Mercury Or Yamaha?

[rickromin]

I currently have a 1994 3 cyl mercury on my fishing boat. I am looking to upgrade to a 60 hp 4-stroke in either mercury or yamaha. Any opinions??

 

[DJ]

Re: Mercury Or Yamaha?

Buy from a dealer you trust.<br /><br />Other than that, the powerheads are the same.

 

[orca]

Re: Mercury Or Yamaha?

The Merc has EFI the Yam is I think Carby.

 

[Turn-key]

Re: Mercury Or Yamaha?

I am presently going through the same scenario.<br /><br />What I have been able to learn is this:<br /><br />Both Mercury and Yamaha have EFI. According to most sources the top end of these engines are identical with just the leg being different. It seems that Yamaha makes the top (power head) for Mercury engines in this category.<br /><br />The Mercury is about 10 lbs heavier.<br /><br />Everybody so far has advised me to go with the best /local available dealer as my deciding factor.<br /><br />I presently have a Mercury control box in my boat so that will save me money as well as make the hook-up much easier.<br /><br />I am going to go Mercury 60 HP - 4 Stoke with EFI. <br /><br />Even though For some odd reason I have a weird (and probably foolish) feeling that the Yamaha might be a better engine. I believe that this probably comes from an experience I had with an old (1960's) 50 hp Mercury that caused me trouble and ended up costing me to replace the leg.<br /><br />In this century (LOL) most of these engines are so well built that the maker is not as important as it once use to be.<br /><br />Best of Luck with you new engine.

 

[Turn-key]

Re: Mercury Or Yamaha?

Hi,<br /><br />Just thought I would drop back in and let you know what I decided. I went with the Mercury 60 HP (4 stoke EFI) for the boat. My decision was swayed by the fact of availabilty in my area of motors to be purchased without having to wait a few weeks and the fact that my boat already had Merc controls.<br /><br />Also the area I will be using the boat the most is is dominated by a Merc dealer whom I have known for many years. As many posters indicated in these forums, go with a motor that has a good local dealer.<br /><br />On the the orignal dealers suggestion (not dealer as per above) I had a 14 pitch prop installed. I spent the better part of five hours on a local lake breaking in the engine as per directions in the manual.<br /><br />Engine ran very good, extremely easy to start (EFI feature) and did not even bump my gas gauge down a single bit from full tank for the whole testing period. (46 liter tank) I found this unbelievable but it is true.<br /><br />The only disappointment was that for those few brief moments I ran full open (as per manual) and being properly trimmed I was only able to make 4900 RPM. I called the dealer and he is sending a 13 pitch prop for me to test.<br /><br />Hopefully this will place me into the proper RPM range and perhaps I can gain a bit more top speed in the deal.<br /><br />Well that is my update that might hopefully help somebody else decide what to purchase. Also I should mention that I was getting about 34-35 mph. at top speed for those few brief moments of breaking in the engine. The air was about 75 degrees, water at about 50 degrees and I am at a very high altitude (3500 above sea level).<br /><br />Regards,

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Mercury Or Yamaha?

A long time friend of mine is the service manager at a large marina in Va beach. His head mechanic tells people this "If you want to go fast, buy a Mercury. If you want to go far and fast, buy a Yamaha. If you want to come see me, buy an Evinrude or Johnson. He does qualify that statement by saying that does not apply to the older EvinJohns. Personally, I don't know if there is anything to that or not.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Mercury Or Yamaha?

Geez, I moved from 4000ft, and nobody understood why I couldn't turn the same pitch as others on the same boat elsewhere...???<br />What is the recommended RPM range on that engine??<br />34-35 is cookin' right along for a 14 pitch..dropping to a 13 is gonna give "approx" 200 more RPM, but don't expect a speed gain-it "may" drop about 1-2 MPH.

 

[achris]

Re: Mercury Or Yamaha?

New Yammy's are great. But once they reach about 5 years old, trade them in. The Japanese don't have the metal technologies quite right yet. For long life of metal bits, stay with the American product.<br /><br />This is sort of borne out by the fact that Yamaha are on their second 'saltwater' series. Obviously the earlier Yamms weren't up to it, so they released the 'Saltwater Series'. Few years back came 'Saltwater Series II'. Seems series one didn't cut it either.<br /><br />Chris...........

 

[Turn-key]

Re: Mercury Or Yamaha?

walleyehed,<br /><br />The recommend RPM range is 5500 - 6000. Hope I do not reduce the speed of the boat but will know Monday or Tuesday when I get a chance to take her out.