Honda 50hp vs. Mercury 50hp 4-stroke EFI

[redear]

Do you have opinions on reliability of a Honda 50hp vs. Mercury 50hp 4-stroke EFI?I'm buying my first boat (Lund Classic 16 SS) and I tell the dealer that I want a Honda 50hp, but he swears by a Mercury 50hp 4-stroke because it's EFI.My main concern is reliability. Is a Mercury more likely to leave me stranded at the lake than a Honda? I know EFI means better fuel economy and there are Mercury repair shops everywhere, but that will be of little comfort when stranded 20 miles from the ramp.Also, I know Mercury's 4-stroke are made by Yamaha (or at least a good portion of it), so do you have an opinion of getting a Yamaha instead of Honda or Mercury?Thanks in advance.Sergio

[WillyBWright]

Both are excellent motors. The only trepidations would concern the availability of a servicing dealer for the Honda and future parts availability for the Merc. A lot of parts that go into the Merc powerhead are Yamaha parts. They're itching to sever ties with Merc ASAP, so getting replacement parts may become a problem in the very near future. But regular maintenance parts shouldn't be a problem. Just internal powerhead stuff.

[JB]

Outboard Non-repair topic.