Should I buy early 90's Nissan 18hp or 93 Mariner 15hp?

[77buzzer]

Should I buy early 90's Nissan 18hp or 93 Mariner 15hp? The Nissan is in great shape and was used as a kicker in fresh water whole life and apparently very fast. It starts first pull and has recent tune-up, carb work, fuel pump and leg oil. The Mariner has been stored and never used, I know it's hard to believe but it has never been mounted on a boat. The Mariner is a couple of hundred dollars more and both are 2 stroke short shafts tillers. I will be mounting them on my very light weight 14' harbercraft aluminum boat. I will be using them for lake fishing and dropping off crab nets. Which do you think I should get and what are the pros and cons of each. Anyone also know the weight of the Mariner, can both be used in sea water and reliability of both motors and parts availability? Thanks

 

[JB]

Re: Should I buy early 90's Nissan 18hp or 93 Mariner 15hp?

That would be close to me, buzzer. I would go for the one that had the closest parts and service available.

 

[77buzzer]

Re: Should I buy early 90's Nissan 18hp or 93 Mariner 15hp?

You think parts are still available for both. I'm new to boating and don't know. Is the Mariner 15hp identical to a Mercury 15hp? Does anyone know what the Mariner would weigh? I have a Back issue so the lighter the better. I have a close by Merc and Tohatsu dealers. Thx

 

[bbstacker1]

Re: Should I buy early 90's Nissan 18hp or 93 Mariner 15hp?

buzzer, I picked up a 94/95 Tohatsu 9.9C, 2S, LS around Feb of this year, since that time I have learned a few things about these engines.
First, the 9.9, 15 and 18 all share most parts and are basically the same engine, I think the major difference is the 18 has a larger bore to get the bump in horsepower, they are all about the same in weight which is somewhere around 85-95 pounds depending on configuration. The weight is a bit heavier than a John/Evin of the same years, not sure about the other makes. The construction of the engine is pretty basic but seems to be very rugged (I have learned that my 9.9 has a lot of the same parts in the lower end, gears for example, that the present day 20 hp Tohatsu/Nissan/Mercury have). As to parts availability that may be an issue, just depends on the exact model you have, you could inquire with the guys over at the Tohatsu forum for particulars. Don't know about the Mariner, if it is pre-Mercury then I believe it would be a Yamaha build which should be a good engine. One other thing I recently noticed on my Tohatsu, is that it doesn't have a shallow water drive, it does have six trim positions and a tilt lock up position but no shallow water position if that matters to you.

 

[77buzzer]

Re: Should I buy early 90's Nissan 18hp or 93 Mariner 15hp?

I'm kind of leaning toward the Mariner just because it is basically brand new. I know now that the 1993 15hp 2s ss Mariner is 75lbs and the early 90's Nissan 18hp 2s ss is 83lbs. But are both pretty much equally reliable and can both be used in salt as long as you flush and clean them afterwards? Also from what I understand the Mariner is basically a Mercury but I may be wrong. I'm going pick one of them up on Tuesday so anyone's into would be great. I want to get boating and fishing asap. Thx

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Should I buy early 90's Nissan 18hp or 93 Mariner 15hp?

Which Tohatsu 18 HP model would it be 18E, 18E2, if last much better as it's the current model still available worldwide except if 2 strokes country banned. With respect to 15 Mariner is same model as the Mercury version, but could be a rebadged Yamaha model for Mariner/Mercury or could be a rebadged Tohatsu too (check pic) anyway, a 18 is better for your boat. It's same size, weight and with 50 CC extra punch compared to a 15. You cannot convert a 15 into a 18. You decide...

Happy Boating