Yamaha or Honda?

[Jerryd]

Am buying a Hewescraft 18 foot Pro-v with extended transom in January of this next year.
Am being told by several dealers that a 115 horse motor will do well, and a 150 horse can be mounted if I want to have more power at my disposal then "necessary".
Everyone seems to like either Yamaha or Honda.... what can you tell me from your actual experience on the 115's and 150's? Any real preference? or, just go with who is a good service shop in my area?

Your recommendations appreciated!

Cheers.

[double tap]

You touched on the best answer already. Go with whichever brand has the best/most trustworthy servicing dealer in your area. Both brands have excellent outboards.

With that said, I have twin Yamaha 115's on my current boat, and have a boat at work with twin Yamaha 150's. With the twins, the 150's get almost as good fuel economy as the 115's (similar boats). With a single, I would personally prefer more power than "just enough" power, and would likely choose a single 150 instead of a single 115, although the 115 would, as the dealer said, probably do fine. Max hp for that boat looks like 175, so the 150 would be great in either flavor.

Good luck!

Chris

[Big Jim]

I'd go with Yamaha if service is close. They just came out with a redesigned 115, friend has one and it's whisper quiet, light, and better fuel economy than his old 115. Also for an 18' seems like the 115 would be fine. The 150 is up for a re-design so I'd wait till that happened before getting that model. The Hondas require valve adjustments and that just seems ridiculous considering today's technology.

[Troy Hamon]

I have seen a few boats where the upper end of the power range does not fit the boat right. Ends up riding too stern heavy when stationary. The owner wanted the 'extra power' configuration, but it ended up being just the wrong setup. In two cases it put the scuppers underwater when stationary. Both those boats I rescued after sinking. Another was so stern heavy the operator kept everybody in the bow whenever the boat was not under way. A 115 worked great in that boat. The 150 made it a continual headache. Just something to think about. Every boat has an optimal setup. It isn't always all about max horsepower.

[Garyak]

I've been sniffing around for a deal on a 115. I don't have any unshakable brand loyalties so I look at every possibility. Troy makes an important point about weight. I found this blurb on the new Mercury 115 to be interesting as it highlights weight reduction while at the same time using many components from the Verado line. http://features.boats.com/boat-conte...oke-outboards/

[Bullelkklr]

I have a 2006 18' searunner that is a little heavier than the pro-V. With 5 guys, 2 dogs, and hunting gear I can get on step with a 2006 90hp yammie. Often I wish it had a 115 on her though. The new 115's are the same weight (ok - + OR - 6 pounds) as my old 90. The extra 25hp would be appreciated often I think.

With the 90 and most any load, once on step, WOT is around 30mph (tide dependant) on my gps. Right now with an average fishing load of 4 people and gear I am at 5700rpm WOT. Empty with just the wife and I it tops at 5800rpm so I could use a little less prop. I cruise at 22-24mph at around 4700-5000rpm. I average about 4 mpg throughout the season.

I can't imagine needing the 150 unless I was above sea level with it. Though on flat calm days I would not mind being able to run 50mph to get down to Montegue to fish.

[Big Jim]

Well that Merc looks impressive for sure and to offer different gear cases is a plus. Unfortunately for Homer the Merc dealer is only open seasonly.

[homerdave]

As was said, they are both good motors and the biggest issue is service where you are. I always joke that the difference between Honda and Yamaha service in Homer is that the honda dealer will have the wrong part in stock and sell it to you so you can come back for the right part when you try to put it in. The Yamaha dealer will have to special order the wrong part.
fortunately we now have a really good independent mechanic who is fast and good.

[POLE BENDER]

As was said, they are both good motors and the biggest issue is service where you are. I always joke that the difference between Honda and Yamaha service in Homer is that the honda dealer will have the wrong part in stock and sell it to you so you can come back for the right part when you try to put it in. The Yamaha dealer will have to special order the wrong part.
fortunately we now have a really good independent mechanic who is fast and good.

that makes me feel real good, as i am comming down to pick up my boat this weekend, with 2 new yammies on her!

[Big Jim]

Betcha can't wait! Gonna dump her in to run it?
The dealer has improved vastly over the last year and a half due to the addition of an awesome mechanic. The guy is passionate about what he works on. I was on the fence thinking about switching to another service company but he knows my non computerized/carbureted (3) motors so well and takes it personally if I do something to them, I feel like I'm in the best hands currently.

[Paul H]

You might want to consider Suzuki if you have a good local dealer. The 115 and 140 Suzukis have been great engines and are lighter than Yamaha or Honda.

[Big Jim]

The previous version of the F115 was heavier than the current model. the new ones are roughly 23 lbs lighter than the Suzuki 115.
Also like previously mentioned the new version is better on fuel than the old.
One thing though I like about the Suzuki's is they are able to turn large & steep pitched props and I think with any "light" boat you can definitely capitalize on that with a better cruise speed & mpg. One more thing to consider is warranties; I believe Suzuki has a 6 year? Don't think the other guys offer that.

[Jerryd]

I do have one Suzuki dealer close by, but it seems I only see one Suzuki out there for every 50 Yamahas and 10 or 15 Hondas..... makes me wonder-why.....

[Jnjmoonsfishing]

After abusing a Honda for 5 yr driving Coast Guard boat very hard I would deff use them. Most engines would not hold the abuse that I did at the time. What we did in a yr would deff be 10 yrs for normal us on them

[Big Jim]

Suzuki's have come on strong in the past few years, even our local Honda dealer started carrying them last year.
I have 3 Yamahas for my boat and love em, no offense to Jn but Hondas are cheaper to buy than the other brands typically so you will see them often for that reason (older technology, heavy, requires valve adjustments) and the bigger motors (especially the 150's) will almost always give up the ghost by thrust bearing failure (requires a new powerhead) if you work them other than seasonal recreational purposes (I had twins on another boat). You couldn't give me a Honda outboard unless they were 90 hp or less, I have a friend who put over 4500 hrs on a pair of those.