Best 115 pre 2000 for gph at cruise?

[123gman321]

I have a starcraft starchief 18.5 900lbs reality 1500 lbs and I need to repower. I'd love a 4 stroke but $$$. I cruise alot at 20-25 mph. So what would be the best 2 stroke 90 to 115 pre 2000 for cruising not wot, not trolling (I know 10% of horsepower at wot = gph). For me 10% rule is not much good as either the boat is at rest engine idling 10% of the time or running just on plane to 25 mph and maybe 10% at wot. All the time I hear a question like this I never hear on x hull and x hp x outboard brand at x rpm at x mpg I traveled 30 miles there and 30 miles back and burned around x gallons (and we checked x for 20 minutes at 1500 rmp ect) I'm not looking for exact numbers but if I had to by a car based on wot I'd be lost like am about outboard fuel consumption.

 

[ChrisAG]

Re: Best 115 pre 2000 for gph at cruise?

It sounds like your primary concern is fuel economy, and since you want a 2-stroke you should get a Direct Injected engine, of which there were only two of that era, Ficht and I believe Optimax.

The bashers may say they had a lot of problems, but in the Ficht case it was only the V6s - the V4s were as reliable as any other engine. I don't know much about Mercurys from that era.

I picked up a 1998 Evinrude Ficht 115 at the start of this season and it has been problem free so far, and gets decent fuel economy. I haven't measured it but compared to carbureted engines I believe the claim of 30% better efficiency at all engines speeds except at WOT, where any engine is a gas hog.

The propeller will also have an impact - I switched from an aluminum 17" pitch to a 15" pitch stainless 4-blade Rogue (for water skiing, tubing), and while the holeshot is now amazing, the engine uses more fuel, even when not towing a tube.