Some time down the road I am going to buy a 75-90 hp outboard with tiller handle for my net boat. I am in the research stage of buying and curious as to what brand you would suggest and why. I put alot of hours on the motors running in 8 feet plus water so my motor is not hitting objects just getting a lot of run/idle time. There is also a lot of shifting from forward/reverse to neutral.
Thanks a bunch.

Randy

It's all about the E-tecs for reliability, power and low maintanence. They rave about 6 years before you have to do any tuneups. Other than that, Yamaha or Merc Optimax as fourstrokes would be my choice.

Most of the crawfisherman I see use the yamaha 2 strokes. Don't even know if they are still offered. Haven't looked into outboards in a while. Don't know whats the new thing.

Just about everyone I know that has a boat OTHER than a glitter bass boat runs either a Yamaha or Suzuki 4 stroke in the 75-150HP range.
They're quiet, sip fuel and seem pretty bomb proof. I know people are as dedicated to their OB's as MM's but just judging the boats I've seen, these motors seem pretty solid.
I'm thinking a 60HP tiller for my boat for summer time next year.
I'll buy one or the other of the two above depending on price.

Yamaha for me.I know your in fresh water but down here it has the best corrosion protection.Here on the coast every weekend is a boat show..You see them all.Some of the guides are running the E-Tec's and say they like them.But one guy told me in order to keep the warranty.You must have all maintence done at the dealer.That include oil changes.Not sure how true this is. My family has owned all makes and sizes,but we all like the Yamaha 2 stroke.

Supposedly those E-tecs are maintanence free for 6 yrs. and no oil change of course cause it is 2 stroke but I would think the lower unit oil would have to be changed sometime.

http://www.evinrude.com/en-US/

Not to put the jack on yore thread ...... but check out the claim on that 55hp that will run on all types of fuel !!! How do it do that ??

I posted that E-Tech suckin' the wind out of that Yamaha on another thread. Mabe Evinrude has some thangs goin' for it !! To me .... the white 90hp E-Tech looks good. Don't know nothin' 'bout 'em but I shore likes the look of it !!!!

hangin off the back of any full time crawfishermans main skiff you gonna see a 40 or 90 tiller merc or yamaha that has been put thru hell most burnt up the overheat horn and still kickin all the new lookin motors you see on them usually just have a new cover on them now idk anybody with a e-tec which is prolly due to the price of those suckers idk what they run never really priced them but im sure there more, which would persuade a few away, evenrude really hasn't built a reputation around here yet we kinda stick to what we know

idk= "I don't know", i use that phrase often

I could be wrong ~ but it's lookin' like the E-Tech is 'bout all the option we gonna have for 2 stroke small engines.

new 90hp 2-stroke yammahammer. tiller wif power trim was 5600 out the door wif a ss prop last yr when i was pricing them.
netman, that's the motor i would get.

them e-tecs are nice, but the water pisser plugs up in the duckweed easy.
same wif mercs.


if u can find a old yamaha enduro model in 60hp or 75 hp they were probly the toughest motors ever built.

Thanks for the info! DA what are the crab guys running? I seen over on the fuge that you can buy a Mercury 75 and make it a 90 by removing the restrictor plate. Seems there are more two strokes out there than a guy thinks. I really like the Etec like Brooks is speaking of but when you see the cubic inches on some of these motors the Etechs are at the back of the pack.
Keep the info/thoughts coming.

Randy

Mercury Optimax!

Vietnamese,Chinese,Taiwanese all tried the Suzuki's for crabing but they switched back to Yamaha's here.

We have 8 or 10 Suzuki's from 50 to 200hp that get well abused. Not commercial fishin abused but run by different people from 14 to 60 years old, who could care less about if it blows up or not. They get many, many hours of idle time. All Lake Pontchartrain deep water. They seem to be holdin up pretty good.

Yamaha or Tahotsu/Nissan


Only way to fly.

the crabbers i see run yamaha or suzuki with a merc every now and then.

we run several big outboard boats in the feild i work in in terrebonne bay. most of them have 2 250hp yamahas. 2 have 2 350hp yamahas.
they tearup every now and again, but are totally abused by people who have no business driving a boat. lol


when i am ready to buy a motor i look at what the crawfishermen run and buy that. they run whatever holds up the best. wide open forward to wide open reverse to running wfo with heavy loads all day long is a normal day.

back in the day the old 50 merc was the shiznit.
then the 40 yamaha took over.
then the 40merc was the one to get.
now i see lots of 90hp yamahas and older 40 and 60 mercs. a few e-tecs.

the tohotsu and nissan motors are good too, at least the older ones were.

Everyone I know that has or had Etec had headaches with them the one on the work boat at work had 7 hours and smoke the powerhead. Yam for dependablity and Merc for speed have you ever seen anything black that wouldnt run fast.

I took these during Duck season at a large crabbing facility in Seadrift.He runs Yamaha's again.I asked what happen to them and all i could understand was.No good,motor burn up,no water.These guys run all day checking traps.

Thanks guys! Are the Yamahas your seeing four stroke or two stroke on the crab/crawfish boats? The reason I asked is that when you look at cubic inches the four strokes have way more.
Coastal did the guys who ran the four stroke Suzukis in the picture go with the Yamaha four strokes?
When you compare different brands it amazing in regards to the cubic inches they offer.
Mercury Optimax 75/90 hp is 93 cubic inches
Mercury four stroke 75/90 is 105 ci
Yamaha four stroke 75/90 is 97 ci
Yamaha two stroke 90 hp is 70 ci and 75 hp is 52 ci
Etech 75 hp is 79 ci and the 90 hp is 79 ci
Suzuki 70/80/90 hp four stroke is 79 ci
Nissan tldi 70/90 is 77 ci

Randy

Yes all the crabbers are running 4 strokes..Most all the guides still run 2 stroke for hole shot and lighter engines for shallow water fishing.

I like their skeg repair work....

E-Tech is the way I'd go. Bombardier corp ( owners of the old OMC ) don't put out a product untill it's right. I've worked on outboards, and you'll always have your brand specific folks, but for size and performance E-Tech is the way to go. Just be ready to open your wallet. Second choice is Yamaha 4-stroke

like my honda
it's camo-clad now

My little bro is a commercial fisherman on the Illinois. He's running a Nissan 150. He says for the money, you can't go wrong. I've seen several other guys running Nissans too. It's pretty funny seeing a 250 Nissan TILLER!!

Most of da crawfisherman run 40 or 60 Merc 2 strokes. Startin to see a lot more 90 Merc 4 strokes too. I have one friend been fishin a 90 4 stroke for da last 2 yrs. and swears by it. But I still think dat Yamaha 75 Enduro is da all time king. If I could find one I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Da 2 stroke 90 Yamaha is pretty popular too.