Looking for best 10 hp outboard

[Mastiff107]

New to site. I have a 17 foot aluminum that I run in the Puget Sound (salt water) with a 60hp Merc. Looking for a good new backup motor, probably about 10 to 15 hp which I will only run about 20 hours a year or less. Just want it incase things go south. Any opinions on most dependable and whether 2 or 4 cycle? I am currently running a 15 hp Evenrude (20 years old) which has let me down once too often. Thanks for any informed opinions.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Looking for best 10 hp outboard

No one is making a bad outboard these days (name brands). Reliability between brands should be very comparable.

That being said, a 20 year old Evinrude gone over by a competent mechanic should also be a very reliable motor.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Looking for best 10 hp outboard

I agree. New motors are all pretty reliable and generally four stroke, which usually means lots of funny black boxes and electronic gizmos, to make them "more efficient", but that also tends to make them a lot heavier, and a lot more expensive (+$100 per hp!) than older motors. Not to mention the fact that all new motors look alike and are not the easiest things in the world to fix for yourself, should something go wrong thanks to the aforementioned gizmos. That being said, you may want to look into a nice vintage 2 stroke. They're dead simple to fix, cheap to buy, repair and maintain, very reliable and (most importantly) they look way cool Johnson 10 hp QD models from the mid 50's-mid 70's are some of the strongest, most reliable and best looking motors ever made (especially the 50's era two tone models). I have one and LOVE it! You'll find lots of other folks who agree. The same goes for 15 hp of the same vintage. Don't be afraid of the classics just because they're "Old". There is a reason so many of them are still running 50+ years after they were made. I highly doubt you'll see any modern motors in use 50 years from now. Just a thought. Happy hunting.