outboard motors

[rsw21282]

Ok, wow i didnt think it would turn into a dramatic post. I had posted the motor opinion question and few questions someone asked was how old, what u gonna do with it, boat size, controls. I am looking for the whole package, boat motor and if the all around deal is good, controls on it, but just mounting it and going with a smaller motor would be acceptable. I had a late 80's force engine on a bass boat and has given me nothing but trouble. However i dont mind that because it's a lesson learned i went old for cheap and got what i paid for, so this time around im doing as much research as possible to ensure im not as likely to get scr$wed over. Im gonna buy a whole new(used) boat for fishing(just fishing), boat at or under 18', however i live near the gulf and would like a flats/offshore combo(not far offshore 3-5mi on calm days, with a small 6hp kicker) I like the boston whalers, carolina skiffs,etc. I think in order to get the dependability i am looking for 10yrs old is about the max im gonna go. 2stroke or 4 stroke isnt a big thing but i have heard 4strokes run for ever? And a lot of ppl have described the best outboard motor as a boxer or brief, chevy or ford question. Which is understandable, im simply looking for advice to what would be the best motor for the money. Sorry if im repeatative, just gettin as much info as possible. I am noticing a bit more favor toward OMC, I am curious as to opinions of all boaters, but i am especially curious as to the opinions of the saltwater boaters as i have heard of a lot of problems for motors due to saltwater exposure even with good maintenance. Could just be inexperienced boaters like myself, but all i do after saltwater exposure is freshwater rinse the motor with earmuffs and spray the outside off, anything else that should be done? The motor range would be 9.9-90hp dependant on the deal. Is fuel injection a big deal in outboards as far as performance, economic, and dependability? Are all the newer motors "computerized" and difficult to do your own maintenance? Any motor brands typically harder or more expensive to get parts on(besides the older ones)? Any hold up to salt better? I have heard "jet drive" boats eat more gas(i know not usually an outboard)is that true?

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: outboard motors

I think as long as your going 10 years or less, my answer to the BEST motor is "One with a Warranty".

As for the service and parts, get one that has a dealer near by. If there are more than one, then go and talk to the people at the dealership. See if you like them and they seem to do a good job for other people. Ask them for a few references.

I really dont think (by todays standards) that there is a huge difference in the makes.

As for the salt water, get one made for it.

Now the big answers, Briefs, and Ford for me......

 

[rsw21282]

Re: outboard motors

What brands or models are made for saltwater?

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: outboard motors

What brands or models are made for saltwater?

I think they all have a specific model for salt. For sure Yamaha and Merc do.

 

[jeff_smith_0423]

Re: outboard motors

What brands or models are made for saltwater?

Johnson's from the late 80's on are labled "Ocean Runners". There's a similar designation with the Evinrudes. I believe all of the new BRP E-Tec's are somewhat saltwater ready.

Agree: you need a motor with a warranty. I've seen your threads and you've asked some good questions but they're questions that don't have straight yes/no answers so you're going to get a lot of opinions, most of which are valid.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: outboard motors

You said you could end up with anything from 9.9 to 90 HP. That's like saying I can get by with anything from a VW Beetle to a Chevy Tahoe for a car. Your questions simply don't have concrete answers. If you came to the conclusion that Johnson/Evinrude was the best choice, you will undoubtedly ignore everything else out there and could possibly end up with an engine that has been neglected, abused, misused, and fail in a couple days. Your response would be "But you said this was the best motor for the buck!". See where we are going with this? An extremely well cared for Force/Chrysler may in fact be the best bang for the buck if you end up with a trashed Johnson, even though the Force/Chrysler does not have the best reputation and parts are getting scarce. Do your research. If you have no idea how to tell a good engine/boat from a bad one, then take someone with you that does.

 

[rsw21282]

Re: outboard motors

Silvertip, I have seen your post to my questions a few times and I see what point ur trying to make about being a matter of opinion and in this response i am not trying to be impolite just stating my response. However like you said anything from a 9.9-90hp motor is like comparing vw bug to tahoe, but in the same sense i said i want something for fishing that doesnt have to be fast really, just be dependable and hold up to saltwater. So just like a car if i said i live in a snowy area what should i get, usually and answer would be 4wheel drive, 6cyl or more, fuel injection is a better, and (in my opinion)toyota and honda hold up the best(yet i own a jeep) but look to see what kind of dealerships offer service in your area. Im not gonna blame anyone but myself, just gonna get all opinions out there take what opinions are relative to my situation and use that info to assist in my boat purchase.

Are there any "signs" i should look for in the engine before the purchase? My last boat I took a sample of lower unit oil to check for milkyness, had it started(sounded ok), and put in gear to ensure drive system/lowerunit worked(which all worked fine). what i came to find out was in water it wouldnt go past a fast idle and later the ingnition box, ignition coil, fuel pump diaphragm, spark plugs, inline fuel filter, water pump and fuel lines needed to be replaced so im trying to avoid these things. I dont have anyone to go with me to look. I know a bit about motors and did most of the maint. myself on the last one except for a few problems. I bought a manual and that was alright. I ask most of my questions because i am newish to marine engines and didnt know most ppl consider force engines junk. Also just found out gamefisher engines are junk, of course any neglected engine will fail. But like cars honda, and toyota generally run longer than ford and chevy, which is the kind of info i am/was looking for, depends on owners. but as much as i would rather buy american its a fact.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: outboard motors

Honda and Toyota run longer than Ford or Chevy? Of course you have actual data to support that claim. I recently looked at some car ads in northern Wisconsin shopper and saw the vast majority of the trucks in those ads had between 200,000 and 300,000 miles. I rarely trade vehicles with less than 150,000 miles and have driven GM vehicles for years. Not once has any of them ever left me on the side of the road needing a tow. See how the responses you are looking for are meaningless? You cannot get objective answers for the question you are asking. Not only do you not know what size engine you want (perhaps this equates to the Toyota 4-cylinder engine crankcase ventilation/sludge problem of a few years ago) which gets into the situation where not all engines from one manufacturer are better than all engines from another. Every manufacturer has had some issues of one type or another over the years. Honda four strokes have had carb issues. Evinrude Ficht, Mercury Optimax and Yamaha two-strokes have had injection problems in the transition from carbs. Carbed two strokes are being banned in many lakes. If your area is headed in that direction you need to avoid a carbed two stroke. Fuel injected four strokes are not exactly trouble free either. Again -- I hope you realize that unless you settle on a little narrower range of product you will not get meaningful input. You can't settle on an engine until you settle on a boat. If you are buying a used boat, you will have little choice on the engine. What it has is what you get. My suggestion to you would be to narrow your wants down to a maximum of three boat types (size and style). Then shop for only those three. Then post back here with what you find. People that actually own those boats will then be able to give you real world opinion -- not simply opinion based on what they heard from a friend of a friend of a friend.

 

[rsw21282]

Re: outboard motors

Silvertip, Yes sir i do have data to support this, just go to yahoo auto among many sites, its not a mystery why ford, chevy, and dodge are having a harder time with sales compared to the foreign mfg's. I in my own experience have seen many american mades quit after a 100k while jap's makes go for 2,3,400k before quiting. I wish it wasnt so, as i prefer to buy american, i actually have a jeep. I am a veteran and a patriot, which is the main reason. But facts are facts, the jap's make em better. However i dont want to argue cars, boats are my question. You obviously know boats better than me which is why i am asking questions. If i had to choose a "perfect boat" it would be a boston whaler, carolina skiff or something along those lines with a 20-50hp motor, around 16' long not more than 10yrs old and under 5k if possible, hopefully with a "steering package"(not sure what the package is called when u go from directly controling the motor to a steering wheel). Now the question(since i have seen multiples of these boats) which motor to choose? johnson, evinrude, merc, honda, yammy, zuki, or other off brands? Also is there an age limit to a boat that some would stay away from? for example that lemon i bought was not bad for fiberglass, i fixed most problems there, but the wood inside some fiberglass frames was rotten so i had to figure some other way to suppor that load. As well i have also heard that with fiberglass the gel coat can be a problem if it rubs the dock, or up on sand, just in general wears quicker.

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: outboard motors

I have read all of your posts RSW, when a person says anything from 9-90HP will do and then says they want to do saltwater...it begs the question;

Exactly how do you expect to go out on the ocean in a 12 ft skiff with a 9 HP motor?

It would seem to me you need to sit down and write down what qualities you require in a boat, such as;

1) I need to have ocean access

2) It needs to handle ocean waves

3) I can afford this amount of money

4) It needs to be reliable and not cost more to fix/maintain than I have invested.

I bet once you answer these questions for yourself you will have narrowed down the kind of boat/motor you will require, whether you can afford it is another issue.

There is no perfect boat, there is no perfect motor. What there is blended compromises of everything...just like life.

For example my boat originally had a Yamaha on it, I would have preferred to stay Yamaha but upgrading to a higher HP level would have cost me twice as much to do Yamaha than a Merc...there is just more of them here. Do I like Yamaha better? Kinda! Have I been impressed with my Merc? Kinda! Each has strengths and weaknesses, I kinda like that I can get parts for my Merc anywhere I go around here...Yamaha parts are a fortune in comparison.

You need to ask yourself serious questions about the kind of boat that will fill your needs instead of asking such general questions that have no solid answer. One thing is for sure, your needs cannot be met by a 9HP 12 ft skiff if you want to go out on the ocean to fish, there are limitations to everything.

Until you do these things your questions will seem like you have not answered the basic question list and no one can help you with that. Figure out your priorities and get back to us.

 

[rsw21282]

Re: outboard motors

As ignorant as i am, i have used a friends 10'zodiack with a 40hp motor and gone out 1mi, may not have been the smartest move. Day was calm, even local bait shop said "ok" to go out. Not that, that was gospel but forecast good and didnt see any problem. My prereq's would be min14ft-18ft, and a preferred motor would be 20-50hp. whatever model holds up to salt.

in response:very true, what im trying to say is i can spend 500 or 5000 on a boat dependent on the deal. 500 being a stricktly flats jon boat with an old 9.9, on the other end is 5k with a 9 or 10 yr old 75hp 16-20ft boat. I know im not gonnna find exactly the info im looking for. Im gonna have to shop around. I just wanted to know ppls opinion(as hard as what it was to extract). Like an epasode of dr. phil or something. But atleast i learned(in a popular opinion) force and gamefisher are junk, omc seems pretty good, aluminum hull is a bit better, there are some ready saltwater models, and a lot more about acronyms,etc.... Just wanna say thanx guys so far, this website is truely a learning site. I know this opinion sh!t is night and day but the majority of opinions similiar to my conditions my boat would be used in is valuable info.

Maybe my original post should have beenfor saltwater)
For fishing inshore/close offshore,
1. 14ft and under
2. 14-16
3.16-20
motor:merc, evin, john, yam, zuki, hon, or other? pic ONE! (keep it simple)

 

[ezmobee]

Re: outboard motors

You really can't go wrong buying a newer outboard that has been well cared for with a decent dealer close to you for service.

I have seen all your posts and I agree with Silvertip that your questions are too general. I think you would be better served by looking at Craigslist, etc. in your area and asking us our opinions on specific boat/motor packages that you are interested in. It will do you no good to find out from us that (for example) "an 18' Boston Whaler with a 90HP Suzuki is absolutely the best boat to buy" if you can't find one of those anywhere near you to purchase.

 

[rsw21282]

Re: outboard motors

ok, well i guess im just gonna have to go look at some boats and go from there. thanx guys.

 

[dingbat]

Re: outboard motors

FWIW: A 10 year old salt run motor is about 90 human years old. Much after that corrosion gets the best of them and it?s not long before they go kaboom.

There as also a lot of motors with serious corrosion issue back in those days. You can?t really generalize by manufacturer either. Not all of a particular manufacturers models where affected. The best thing you can do is find a couple of boats and ask about the particulars of that boat. I personality would not buy any used SW motor without tearing off a few things to check the condition of the water passages.

 

[Mr. Florida]

Re: outboard motors

Exactly how do you expect to go out on the ocean in a 12 ft skiff with a 9 HP motor?

Just come to Cedar Key, Steinhatchee or Keaton Beach, Florida and you will see a lot of folks out in the Gulf of Mexico in 12' skiffs out there. Some 2-3 miles out. Not uncommon. I wouldn't do it. To far to walk if it sinks.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: outboard motors

with few exceptions on the smallest motors, all of them can be run in saltwater. They just age quicker, and even a good running one can be impossible to fix due to bolts being seized--as a case in point, a broken shift lever on an old but good-running 18 was the end of that motor becuase the old one could not be removed, as a practical matter. So if you live around salt water you are probably going to buy a salt motor. And there are wide degrees of salt, too; a seaside boat and an up-the-bay boat will show a big difference to a trained eye.