Who’s got the oldest V boat ?

If you had a choice what ou5board would you buy?
Mercury
Yamaha
Suzuki
Price and dependable They don’t make 2strokes anymore, do they?
 
Really, Suzuki? Ok I’m good with that. I think they stopped selling the 150 2 stroke mercurys , 1988 models. Dam it
Oh well. What can you do.
 
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My friends that run the Charleston water taxi got 18000 hours put of a pair of yamahas 4 cylinder 200s, it took some work,but during covid they couldn't get replacements. The older 150 yamahs actually held up better but they were selling them off at 10000 hours.
 
depending on your horsepower needs and weight, its hard to beat the newer Mercury's. The old style Yamaha f150 is still the standard by all others are judged, just a bit heavy. Suzuki has made major strides in combating their corrosion issues and are on par with Yamaha( hint, they both have corrosion issues). A good friend of mine works at a large Scout boat dealership and we've discussed teh engine options as Scout offers both Yamaha and Mercury on their boats, they used to be 100% Yamaha, but has shifted to Mercury overwhelmingly. Performance wise, the Mercury's far out distant the Yamahas. I've personally have no issues with Suzuki and actually like some of their ideas better than Yamaha and Merc. They are a little heavier for teh hp, but they also tend to use larger displacement engines for the same hp rating. If you gave me a credit card and told me to go buy an engine for a v20 right now, I'd come back with a mercury V6 175-225. Suzuki 200 4 cylinder would be my second choice. If limited to 150 hp it would be a toss up between teh Merc and Yamaha 4 cylinder. BTW, I'm hearing that Yamaha has reduced parts production and imports, so expect a price increase and less availability on your service items. Its a pretty good tell on where parts are being manufactured
 
I have a line on an old V-20 close to me in Texas. Actually it is from a family member. It has been sitting forever. I think it is a 1975. My great-uncle kept this boat at his lake house. Navy vet and mechanic by trade and he always kept things very meticulously.

From what I am reading these boats are pretty popular. I'm going to start another thread about it.
 
What are you concerned about? It’s a great boat. The age? The engine? Definitely not the looks. I can’t 5hink of a nicer looking boat.
What are you a caveman? lol
 
I was just wondering what to look for. I had an old bowrider that I picked up as a project several years ago and it had an OMC stringer outdrive which was a PITA. Never got the boat on the water. I'm hoping this one is a little easier to get on the water.

..and yes, I am a cave man. ;) Happens to be my last name. lol
 
steplift20 said:
175-225 mercury, why not a 150? 2 stroke or 4 stroke. ..?
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the 175-225 are V6 4 strokes, and currently the best engine option in that horsepower range. In the 150, its hard to beat the old style Yamaha 150 4 stroke. Its a bit heavy, but it makes close to 170 hp. The current Yamaha 150 and mercury 150 4 cylinder are pretty much on par with each other. Granted, i cant afford any of them. If youre talking classic( cheaper motors), the 2.5L mercury is hard to beat. The V6 Yamahas come in second. 2.4L mercs, 2.0 l, loop charged OMC are all good engines, but they are all getting old. Below 150 hp, Its Yamaha V4 and OMC V4s, especially teh loop charged v4s( they are heavy though)
 
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