On Jun 6, 6:56*pm, wrote:
On Tue, 5 Jun 2012 16:49:38 -0700 (PDT), North Star

wrote:
To power a thousand pound aluminum boat the boat's manufacturer and
the local dealer recommend spending another $4600 to upgrade to a 60
hp big foot 4 stroke over the 50 hp 2 stroke that is listed as the
basic pkg engine. I can understand this if you plan on waterskiing or
tubing but this seems a bit much for cruising. Dealer says the bigger
motor won't have to work so hard, is better in the hole shots and will
make the boat easier to resell in the future.
I'm thinking spending $2700 by upgrading to a 50 hp 4 stroke should be
good enough.
Too bad those Mercury guys aren't still here in this newsgroup.

My advice? Go with the 60 HP model, for all of the reasons the stealer
gave.

PS
If you are in salt water, forget the Mercury.

Probably 60% salt water
20% fresh
20% brackish (lower concentration than seawater but still a mixture
re lales affected by tides)
Don't the Mercurys hold up in salt water?