Jim and Becky wrote:
I want to order a new 26' walk around from a local dealer.
It could come with a pair of 4 stroke 150's or one 2 stroke 300.
What would be the characteristics of each set up?
About all I know is that the pair weights 932 lbs, the 300 weighs
543.
Lets leave initial cost aside. All engines are Yamahas.

Jim and Becky

First off, lets try to bring the group back to reality. Fuel
consumption, and all the real life studies show this, a fuel injected
two stroke outboard will burn the same amount of fuel as a four stroke
at the same cruse speed. To get the same cruse speed out of a four
stroke as a fuel injected two stroke you have to run them at higher
RPM's, at that point the fuel usage is the same. On pollution, the four
strokes typically have slightly higher immisions at the true cruse
speeds than a fuel injected two stroke. The four strokes typically
weigh more than the two strokes, so the transome height above the water
line will be lower on the four strokes. And four stroke engines have a
lot more moving parts, this has got to have some effect on reliability
and cost of ownership. On the down side for the two strokes you do have
to purchase oil and not let it run out, the four strokes only require
oil changes and checking it, so the four strokes have an advantage
here. Their really is no clear winner here, they both have their good
and bad points, you have to decide for yourself.

On the subject of twins or a single engine it all depends on the size
of the boat, how far off shore you tend to boat, cost and
manuverability. On a boat this size, if you want a single engine, go
with the 300, the smaller engines may not have enought power for this
big a boat. A single engine will cost less to purchase, typically burn
less fuel, cost less to maintain and cost less to replace. A twin
application will be faster, it may burn more fuel, it will have
manuverability advantages, and it will have the advantage of having an
operational engine should one fail. But it will cost more to purchase,
cost twice as much to do normal maintence on, the stern will sit lower
in the water due to the weight, and be much more to replace both
engines when the time comes.

My preferance would be twins if I tend to operate more than say twenty
miles from shore on a regular basis, less than that I would go for the
single, the twins just don't make sense. I also prefer two stroke fuel
injected outboards, they've been around for a while, and have most of
the problems worked out of them. To me, the four strokes are just too
new and too slow. Let someone else work the bugs out for the
manufacturers.

Just my two cents,

John