like the OptiMax, is a direct-injected two-stroke engine and if you're worried about the quality of the Mercury engine, perhaps consider a 50hp E-Tec.
--
Chris​