150 or 200hp/Suzuki or Honda?

[DanC]

Hi folks,

I am about to aquire a new Hewescraft 22' Ocean Pro. Why would I want a bigger engine that may increase speed but uses more gas and reduces my range? Which (Suzuki or Honda) four-stroke outboard will give me the best service?

Any comments re pros or cons on horsepower and manufacturers as well as personal anecdotes will be greately appreciated.

The boat will be used mainly in the archipelago of SE AK with a possible venture oceanward.

 

[Snowwolfe]

Very few people I know of run there boats above 30 mph even if conditions warrant it (which they rarely do up here).
The advantages of a larger motor is the ability to carry more gear and passengers while still being easy to get on plane. The larger motors will also offer an "insurance factor" that can get you back fast if you see a change in the weather or a medical emergency arises.
A larger motor at a lower rpm will likely not result in any higher fuel consumption unless you run it flat out most of the time. If it were me I would go with the 200 and you will never regret it. I seen a lot of people buy a really nice boat and then a few years later they repower because they were never happy with there first motor choice. Guess what, 99% of them buy bigger motors when they repower.
I can't offer much advice on the Honda versus Suzuki. I think they are both great products and I would purchase the one that was less expensive.

 

[BrianW]

Both engines have good reputations. I'd be more concerned with service after the sale.

Hondas are notoriously heavy compared to most 4 strokes.

I'm repowering my 22ft boat right now. It had a Honda 130hp 4 stroke which ran pretty good, but started getting water in the crankcase oil. It lasted 9 years and about 1400 hours, never left me stranded, and would even restart after getting water in the fuel a couple times. It weighed nearly 490 pounds.

I considered replacing it with a Honda 150, which actually weighs a bit less than the 130. I also considered a 200hp Etec 2 stroke, which is also lighter.

But after some research, I decided to go with the Suzuki 175hp 4 stroke. Right now it comes with a 6 year warranty. It still weighs less than the Honda 130 even thought it has the most cubic inches for engines in this horsepower range. It can also turn a 16 inch prop due to the lower gearcase design.

As mentioned above, you never hear any boater complain about having too much power.

 

[Bayrunner]

Maybe the Honda

Maybe the Honda

I hate to spread bar stool gossip that might not be correct. I do remember when i was living in Sitka in 2004 talking with a charter guy at the Pioneer Bar who had blown up at least 2 200HP Suzuki's that year. Now I'm a little unsure of the details, the engine's might have been 225HP's Whatever they were they were the biggest Suzuki made at the time and were of a size that had recently been introduced.
Apparently Suzuki kept denying the problem and was just replacing the engines (as mentioned the warranty is good) but these guys just kept blowing up the engines, sometimes with clients on board....and were loosing business etc. He told me that Suzuki finally admitted that the metal the block was made out of had some impurities and was prone to cracking or something of the like. I'd bet money that the problem has been remedied and if you are buying a new engine you needn't worry.
To be fair I heard a different story of someone (in Kodiak I think) getting and entire shipment of smaller Honda 4 strokes that were defective. It was a large number of motors too. I also went hunting in Sitka often with a guy how had over 1000 hours on a 130HP Honda Four Stroke and had only done one minor repair job on the engine, regualar maintenance not withstanding. Honda are great engines. The Suzuki's were awesome in the 80's and are still very good as well.
that said, they are both good engines. In my mind Honda has a bit better reputation at the moment, on par with Yamaha.

good luck

brett

 

[Bayrunner]

Rocky's Marine

Rocky's Marine

Dan C-
On a second reading I noticed that you will be using the boat in SE. My favorite place. There are several good boat shops in Sitka, I'm not as sure about Juneau but many folks in SE get their equipment from a shop out of Petersburg called Rocky's Marine. Depending on what you are looking for, at times it can be as cheap or cheaper to get what you need from Rocky even including the shipment on the ferry or AML to where you are at. Great service too.
I think its always a good idea to buy locally and nothing against the wonderful shops I know of in Sitka but still, even if you aren't in Petersburg Rocky's is worth considering both on price and service.

I think they have a website....just a second>>
http://www.rockysmarine.com/

Found it......and it looks like they don't sell anything other than Yamaha in the way of motors so it probably won't help you much.

 

[DMan]

I have an Ocean Pro with a Yamaha 150, all i will say is don't go any smaller than that. If I had to do it over again I would do a 200 or 225 if I could afford it. You won't really burn more gas if you stay at the same speed but you will gain hole shot and low end thrust and torque. I have been in the situation where I needed power NOW and while the 150 does well on that boat it wasn't enough to make me feel good ( turning the boat in white caps breaking over the bow of the boat. Turned the boat on the back side of a swell and hammered the throttle and didn't move for what felt like forever. Those waves have more suction than you think.) The 200 or 225 will come in handy for heavy loads too. Anyway just putting my two cents in as a fellow Ocean Pro owner. Don't go smaller then the 150. The yamaha 150 and 115 are both inline fours so the 150 doens't do that much worse on gas anyway.

D

 

[DanC]

Good information but I made a mistake...

Good information but I made a mistake...

Thanks for all the helpful comments.

Sometimes I can get real stupid. I meant to ask about relative dependability between Suzuki and Yamaha. I don't know why I typed Honda. I wasn't even considering Honda.

Please, tell me about Yamaha, and kindly forgive my momentary stupidity.

Dan

 

[Triple Jack]

The debate remains the same, the Honda is all the motor the Yamaha is.
Go for the 200 and don't look back, it costs allot to repower.
Ken

 

[sh]

say dman....

say dman....

engines aside, how do you like that ocean pro?

 

[DMan]

engines aside, how do you like that ocean pro?

I love the Ocean Pro. I thought long and hard between the Searunner Ocean Pro and non Ocean Pro. I have lots of *mods* that I want to do but that is the case with any boat you buy right. If I had to do it all over again I would still pick the Ocean Pro over the Standard.
D

 

[sh]

differences?

differences?

i had the regular searunner before, what differences do you notice?

 

[DMan]

yo sh

yo sh

i had the regular searunner before, what differences do you notice?

Well all the newer searunners have extended transoms which is real nice. They put a fish box in the back but you still gain a few inches and the fish box in nice. The Ocean Pro has a foot wider bottom resulting in a wider floor. Also it has taller sides with is nice with the kids. Instead of having a storage box between the front seats the gas tank is further forward and there is a storage box in the floor in the back. I have a friend with an 03 sea runner that said he didn't think he would spend the extra money on the Ocean Pro and then after he saw it he really liked it. I decided to go for it and am really glad. If you had a Searunner without the extended transom there is very noticable difference in the size of the back. I picked the Sea Runner 22' over the 24' because when I got out the tape there was 10" more room in the back of the 22'. I like fishing room and a porta potty is good enough for the women I take. I just hang a curtain inside.

D

 

[Alaska Gray]

Go with a yamaha. runs quiet and a very good engine.

 

[DMan]

Go with a yamaha. runs quiet and a very good engine.

The Yamaha 115 is one of the most solid engines out there and from what I am hearing the 150 is going to prove to be just as good. I vote Yami all the way!

 

[Alaska Gray]

The Yamaha 115 is one of the most solid engines out there and from what I am hearing the 150 is going to prove to be just as good. I vote Yami all the way!

YEs the 115 is very good. But I have twin 115 and wishe dI went with 150's. On my 26 hewes one 115 can not get the boat on plane if I need it to.

 

[DMan]

YEs the 115 is very good. But I have twin 115 and wishe dI went with 150's. On my 26 hewes one 115 can not get the boat on plane if I need it to.

I heard that was the case. I am very pleased with the 150. The 115 has a very high appraisle value and allot of times Charter guys snatch them up so if you decide to upgrade when there is a deal on the 150's you might be able to make it happen pretty resonably. I saw a 26' at Dewey's that had two 150's on it. You should see if they can put you contact with him and see if the 150 is enough to get his boat up by itself.

D

 

[Mort]

Yamaha 150s

Yamaha 150s

I repowered my '04 26' AK Searunner from 115s to 150s this year. Nothing wrong with the 115s, just wanted more power. What a great move! I love the 150s w/ stainless props, can cruise faster at the same fuel economy, and yes, a single 150 can get on step. Wish I had gone 150s from the gitgo.

Bottom line, I'll always preach to get more power than you think you'll need. You will probably want it sometime, and it's cheaper the first time out.

Although it might be nice to dream, I doubt I'll ever really consider going to bigger motors on this boat. Very happy with the 150s. 175s might be nice, but I think the times you'd actually get to use the power of 200s or 225s would be very limited.

Grey, I keep looking for you down at Bill's so we can meet, fling some arrows, and BS about fishing boats.

Mort

 

[DMan]

Mort,

What prop you running on your 150's? I tried the Solas 14 1/4 X 17 and couldn't get over 5400 consistently so I went to the Yamaha 15 1/4 X 15 and can get my RPM's up but now have less fuel econ. Dewey's has the Yamaha 13 3/4 X 17 prop and I am going to try that out next spring. Think I will be able to hit 5500 and even 5600 on nice days and think that will be sufficient to gain back some fuel econ.

D

 

[Alaska Gray]

I have a 15 pitch and wonder if that might be a reason I could not get on step with one engine. Either way the 115 are great engines. I would love for a charter to take the 115 off my hands so I can get 150's.

 

[DMan]

I have a 15 pitch and wonder if that might be a reason I could not get on step with one engine. Either way the 115 are great engines. I would love for a charter to take the 115 off my hands so I can get 150's.

Wow I am posting allot on this thread,

Gray, there is an appraiser out of Palmer. Forget the name right off but ask Kim or Karen at Deweys and they will tell you his name. He is the guy to talk to and I think may even have a hookup on which charters might be looking for motors. If your serious.

D