2000 Sylvan Spacedeck: How to determine what outboard motors will work?

I tried this over on the Merc Outboard forum with no response. I am looking at buying this boat, no outboard on it, boat is rated up to 150hp. Dealer recommends a 115 Mercury since "the cables are for Merc". He states anything bigger requires hydraulic steering which the boat isn't setup for?

Looking for general advice on what secondhand motors will be fitable.
What shaft length do I look for? This is a shallow-ish trihull.
Can a Johnson or Evinrude be made to fit without a lot of headaches?
If it must be Mercury, what year range is required? Or is it easy to adapt to fit an old motor to a newer boat?

I have no experience with these big outboards...any info would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jim

Re: 2000 Sylvan Spacedeck: How to determine what outboard motors will work?

I just put a 140 hp johnson on an old







I just put a 140 hp Johnson on an old ranger that originaly had a Merc on it. Wasnt too much work just had to change the control box and cables. You should be able to change pretty easy from one make to another. Just aquire a matching control box for the new (new to you)motor and make sure the cables are the right length for your boats application. Measure the Merc cables the new ones should be comparable in length to work.