2001 15hp 2stroke merc opinions

[boater1234]

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Well today i just found a brand new 15hp merc 2stroke for $1000 that was just pulled out of the box and used as a demo for 2mths at a marina.The actual yr of the motor is 2001 but it was not taken out of the box till 2mths ago.The guy had it for 9yrs in storage at his marina he was going to use for a small jon boat for his child in 2001 but never did so it just sat in the box till this yr.

The questions i have is this motor basically bulletproof as long as i take care of the basics like lower unit oil,plugs,fuel filter and line,and also i will use full synthetic oil in it at 25:1 for 8hrs and then 50:1 after it is broken in right?

Is there any type of flaw on these motors that i need to watch out for?Also will it push a 1442 alumacraft jon boat with no problem?

I was also wondering on a 1442 that weighs around 230lbs plus motor, me,wife,kid and gear which would be around say 850lbs just to guess,what would be the best prop for top end and good out of the hole shot.Has anyone run this engine on a jon boat with a load,what prop size should i use for the best performance?

 

[d.boat]

Re: 2001 15hp 2stroke merc opinions

My opinion is that any new engine that enjoys just the basic mainenance will be "bullet proof" for as long as you take care of it. There may be statistical differences in samples of 1,000s run for thousands of hours, but nothing that is meaningful to the average conscientious user.

I'm not a believer in the added cost of synthetic lube, but others disagree.

As for the performance: what is the max. HP on that boat? What is the load capacity? My experience is that if your typical load doesn't max out the boat and your engine is at or near the max. HP of the boat, you'll probaly be happy. You probably won't be happy in the long run if you're at the max. weight of the boat and well below the max. HP.

If the motor, load and hull match up well, I'd buy a $1,000 15 hp in that condition if the source was trustworthy (i.e. no BS on the prior use and care). Even though it's 10 years old for "resale" value, that doesn't mean anything to me, and that price would be good for a motor w/ that history in my town, if you could ever find one. The alternatives are a "real" 10 y.o. motor for about that price maybe a little less, or "real" new one for, well you know what they sell for.

As for prop - I can't answer, except for my two kickers (older 10 and 15 HP), when I looked, I seem to remember that there are really only two props available, one pitched for pushing a big, heavy boat for trolling the other for pushing a light boat on plane as the main motor. I wonder if you'll find any more options than that for a 15? I'd be interested in this too.

 

[boater1234]

Re: 2001 15hp 2stroke merc opinions

Thanks for the reply d.boat.I have bought it already as i couln't pass up a deal like that.I checked what needed to be checked like compression was at 120lbs on both cylinders i mean dead on both,the lower unit had clean oil,the carb was spotless plus the motor was so clean you could eat off of it.

The boat is a 1442 alumacraft ncs[no center seat]that weighs in at 230lbs and the max hp is 25 but i know with a 25 that boat will be scary or so iv'e heard from some people.It is just a flat bottom jon boat and has a full load of 800lbs persons,motor,gear.Most of the time i will be by myself but evey once in a while i want to bring the wife and kid.

There is a marina that did a test on a 1448 alumacraft with a 15hp 4stroke suzuki and that boat is 30lbs heavier then the boat i want.The test result was with 2 people and gear they hit 25mph gps which i don't doubt for a second.So i can't see how this motor will have any problems getting on plane and having a good top speed.Plus it is a 2stroke it only weight in at 73lbs.I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this motor and what to expect on that boat i want.

 

[RicMic]

Re: 2001 15hp 2stroke merc opinions

I have that exact same boat with a 9.9 Honda four stroke on it, which probably weighs as much or more than your engine. It planes out fast and does a little over 20mph. I'm not afraid of fast boats, but this boat with a 25hp on it would be a little scary on anything, but dead flat water! I wish I had a 15hp on mine, but we have a lot of 10hp limit lakes around here. By the way, I built a little "console" for my NCS, it gave me a place to mount my sonar, etc. and holds the cooler underneath.