Merc outboards

[akraven]

At the risk of starting a brand name war what is the word on Merc outboards. I have been looking at various river boats and noticed quite a few have Merc's. Now I admit I have no knowledge but have heard not great things about them. Is it a particular generation that is a problem or is it simply a brand preference or ?
Thank you. akraven

[akriverrat]

any of the mercs ive been around or owned along with a mariner i owned ran great. my uncle in southeast that builds boats equips his builds with mercs and swears by them. if I was buying a new outboard though id get a yami.

[AK2AZ]

I love my Mercury 4-stroke EFI...quiet is an understatement and I`ve never had an outboard that started by just barely bumping the key. BTW...the only problem I`ve had was a vacuum hose coming off which caused a high-idle condition.

Petty much boils down to where you are for preference and service. Spend some time in the lower 48 and you`ll find mainly Mercs and e-tecs, here you have a Yamaha following. They all work fine.

[Snowwolfe]

I bought my first Optimax last year (200). When we ran to the Koyukuk to moose hunt I used less fuel than the Etec and Honda in our group. Only complaint is the Optimax makes more noise than the other two.

[akraven]

Thank you for the replies guys. Turns out I just found a nice boat today with a Yamaha so I am pretty happy. I have always heard good about the Yamaha's and he kept this one immaculate. Thank you again. akraven


PS IF you need reliable service on a Yamaha in the Valley who is any good?

[21'-Grayling]

About the moose hunt...

Hey snowolfe, im just curious on what size motors the other boats had that went on the same trip you went on. If equal motor size (200hp) then how much noisier was your optimax? Very noisy or just noticable? Was it annoying or okay for the long run? I to have a merc but it is '85 2 stroke and quite noisy, will run it till it gives up. I like the motor though and dont have any doubts about it other than its age. I am just wondering if I should stay with mercs or go to another brand next.

[21'-Grayling]

Sorry

I meant to spell your handle like this -Snowwolfe:rolleyes:

[ksbha4]

Speaking of Mercs

Does anyone know of a place around Mat-Su or Anch that could service/rebuild an older Merc...like a '62 50 horse. I have one that the lower unit is torn apart and the peices are in a box. If I have to, I'll order the service manual and order the parts myself, but right now I'm overseas and I do not want to try to figure it all out myself when I get back. BTW 21-ft greyling, are you looking for a newer outboard or sticking with 2 stokes? We have had outstanding success with Johnson 2 strokes down in Juneau as long as they were built in the 70/80's. We havn't had anything newer so sorry if that doesn't help.

[21'-Grayling]

Hey ksbha4...

I have no reason to go with another old motor once mine gives up. The mercury motor I have runs very well. In the previous post I mentioned my curiousity about the newer merc optimax for a replacement. I have only read about them and never been around one running. Just wanting to hear opinions. The next motor will definately be a recent year due to the efficiency and silence from the newer ones. I just dont see a reason to replace a good motor. Thanks for offering assistance though.:cool:

[AKBassking]

Mercury aka anchor

Its a better anchor than a propulsion unit....

couldn't resist

[21'-Grayling]

Its a better anchor than a propulsion unit....

Thats funny you say that AKBassking. Had a bad experience, or heard one? You'd think all outboards would make excellent anchors though. Could'nt Resist.

[fishnhuntr]

noise

Grayling,
I have the 200 opti sportjet and I always hear people complaining about the noise, I don't know maybe it's just me but doesn't bother me at all. It's definitely not quiet like an outboard but I've never thought dang I wish it weren't so noisy. Plus I'll take noise over efficiency any time, I do way better than all my buddies inboard V8's and can haul just as much.
Cody

[AKBassking]

Thats funny you say that AKBassking. Had a bad experience, or heard one? You'd think all outboards would make excellent anchors though. Could'nt Resist.

LOL

Well now that I am working on inboards......

I will say that outboards are a little easier to work on.

I have some "old" mercs and they were just a piece of metal that gave me frustration.... They did like sucking reed valves if you took a little water!