I had a Merc 115 4/ Went well when the two pins at the bottom of the crank shaft that run the oil pump weren't broken but when they break it's a tow home  twice. After that bye bye. I don't know if they have rectified the problem. 

Call Glen at West Auckland marine, he’s the best marine tech in the country. He’ll give you a great deal on a merc and set it up right with the right prop.

smudge wrote: BotStomper wrote: My top secret excel spreadsheet says you'll need twin 300s to fit my arbitrary "well powered" definition. It's like your Mrs car driving up a hill with a boot load of shopping. Or something like that anyway, I forget. Where's a guru when you need one? It's you, isn't it Steps?

Just wait till February next year "Smudge" Parson outboards are releasing the 115hp,$14/15k fitted with gauges.

out2sea wrote: What dealers are near you smudge? A mate just brought a Honda 150 which he said is great but was also close to getting a suzuki, he sea trialled a couple of boats with the suzuki and thought they exceptional heaps of torque and price was good, but dealer was further away than he would have liked. If you go yamaha Buckland Marine are great to deal with The local Mercury dealer is pretty quiet, haven't heard much from them or about them.

smudge wrote: [QUOTE=rowboat bob]That's just a slogan and quite likely incorrect . The fewer moving parts an engine has the more reliable it will probably be. [/QUOTE Bro! I'm replacing an E-Tec. only two moving parts    What moving parts are those Smudge ? ...The cowling and the prop when in nuetral!

rowboat bob wrote: smudge wrote: [QUOTE=rowboat bob]That's just a slogan and quite likely incorrect . The fewer moving parts an engine has the more reliable it will probably be. [/QUOTE Bro! I'm replacing an E-Tec. only two moving parts    What moving parts are those Smudge ? ...The cowling and the prop when in nuetral!

I’ve seen and heard issues with all brands outboard motors, even brand new airplane engines have problems. No one brand is miles ahead of the others, if I was to choose an outboard based on all the issues Ive heard about, I’d be buying a set of oars and even then if you searched the internet you would find problems with them.

It just comes down to personal taste and experience. I had a 90 mercury 2s Ive worked on heaps over the years bulletproof. Under warranty so I had it serviced all good. First time out nipped up a piston. Ended up it had a new fuel pump diapharm installed which had a small hole in it. Motor was 2 years old. Mercury excepted the fault and replaced the motor with a brand new motor. Paid for the reinstall as well.

That’s what really counts when you buy an outboard, who fixes it when **** goes wrong.

Everyone is missing the biggest question of all smudge.

Kandrew wrote: I’ve seen and heard issues with all brands outboard motors, even brand new airplane engines have problems. No one brand is miles ahead of the others, if I was to choose an outboard based on all the issues Ive heard about, I’d be buying a set of oars and even then if you searched the internet you would find problems with them. It just comes down to personal taste and experience. I had a 90 mercury 2s Ive worked on heaps over the years bulletproof. Under warranty so I had it serviced all good. First time out nipped up a piston. Ended up it had a new fuel pump diapharm installed which had a small hole in it. Motor was 2 years old. Mercury excepted the fault and replaced the motor with a brand new motor. Paid for the reinstall as well. That’s what really counts when you buy an outboard, who fixes it when **** goes wrong.