The late 80s Mercury 135 black max gave up the ghost recently so I'm looking at my options for a repower and would appreciate any input.
The boat is a 2000 18ft fiberglass Smokercraft V180, 96" beam, dry weight of ~1300 with a max HP rating of 175.
With the old motor it would get on plane pretty quick and cruise WOT around 45mph.
The first option the dealer presented me with was a new 150 Merc 4 stroke for around 15k. yikes.
I know new motors are expensive, so I was hoping to find something used late model, lower hours, but I'm finding that the market for those is pretty much non-existent. There's one seller on ebay that seems to specialize in such a market but a quick google search shows multiple horror stories.
Another local dealer has a NIB two stroke 150 ProXS for around 10k. I'm liking that more but that's still a lot of money.
A third option I've been given is another dealer for a 150 Evinrude G2 for about 14k.
Finally, I could have my existing powerhead rebuilt, but I don't know how keen I am sinking what will still be a decent amount of money into such an old motor given that I plan to keep the boat for years to come.
I know all of the benefits of a four stroke, but I'm concerned that some aspects of performance will take a hit, namely hole shot even if I drop that amount on a 30 year newer motor. Am I way off base there?
Given the above options, would you rule any out immediately or seek out other options? Mercs are the prevalent option around here, with a few Evinrude and Yamaha dealers sprinkled in.
The boat is a 2000 18ft fiberglass Smokercraft V180, 96" beam, dry weight of ~1300 with a max HP rating of 175.
With the old motor it would get on plane pretty quick and cruise WOT around 45mph.
The first option the dealer presented me with was a new 150 Merc 4 stroke for around 15k. yikes.
I know new motors are expensive, so I was hoping to find something used late model, lower hours, but I'm finding that the market for those is pretty much non-existent. There's one seller on ebay that seems to specialize in such a market but a quick google search shows multiple horror stories.
Another local dealer has a NIB two stroke 150 ProXS for around 10k. I'm liking that more but that's still a lot of money.
A third option I've been given is another dealer for a 150 Evinrude G2 for about 14k.
Finally, I could have my existing powerhead rebuilt, but I don't know how keen I am sinking what will still be a decent amount of money into such an old motor given that I plan to keep the boat for years to come.
I know all of the benefits of a four stroke, but I'm concerned that some aspects of performance will take a hit, namely hole shot even if I drop that amount on a 30 year newer motor. Am I way off base there?
Given the above options, would you rule any out immediately or seek out other options? Mercs are the prevalent option around here, with a few Evinrude and Yamaha dealers sprinkled in.