Who Makes The Most Reliable Outboards
 

Not trying to start a brand war, but am looking for the most trouble free, best warranty in the business. Looking in the twin 140-150 size or single 225,250 or possibly 300. This will be for a 23 CC for Sandy and the kids. This boat will be Primarily used for fishing, but skiing and tubing will be used on weekends. Thanks for the help. Jeff

I have had a Yamaha F150 for three years. Just add gas , change the oil and drive fulid occasionally. Everyone I know that has Yamaha 4strokes love them. I think Suzuki has the best warranty.

Unfortunately people are very loyal to certain brands so I don't think you'll get a very accurate depiction...may as well ask mechanics around the local boat yards instead of the OB owners....

Just my opinion!

Evinrude has made a great splash with their etec motors. If I were in the market I would give them a look.

From what I read all over the boating sections on the fishing forums in that HP range it's between Mercury and Yamaha. Mercury has a 5 year warranty right now!

I like both Honda and Yamaha i think they do a great job. And both are offering extended warranties right now. I think between Honda and Yamaha its kind of like Ford vs Chevy. Just my 2cents

Jassman ,,, I think you have to look past the question of what is best ,,, Is is more important to me to have a good service dealer that is big enough to get the Manufacture's attention when I do have a problem ,,, I don't want to hear that I have to wait ,, I want to hear ,, the warranty will cover it , the parts are on the way ,, you will be back on the water by the weekend. that's why in my area I choose Mercury,, so far so good 55 maint free hours with 5 1/2 years left on my warranty . :cool:

RHC

Jassman ,,, I think you have to look past the question of what is best ,,, Is is more important to me to have a good service dealer that is big enough to get the Manufacture's attention when I do have a problem ,,, I don't want to hear that I have to wait ,, I want to hear ,, the warranty will cover it , the parts are on the way ,, you will be back on the water by the weekend. that's why in my area I choose Mercury,, so far so good 55 maint free hours with 5 1/2 years left on my warranty . :cool:

RHC

Merc
 

Run twin 225 Merc Opti's on my charter center console. 1000 trouble free hours so far. Start 'em and they run all day and then they're stopped at the dock when I bring the customer's home. Gas and oil, (and not much oil I might add). Also, regular maintenance parts and service is easy to come by. I broke, (my fault - not the motor), a throttle position sensor and the shop at the marina had them in stock. Service and support are very important. I've heard kinda bad things about after sales support from Yamaha, (the other outboard common in my area).

Thats a good point.. I will have to check with eric at Mid Stream Marine

Yamaha grew into the company it is today for its quality and unparalleled reliability. You see more of their outboards worldwide, from work tenders in Europe to fishing rigs in Latin America than any of the other brands. Don't get me wrong, I like Mercs and Evinrudes for their own specific features and performance, but you won't be dissapointed with the Yammy! :cool:

I've had Evinrudes, yams. and mercs. and had good luck with all of them. I've found if you keep good clean gas and oil in them they last and last.

Yamaha and Merc. Friend of mine has E-Techs on his Intrepid and has had nothing but issues.

7 Years Ago When I Was Shopping For My Motor The Dealer Sold Both Merc And Yams.he Told Me Want To Go Fast Buy A Merc .want It To Last Buy A Yamaha.bought A Yam. Had My Motor To The Dealer Once In 7 Years For Service.but Today With The 4 Strokes Its A Pretty Level Playing Field.before The Verados The Merc 4 Strokes Were Rebadged Yamahas.good Luck

The Albury Brothers are built around the gas tank which is centered in the middle. Single 250-300 or twin 140's or around 800 pounds. The bottom design is differnt in such that it is made to give a soft ride in the rough and with the spray rails it dispurses the water away. Boat rides more in the center vs stern heavy to pack water. In the last year Ive tested many of the big names, and was not impressed with their ride. These boats are use to going back and forth through the Bahamas, the transom is 1-5/8 thick. Im still looking at either a 225 which is good for 43mph or a 250 for 46mph or lastly twin 140's which is 48-49mph. For us its about the reliability vs the speed, but dont necessarily need the over kill on the motors if one will be so reliable. www.alburybrothersboats.com thanks Jeff

Thanks Mark:D Oh by the way your warranty is up.

im seeing an awful lot of, and hearing good things about the suzuki's, i priced a pair of them yesterday for the 250's they want 14k a piece and are throwing in the guages and controls,the mechanics and owners ive talked too rave about their reliability and fuel mileage

These Days Reliability Is The Norm.most Boats You See Being Tow In Are Usually Out Of Gas Or An Older P.o.s. I've Been 48 Miles Offshore In The Atlantic More Than Once And Never Had Any Issues.buy The Way Those Albury Brothers Boats Are Preet Nice.!!!

They're all pretty good and reliable these days and the warranties have become a company-to-company competition.
I use the following link as a comparison for fair pricing- they sell in large volumes and are a pretty decent benchmark to find out if you are getting a decent buy from your local dealer.

http://www.edsmarinesuperstore.com/

I have had them all and the Yamaha is by far the best, I have a 115 4 stroke EFI and it is so quiet that all you hear is the pisser. Plus the rigging and matched gages are great, all digital and all tied to the motor. Even trim angle is on there.

Mercury or Yamaha

TOHATSU!

:cool-smiley-027:
Just kidding.

Is that your dash in the Avatar? That is one nice place for the compass, I am not being sarcastic, mine was over on the pass side and I could not even read it. It may not be used a ton unless you race but when you do it is right there. I grew up sailing and the compass was always right in your line of sight by just glancing down. Mine was so useless I never used it, I used the GPS...:D Look at the pic....

I gotta tell ya's...

if you had walked in every engine sellers booth's at the Laud show like I did, asked questions, and saw their video's and listened to their sales people, every engine out there is a POS.

I came out of there more confused than going in...

also gotta say the video in the Etech booth of the pulloff between the Yammi and the Etech was downright funny...

the ONLY downside I have heard of the Zuki's is the resale and parts availablity, other than that people kill for them... one seller told me ya don't need to stock parts if they don't break...

Jass, I would stick with Merc or Yamaha for the power range you are looking at. Getting any kind of service on Merc or Yamaha will be super easy. Go check out the fishing boat forums and you will get a good idea of what brands and models to look at then go ask around at different independant marine service center that work equally on Merc or Yamaha.

I have owned or worked on almost every outboard motor for about thirty years. Based on my experience, I would recommend mercury 2 cycle salt water series. Many of the internal components that tend to corrode over time even in fresh water are stainless.

Im NOW looking at the Merc's...What's the diff between Verado, which I believe is supercharged, OptiMax and their Four stroke model. This is not a perf CC, so all around fuel economy and pull for tubing or skiing is preferred. Reliability is still the main focus. Im now looking to a single vs twin, 225-300hp. Thanks Jeff

Well Jass,, now that you have picked the best engine builder ,, :D:D

I have the 300V,,,, the new bottem end oiling system seems to work very well,, I get better fuel effi than I did with the 275V that I first had,,,, I can not speak for the 150's but they should follow the same path,,, I choose the 4 stroke beause I did not want to buy the 2 cycle oil and also I wanted to burn any gas (octane) that I could find ... So far, its all good !! Those were my reason's ,, thats all ,, just choices !!!

Good luck!!

RHC

Jassman, since I left the south florida market 4 years ago I have been serviving by servicing all makes and models with 4 trucks on the road full time. The least amount of repairs we have seen come from Honda!!
No other brand comes close...The merc's and Yamahas are virtually the same motors with the same reaccuring problems. I suggest 4 stroke, fuel injection and you will be a happy camper. Good luck on your purchase:ernaehrung004:
P.S. I do miss all you guy's

It's good to hear from you..man it's been a long time...Im leaving tomorrow for the KW PR, picking boat up at Nortech then over to the A.T. Plant...drop boat off and then head to Riveria Beach FL..to the Albury Brothers plant to check on Sandy's 23 CC boat we are having then build us one. Very excited on that, thats what I needed the outboard for...Ill have to check out Honda and see if we have a close dealer near by..Thanks Jeff

I don't have any real experience with outboards. But, has anybody ever had any real problems with anything Honda has made in the last several decades? I've owned Honda cars, bikes, generators, etc. Nothing on the planet compares with their quality or reliability for the money. They seem to be the masters of 4 c's. Just an easy observation....

Jass - sure you will actually keep your new Nortec :rolleyes: you just have fun building custom toys. If I could, I would too!
:D

Probably the best. I've seen the Tohatsus abused badly and still run well. Unfortunately they are not playing in the big HP game,