Which outboard would you choose?

[Dunaruna]

I need a new outboard motor fairly soon and cannot decide on which brand. My needs are simple, i want turnkey reliability and economical MPG in the 30HP range. Freshwater use only. The contenders are (4 stroke) mercEFI, Yamaha EFI, SuzukiEFI, Tohatsu EFI. The yamaha weighs in at 100kg, all the others are under 80kg. All offer good warranty, all have dealers near my hometown. Honda offer a 4 stroke carburettor model that weighs 83kg and is slightly dearer than the abovementioned EFI's. I cannot determine if the honda offers a non tiller version, still looking into that.

This motor will be used on a custom built pontoon boat that will be the tender for a houseboat and fishing, mainly trolling. It will be remote console controls (not tiller). The boat will be 15ft in length.

I am leaning towards the merc simply because i have had 7 years trouble free boating from a 2004 efi bigfoot but to be perfectly fair, i am not familiar with the other brands. For that matter, the 2011 merc might be a POS for all I know. That's why i am posting here, to find out what the latest chat is within the boating world. What's good and what's not so good? Should i throw the ETEC into the mix?

My thoughts so far. I like yamaha because of the large pots (747cc, over 200cc larger than any other) and it shares the largest alternator with suzuki. The extra weight of the yamaha could be an issue.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[svxtech]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

yamaha and honda both make great outboards, i would lean to them over the merc, but thats just me

 

[bassman284]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

If it makes any difference, the merc is a tohatsu.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

I like the Merc's but if I was to buy a new one today these would be my choices:
1) Yamaha
2) Suzuki
3) Honda
4) Tohatsu(same as Merc but priced lower)
5) Mercury

 

[todd ashley peters]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

go for a honda for a house or pontoon boat. Yamahas would rather be run hard.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

go for a honda for a house or pontoon boat. Yamahas would rather be run hard.

That odd as 90% of the pontoons I service in drystack are Yammys 90-225hp

 

[steelespike]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

The Etec has a lot of good points 25 or 30 hp 146lbs manual tilt and start to 183lbs elec start.power tilt and trim. Available in tiller,tiller/remote acc., and remote/tiller acc.No service for 3 years or 300 hours.Fewer less complicated service intervals. 17 mph on a 16ft 900 lb pontoon.

 

[DanMC]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

Honda

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

I did not know that merc was tohatsu, thanks for that piece of information. I think that i will take a closer look at the honda and yamaha. Still cannot find a forward control honda. The local suzuki dealer has a sale on, worth a closer look also.

 

[chuckp]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

Hello,

How did this work out - which motor did you chose and are you happy with it?!

Thanks,

Chuck

1978 Evinrude 35 hp & 16 ft home built wooden skiff

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

In the end there were 2 reasons that 'forced' me to choose mercury. Dealer rebates and dealer location. I have fitted a 30hp mercury EFI remote with trim. All up cost was $5800. The closest competitor was nearly $7000 (yamaha). Honda do not make a forward control in that HP. Suzuki & tohatsu do not have dealers near my hometown. The boat is currently being built in a remote location, the mercury dealer has agreed to visit that location and perform the pre-delivery onsite - for free! I have fitted the motor, see here -

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=524581&p=3562074&posted=1#post3562074

 

[chuckp]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

Motor looks good - really nice looking project!

Chuck

 

[pecheux]

Re: Which outboard would you choose?

IMHO Dealer location close by = good choice.