200HP or 225HP Mercury

I'm looking to buy a used Mercury and have a few questions. This is for a 20' ski boat.

1. Does a 225 HP provide significantly more power than a 200HP. Obviously 25 more, but is there a big difference in power. I have a 1990 200HP Johnson now and I'm looking for more power. We had a Black Max growing up and put a 1999 Mercury with the same HP and it had a lot more power than the older motor. Curious if that will be the case or if I should step up to a 225HP. I'm not concerned about gas as much as power. We don't go that far on a typical trip.

2. What years are good and which years should I look out for? Currently looking in the 1999 to 2005 year Optimax. Any problem years?

Thank you!

Re: 200HP or 225HP Mercury

If your going to be pulling skiers and tubing go with a EFI engine such as the 2.5 liter 200 EFI or the 3.0 liter 225 EFI. The 1996-2001 was a good engine in the 3 liter series and I myself prefer thr EFI over DFI for sking. For fishing I lean towards the DFI(Optimax) engines of 2001 and newer as older had several problems..

Re: 200HP or 225HP Mercury

It's a barefoot boat, so I should probably go with the 225. Thank you for the recommendation on the years.