On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 00:43:12 GMT, bo jangles wrote:

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 00:18:11 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 00:08:19 GMT, "tony thomas"
wrote:

Yamaha: 2 stroke or 4 stroke. I personally like the EFI better than the
carb since they crank and run like a car (no choke or throttle required).
Don't get Direct fuel injection. Make sure you have a local dealer that has
a good reputation.

Merc: 2 stroke or 4 stroke. Again, EFI is better. Don't get Optimax.
Best dealer network. Best for parts. A good local dealer will take care of
you and you won't have the warrenty issues that Short Wave talked about.

Wanna bet? :) Do we need to bring out the receipts and prove the
point one more time?

Suzuki: 2 stroke or 4 stroke. Again, EFI is better. Local dealer and
dealer network may be an issue.

Honda: 4 stroke (I like the least personally due to dealer network)

Evinrude / Johnson: Stay away from Period. Older ones were good in a carb
2 stroke but I don't think you want to go that old.

Karen - is that you? :)

WOW! Only a few "meaningful" responses into the thread and no
agreement at all from people that know much more than I. No wonder
I'm confused. I may just scrap the whole idea and continue to rent
boats and let someone else take care of them.

ROTFL!!!!!

You will never actually get a straight answer if you ask an open ended
question. Everybody knows somebody who knows somebody, etc. :)

Everybody agrees that Karen is...well...very negative about 2 stroke
outboards. It doesn't mean she doesn't have knowledge and can't
impart experiences that are meaningful - she can and sometimes does.
It's just in this area, she is extremely biased.

Tony is a Merc guy and is very knowledgable about Mercs. We've been
over around and through this Merc warranty thing - he refuses to
believe that anybody can have a negative experience with Mercury.
That's fine - his belief. He is a valuable contributor to the group
and we disagree on Mercury. I never said they were lousy engines - I
said their warranty policy sucks.

I completely disagree with anybody who is negative towards DI two
stroke technology. My experiences have been positive and I know a lot
of folks who have also had similar experiences. I'm so confident that
I just spent a lot of money on purchasing two E-TECs. Take that for
what you will.

There is an easy way to figure it all out. Take what the responses
have been and take a look around at the different engine
manufacturers. Make a point of going to different sales organizations
and ask questions - what is the difference between 4 stroke and 2
stroke? What is the per hour gas consumption rate? How reliable are
the engines? What is the warranty? Compare emissions figures engine
for engine. Once you have a little product knowledge, get the
technical information and make some comparisons.

Of above all, don't let personal opinions get in the way of the facts.
If you find that you are comfortable with Mercury and the Mercury
dealer, then that's the engine for you. Same with Yamaha, same with
Evinrude - anything.

Owning your own boat is fun. Don't let us with strong opinions ruin
the boat comparison and shopping experience for you.

Good luck.

Later,

Tom