What 115hp outboard to get on new boat?

I’m looking at getting new boat here in next year or two. I want a boat with a no bigger than 115hp motor. What brand would you guys go with? It’s toss up for me between Yamaha and Evinrude Etec. Any help, helps a lot 

When I bought my used 2006 Alumacraft Navigator 165 CS I was originally looking for something with a 60 - 75 HP Evinrude E-tec motor. Then I found this boat and it already had a 90 HP Mercury Optimax. I was afraid of going from a 25 HP on my old boat to a BIG motor. The 90 HP is the max rated for my boat. But it is plenty powerful for what I need. 

For me the main reasons for buying a newer boat were:

1) Bigger space to tote the family around (Mine has 4 seats)

2) Bigger motor to get up on plane and stay there.

3) Be able to pull a tube/skier on our weekly vacation.

I missed out on the same style boat with an 90 HP E-tec but this has been a great boat/motor. I am glad I got the 90 HP as most dealers around me were selling new boats with only 60 HP motors on them. Even though I did not get an Evinrude like I wanted I have had no problems with my 2006 Optimax and my boat was almost like new. Been a happy boater/fisherman for the past 2 years.

Sorry this isn't strictly about 115 HP like the topic states. Just htought I would share my experience. 

Thanks for sharing Lake Linkers...

The biggest advantage you gain by maxing out a boat’s horsepower rating isn’t speed. Guys get hung up on that and overlook the overall weight you’ll be pushing around. If you are a weekender who doesn’t use his boat a whole lot and you don’t hammer on it then you’ll be alright not maxing it out....but if you are using it any and every chance you get an undersized motor will be taxed out.

Look at it this way....If you have a 21ft fiberglass boat and your tow vehicle options are a 3/4 ton diesel pick up or a minivan, which one will last longer lugging that weight around?  Some boat dealers try and get away with selling underpowered boats. Hanging a 40hp outboard on a 17.5 foot boat is asinine yet some do this and advertise them as the lowest price you’ll find. Then when the owner has performance issues they go back to the dealer and try to figure it out...they are sold different props, the motor is moved up or down, etc. By the time it’s all said and done the consumer has spent as much money trying to get it right than they would have if they would’ve bought the right set up in the first place.  Anyway.... I wouldn’t shortchange myself on HP.  You don’t have to run it wide open all the time or ever if that’s not what you want to do...but it is nice knowing that you have a team of Alaskan huskies running the Iditarod instead of a pack of poodles. 

My buddy just blew up his Yamaha last weekend in Alabama.  This is a buddy that beats the crap out of everything and maintenance done on nothing. He's a straight swamp donkey redneck. Everything sits in the backyard,  7 grills rotting away in the back. If you ever saw swamp people the show,  he could be in it. Only he's a successful business man by day,  straight hillbilly by night.

So 15 years w no little to no maintenance,  my next motor will be a Yamaha. I bet that oil looked like tar, if it had any.  He straight out told me that it hadn't been changed since his first boy was born,  he's in 5th grade.  At least he thinks thats the last time he did something. what a dumb arse. 

On top of that he was asking me what to buy now.  He was thinking about switching to something else.  I said Brett,  you just told me you hadn't done a thing to that motor in approx 10 years maybe.  Hello?  Buy another one and this time take care of it,  it might last 30 years.

3,500 is alot of fishing trips. If you look at it like that. 

1Pass, I was always in full agreement of maxing out the HP on a boat, however, I purchased an Alumacraft Competitor 175 and went with the 115 Yami. I just felt that the 150 was too much motor for that boat. I could not be happier! I gets on plane quickly and runs 40gps MPH. That is about what I was looking for. Seemingly the extra 5-7 mph of the 150 was simply not worth the weight and expense. Small reward for an extra $3,500.00.

If boat is rated for a 150. You will want to Max out hp.  I would recommend any brand these days after reviewing pros n cons to each. 

 Best advice is to pick the brand where dealer is closest to where you live. But if you plan on doing any trolling with it I would go with a 4 stroke.

Looking to upgrade my 2003 90 merc. Looking at Yamaha or etec what should I expect to pay? 

Thanks E.T.

Agree with  .Long Barrels, pick ur flavor.  Just 4 stroke and fuel injected.   It really comes down to maintainance IMO.  I recently purchased a used boat with 2004 60HP Merc 4S fuel injected, over 1000 hours (factory test engine) runs perfect, never shut off when jigging it's so quiet.  Recently replaced the belt (crank to cam) as original a little sloppy, performance improved a lot, another 700 RPMs at WOT, going to have to reprop.  And don't forget to leave the ethonal behind - killer for motors.  I really notices that difference many moons ago on trip to Canada, my 2 stroker was running rough the first few days, then all of a sudden it was running great, WTH?  Put gas on in Canada, they didn't have ethonal at the time, never looked back.  The early Merc 4 strokes had a Yamaha power block, I think around YR 2000 or so.

So kind of a loaded question.  Depending on which boat you get you may not have all the options.  Went threw this 4 years ago if you go with a Brunswick boat Lund-crestliner you will expect to pay 2k more if you want a yami on it instead of merc.  I got a 176 Starcraft sc and love it also you can put whatever motor you want on it they are an independent boat manufacturer.  With that being said I went with a yami 115.  I absolutely love it change the oil and lower unit once a year and never worry about a thing.  My family had acouple mercs on boats never again.  Etecs I hear good things and bad things from people who have them.  Usually dealing with lower unit failures.  I can troll at 2.1 on a flat calm day...all day.  I have a buddy with a tiller 90hp with he rpm turn down feature who can go .75mph on a 17ft ranger.  My dad got rid of his merc and got a Suzuki and that’s just as nice as my yami only thing is getting a dealer who has parts and will service just not to many around.  So I would go Yamaha,Suzuki,Etec .......Mercury 

I recommend Yamaha, they have a great feature I've never had in an outboard before; it starts!  After all the years of not knowing if the motor will start it is a great feeling being able to push off the dock, then sit down and turn it over. 

Lb,

On the Etecs they are referring to the oil in the lower unit, the Etecs are two stroke - they run 100:1. 

I have an Etec, and I change the oil in the lower unit every year, for me it is something that should be checked on every outboard every year.  How else would you know if you picked up some fishing line and had a leaky seal?  

If you did have a leaky seal, and didn’t change the lower unit, you wouldn’t know until spring when you find a puddle of oil on the ground and a crack in your lower unit.  

If you can get a 115 Suzuki 4 stroke I would go with it. It is probably the top performing motor out of any in that hp.I wouldn't hesitate to get a Yamaha either.

tuffy I have a 75 Etec 2005 just short of 900 hours.Lots of grunt,easy on oil and gas.Did have to put a new injecter last summer but other than that its ben good.i don't think thats to bad for 12 years.

Tuffy,

A friend of mine has a 75 E-tec and absolutely loves it.

Long Barrels, I am not a troller myself, but it is not unusual at all to troll with your main engine, if it is a 4-stroke.  Just depends on what you are trolling for.  A friend of mine has a 150 HP Yamaha on his 18 ft Alumacraft and uses that exclusively to troll on Lake Michigan for salmon.  Another friend does the same thing with his 175 HP on GB for muskies.  They are trolling at higher speeds....up tp 4 mph.  Now, if you need to troll crawler harnesses at very slow speeds, I would have a kicker.