I must be getting old... Engine question

[GreenPig]

11 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

No wonder you’re still rocking when you drive home! I used to have a 14 ft alumacraft that I took on a windy mountain lake in the dead of winter several times , I know the feeling 

 

do you get Netflix on that TV? 

Yeah when the wind gets the lake rolling, I have to stand/fish from the middle seat while Spotlocked or the waves break over the bow. I'm sure it's not my 255 lbs or the crazy amount of tackle stuffed under that deck. Netflix is probably on there I just don't know how to find it.

[TOXIC]

Personally, I have owned a 2000, Mercury 225 efi, 2 stroke that was absolutely bullet proof.  It was my guide boat for a number of years and I sold it in Florida.  I currently run a Yamaha 250, HPDI Series 1, 2 stroke in a 2005 model.  It has been trouble free as well.  I have been close to a Yamaha 250, series 2, an evenrude H2, a new merc, 250 4 stroke and a Suzuki 250, 4 stroke.  The only one I would be wary of is the evenrude.  Not because they are out of production but because they have had more than their fair share of problems.  

[TnRiver46]

10 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Personally, I have owned a 2000, Mercury 225 efi, 2 stroke that was absolutely bullet proof.  It was my guide boat for a number of years and I sold it in Florida.  I currently run a Yamaha 250, HPDI Series 1, 2 stroke in a 2005 model.  It has been trouble free as well.  I have been close to a Yamaha 250, series 2, an evenrude H2, a new merc, 250 4 stroke and a Suzuki 250, 4 stroke.  The only one I would be wary of is the evenrude.  Not because they are out of production but because they have had more than their fair share of problems.  

I get the feeling you don’t mind going fast…….

[Way2slow]

As I mention before, just because it one companies brand name on it, does not mean that company made it.  They are constantly being outsourced to different manufactures.   

This is just a small example, you don't know for sure who made what's under that label and that's truer today than ever before.  Yamaha actually got started in the outboard market making parts for OMC, that's why so many of their V-6 parts were interchangeable with OMC V-6's and they looked so much like the OMC V-6's.  There are also some things in that I don't think are right.  I'm pretty sure Tohatsu still makes the 25 hp merc and probably a few others and they mayhave moved almost all their smaller motors to China by now. 

 

Who makes Mercury outboard motors?

July 11, 2022 by Mark Bunting

Tohatsu Marine’s factory has undergone three major reforms to date. One is a capital tie-up with Brunswick that makes the Mercury brand of outboard engines as explained above.

Table of Contents  show 

Is Mercury outboard American made?

Mercury Marine gets a break on tariffs for its Chinese-made outboard engines. Boating engine company Mercury Marine, based in Fond du Lac, has been granted exclusions from 25 percent tariffs for its outboard engines assembled in China.

Are Tohatsu and Mercury the same?

Tohatsu Marine Corporation was set up in 1988 as joint venture with Brunswick Corporation, USA. Mercury Marine is a division of Brunswick Corporation and many of the smaller Mercury Outboards are just rebranded Tohatsu Engines. In addition, the entire line of Nissan outboards are rebranded Tohatsus.

Which outboard motors are made in the USA?

Elco electric outboard motors, Made in the USA, are available in a wide range of horsepower options, from 5HP to 50HP, with remote or tiller control and long or short shaft to fit boats of all shapes and sizes. Our electric boat motors look like traditional outboards because for us, they are.

Is Mercury boat motors owned by Ford?

Mercury Marine is a marine engine division of Brunswick Corporation.

Are Mercury engines made in China?

It opened Thursday and is expected to attract 150,000 spectators. Mercury currently manufactures some engine components in China and is shifting production of 40- to 60-horsepower four-strokes to the new factory near Beijing.

What Mercury outboards are made in China?

Re: chinese outboards – Mercury makes all the Verados, Optimaxs, and 2 strokes in USA.

Where does Mercury make their motors?

All of the new engines are built at Mercury’s headquarters in Fond du Lac.

Are Mercury and Evinrude the same company?

BRP owns Evinrude along with boat manufacturers Alumacraft and Manitou. It will now buy engines for these brands from former competitor Mercury Marine.

Did Evinrude get bought out?

BRP stepped in, purchased the brand, recalled bad engines, improved the technology and brought Evinrude back to the marketplace in 2003 with the launch of the E-TEC line of outboards.

Do they still make Evinrude outboards?

Evinrude outboard motors will no longer be manufactured. The boating world received shocking and surprising news. One of the world’s leaders in outboard motor manufacturing will no longer exist.

Who is mariner made by?

Mercury Mariner
Manufacturer	Mercury (Ford)
Production	2004–2010
Model years	2005-2011
Body and chassis

Are Honda and Tohatsu outboards the same?

The eight new outboards — 60-, 75-, 90-, 115-, 150-, 200-, 225- and 250-hp models — are manufactured by Honda and rebranded under the Tohatsu name, Kurt Gardener, national sales manager for Tohatsu America Corp., told Trade Only Today this morning.

Are Mercury motors made by Yamaha?

In 2006 models, Mercury four stroke powerheads from 40 to 225 HP (except the Verados) are built by Yamaha. Mercury’s agreement with Yamaha ended in March 2006, at which time Mercury is expected to phase in more four cylinders (75 to 115 HP) based on the Verado engine block, but without supercharging or intercooling.

[BigAngus752]

22 hours ago, slonezp said:

Next big boat will have a Mercury or a Yammie. I'm intrigued with the Yammie technology paired up with Garmin. 

Yes, that is some cool stuff.  That's the rare kind of technology that can lower your stress.  

[Rockytop]

I think any new 4 stroke or even a two stroke from any of the major manufacturers would be hard to go wrong with as long as it's treated right and maintained. I've got a 2017 Yamaha 115 VMAX sho on my Ranger rt188 and so far it's been my favorite and I'll never go back to a 2 stroke. 

[TOXIC]

21 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I get the feeling you don’t mind going fast…….

Haha, only when necessary.  When guiding it is a safety feature to be able to get clients off the lake outrunning a storm.  Since I run 21 foot boats, they need the extra hp to get the hull to perform properly.  75mph is about as fast as I ever want to run on the water. I’m not a speed freak.  

[TnRiver46]

10 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Haha, only when necessary.  When guiding it is a safety feature to be able to get clients off the lake outrunning a storm.  Since I run 21 foot boats, they need the extra hp to get the hull to perform properly.  75mph is about as fast as I ever want to run on the water. I’m not a speed freak.  

[galyonj]

22 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Haha, only when necessary.  When guiding it is a safety feature to be able to get clients off the lake outrunning a storm.  Since I run 21 foot boats, they need the extra hp to get the hull to perform properly.  75mph is about as fast as I ever want to run on the water. I’m not a speed freak.  

 

I told SWMBO that the next boat I bought was gonna be a Bullet, and, because she knows me, she rolled her eyes and asked how fast it went, then laughed at me and said no when I told her.

 

But now, with your post, I have a new discussion point.

"But baby, listen...we NEED this faster boat because what if a storm comes up and we've got to hustle off the water?"

[TnRiver46]

22 minutes ago, galyonj said:

 

I told SWMBO that the next boat I bought was gonna be a Bullet, and, because she knows me, she rolled her eyes and asked how fast it went, then laughed at me and said no when I told her.

 

But now, with your post, I have a new discussion point.

"But baby, listen...we NEED this faster boat because what if a storm comes up and we've got to hustle off the water?"

You’ve got options, bullet Allison and Norris craft all made locally haha. Vroom vroom

[Captain Phil]

30 minutes ago, galyonj said:

"But baby, listen...we NEED this faster boat because what if a storm comes up and we've got to hustle off the water?"

 

Nice try.   I've owned more outboards than most people have owned cars.  I was a John/Rude guy in my early years. Switched to Mercury in the seventies for better performance.  I destroyed a number of 150 Mercs in my past, only one Black Max.  All my salt water boats were Yamaha powered and they performed flawlessly.  My current bass boat has a Mercury 4 Stroke and it's amazing. 

 

The most important thing to consider in an outboard is access to maintenance.   You don't want to tow your boat 100 miles for a minor warranty issue or an oil change.  Here in Florida, Mercury Dealers are like McDonalds.  You won't need much maintenance with the newer 4 stroke engines.   They start immediately no matter what. They hardly use an fuel and they run great forever.  I wouldn't buy an "off brand" outboard motor for one reason, that being resale value.  If you stick with Mercury, you won't go wrong. 

[galyonj]

3 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

 

Nice try.   I've owned more outboards than most people have owned cars.  I was a John/Rude guy in my early years. Switched to Mercury in the seventies for better performance.  I destroyed a number of 150 Mercs in my past, only one Black Max.  All my salt water boats were Yamaha powered and they performed flawlessly.  My current bass boat has a Mercury 4 Stroke and it's amazing. 

 

The most important thing to consider in an outboard is access to maintenance.   You don't want to tow your boat 100 miles for a minor warranty issue or an oil change.  Here in Florida, Mercury Dealers are like McDonalds.  You won't need much maintenance with the newer 4 stroke engines.   They start immediately no matter what. They hardly use an fuel and they run great forever.  I wouldn't buy an "off brand" engine for one reason, that being resale value.  If you stick with Mercury, you won't go wrong. 

 

My current boat's got entirely too big a motor. It's a 15' hull with an XP150 on the transom. It's a hoot, however I cannot help but lust after (the availability of) speed. @TnRiver46 isn't wrong. East Tennessee builds some boats that'll git.

That's good advice from you, as well. If I'm honest, I don't know who I'd take a boat to around here. As long as I don't need a lift, I can pretty much fix whatever I come across myself. If possible, it's always the smart play to use a powerplant that is at least easy to find parts for.

[Captain Phil]

7 minutes ago, galyonj said:

 

My current boat's got entirely too big a motor. It's a 15' hull with an XP150 on the transom. It's a hoot, however I cannot help but lust after (the availability of) speed. @TN

 

That's a hand full.  I once saw a guy while fishing in the Everglades with a 15' Terry Bass stick steering boat with a 150 Merc bolted on the back.  He must have had a death wish.  The fastest bass boat I have owned was a Gambler with a Merc Pro Max.  We shot it with a radar gun at 78 mph.   A guy passed me once in a Bullet.  There was an Allison that used to run around on the Harris Chain that could run near 100 mph.   Racing and fishing are two different things.  Fast boats are fun, but they don't help you catch more fish because you will spend all day running the lake.

[gim]

23 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I have owned a 2000, Mercury 225 efi, 2 stroke that was absolutely bullet proof

My Uncle had that exact motor on his 20 foot deep V fiberglass Skeeter walleye tournament boat and it hauled ass.  The problem was that it sucked down fuel like a kid in a candy store.  When he dropped the throttle and was going at a high speed, you could literally watch the fuel gauge drop.  He eventually got rid of that and replaced it with a more fuel efficient 4-stroke motor because it had a 48 gallon tank and he was going through gasoline at an extremely high rate.

 

48 gallons times $3/gal, do the math.  That gets old quick.

[galyonj]

16 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

 Racing and fishing are two different things.  Fast boats are fun, but they don't help you catch more fish because you will spend all day running the lake.

 

Absolutely true. It's a sickness. I like fast boats for the same reason I daily a Corvette. I've never NEEDED every horse, but it sure is fun to let them eat.

[Deleted account]

37 minutes ago, galyonj said:

I like fast boats for the same reason I daily a Corvette. 

Compensation ratio, I mean compression ratio...

[galyonj]

1 minute ago, Deleted account said:

Compensation ratio, I mean compression ratio...

 

[TOXIC]

In reality…..when guiding and you have clients on the boat anything over 45mph usually gets them wide eyed and white knuckled.  I don’t think I’ve ever gone over 55 with clients.  I was guiding a wounded warriors tournament and my soldier was a mechanic on Bradley fighting vehicles and contracted brain tumors and was on crutches from the radioactive materials they carry. At the end of the day I asked him if there was anything else he wanted to do and he said, I’m a mechanic at heart and I want to see what this boat will do! I took him 70 and he was thrilled.  

[WRB]

Speed isn’t for everyone, especially in a boat.

Think I was borne to race, my great grandfather raced the 1st Indianapolis brick yard race. 

My 1st boat was a pumpkin seed hydroplane powered by a Merc Hurricane super 10. 

My dad and brother raced for both Yellow Jacket boats and sponsored by Mercury in M class runabouts, 14’ boat with 75hp 6 inline Hubble modified in the late 50’s - 60’s.  

Started racing fuel drag cars at 16, C fuel altered Fiat to A fuel dragsters, survived that era.

Mortician fuel flat bottom, crewed on this boat until Buzz Coats was killed driving it.

My lungs are proof what breathing nitro does.

Bass boats... mine were f a s t until the last boat. As a driver we see the “red mist” it’s time to be a passenger.

There old drivers and bold drivers but no old bold drivers!

Tom

 

[Way2slow]

That's one advantage of being and old fart that had fast boats all his life.  You could only go as fast as the technology back then would let you and as the technology improved, your driving skills and knowledge was able to improve gradually with the technology.  There was no such thing as buying a boat off the show room floor that was capable of running in the 80's, 90's and 100+ mph, unless you do like I did back in the 60's when Mercury came out with the 135BHP and put two of them on a 16' Allison (that ran 83).  I usually managed to keep modifying until they did.

Where there is a huge disconnect between boats today and boat operators is the seat time at speeds where there are only one to two square feet of the hull in the water.  First just knowing how to drive a boat that chine walks, fast boats are going to do that (except maybe tunnel hulls).  The main thing missing is the most important part, knowing when and when not to have one aired out.  My last bass boat was a 20' Javelin that would run a touch over 80mph with two men, and gear and it was fun to air it out from time to time, but the nicest part about it, I could sit back and comfortably cruise at 50-60 mph and burn very little fuel.  When you are feeding 300+ horses running 80mph, it hits on the hip pocket pretty darn good.

[WRB]

We were running Kiehaefer quick silver direct drive 1: 25 to 1 over drive lower units with Michigan 2 blade chopper top water props @ 10K on 140 av gas. 

To get on plane met getting on the bow until the boat started to plane then jump into the driver seat. We ran 83 mph at Long Beach on timer lights back in the late 50’s...cookin.

You are right we grew up racing from slower boats to very fast boats like 150 mph fuel flat bottoms. Learned skills.

Today anyone with enough money can buy speed, still takes skill drive at speed.

Tom

 

[Captain Phil]

10 hours ago, TOXIC said:

In reality…..when guiding and you have clients on the boat anything over 45mph usually gets them wide eyed and white knuckled.  I don’t think I’ve ever gone over 55 with clients.  

 

I was always extremely careful when I had clients in my boats.  You never know what type of personal issues someone may have.   It only takes one small mistake to cause a catastrophe and I didn't wish to spend the rest of my life in court.  Think about this the next time you fish a draw tournament or invite someone to fish with you.

[Woody B]

People who aren't boat people don't realize what is "fast" on water.   I've been 190 on a quarter mile drag strip.  I've been 69 on a water ski.  The water ski felt faster.   

 

I hope the "wrong" people don't see this.  The local police have a twin engine boat that patrols one of the lake I fish.  One of the officers said it will go 78mph.   He said they raced an Allison bass boat, and the bass boat just drove away from them like they were sitting still.   FWIW there is no speed limits.   

 

An old guy I see at the landing occasionally sold his Tracker and bought a new Vexus with 300 horsepower.  I asked him how fast it would go.  He said "45 with me in it"  and laughed.   He said he'd never had it past 1/2 throttle.   

[gim]

2 hours ago, Woody B said:

People who aren't boat people don't realize what is "fast" on water. 

I remember the first time I went 25 mph in a boat.  It seemed extremely fast compared to driving 25 mph in a car on a residential street.

[MN Fisher]

Just now, gimruis said:

I remember the first time I went 25 mph in a boat.  It seemed extremely fast compared to driving 25 mph in a car on a residential street.

Ya - the old runabout would hit a bit over 30...seemed a lot faster than 30 in my Jeep which was the tow vehicle at the time.