Yamaha vs Mercury outboard

I'm looking to buy a new 18.5 ft Lund boat and I noticed they all come with Mercury outboard motors (I think Brunswick owns both companies). I currently have a 2001 Lund with a Yamaha 80 HP that I will be giving to my son.  The Yamaha motor has been great and I would like a Yamaha (150HP) on the new boat. I would like some opinions and feedback on which motor to get. (or if I can even get a Yamaha outboard on a new Lund). I welcome any ideas or opinions, Thanks!

I owned and still own 2 merc and 1 yammy. Both brands are good but I do like the yammy for reliability. 

I used to travel a bit and once you get out of this region there is alot more yammys then mercs. I was upto Alaska this year and saw pretty much Yammys,  no merc and a few Hondas.

Like I said , both brands have good motors but if your talking about getting a kicker? Then yammy hands down from my perspective.

Mercury!!!! Yamaha!!!! Both great motors. I wanted a Yamaha but i have never had anything but Mercury's. I have a 250 Mercury pro XS and love it. I know they are both great motors but the performance I get out of my Mercury I can not believe any other motor could equal.  I fish just about every day especially in the summer and I can fish about 3 weeks on a tank of fuel. Yes my tank is 50 gallon but it is so much better that the 225 pro XS I had on my other boat. For Example I fished Cedar lake and made long runs daily and I did not putt around and I used just over a half of a tank in a week.  i have over 300 hours on my motor in two years and I have had zip for problems. My last Mercury I had 1086 hours on it when I sold it. Yes that was unheard of and it it still going strong.     Just get what you like make sure to do preventive maintenance. Feed it good gas and good oil and always let them warm up before you drop the hammer.

Your Mercury was made by Yamaha. Mercury did not make their own 4 strokes until 2005 and that was a cloned Yamaha made in China.

I've ran Mercury's since 91, currently have a 2003  60 4 stroke, many hours of flawless fishing. Only one  minor problem fixed under warranty, easy start, runs all day trolling.  Would I buy a Yammie, certainly if the price was right  after the old Merc goes to boot hill, but I'll probably get there first. Three of my fishing friends run Yamaha's with no issues, and there much quieter than my motor. But I can't hear so that  doesn't make a difference for me. Like someone said there all good, just personal preference  is all that matters.

You mean to say somebody besides Mercury makes an outboard?  Oh yeah, forgot about Evinrude.

I've had Merc's for over 35 years and currently have one on my Fischer 17'.  Love it.

My duck boat has a 1982 Evinrude 25 that starts first pull every time.  Actually, it sat in the yard at my cottage from March of '15 until May of '17.  The gas had never gotten run out of the lines at the end of the '14 season.  This spring decided to go fishing and needed to get it going.  Fresh gas, trash can of water, 3rd pull she fired right off.

It’s a 2006 Tuffy.  If Tohatsu made it, let’s just say I’m not a fan...

That 15 horse motor was probably made by Tohatsu. They make all of the Mercury's under 30 horse power.

For the most part, I think all new motors are solid.

That said, over the years I've owned two Mercs, one Evinrude, and two Yamis. 

Both Yamis were solid and very reliable.  I currently have a 60 Yami on my pontoon - super good motor, nothing but positive things to say. 

My fishing boat has a 150 2010 Etec.  Best motor I've owned.  It has around 1,000 hours and still starts right up every time.  Outside of the 3-year maintenance I have had 0 issues.  Love that it winterizes it self. 

Both Mercs were unreliable.  I removed a 2005 150 Merc. XR6 from my fishing boat.  I forever had trouble starting it.  Once it was warm it ran fine, but every time it sat too long I always hoped it would start.  The second merc. is a 4 stroke 15 hp for the duck skiff.  Nothing but problems with this motor too.  I still have it and am on the 2nd lower unit.  I'm sure the newer Mercs are decent, but the older ones sure have given me a bunch of grief.

If I were to purchase a new motor it'd be a Yami or an Etec.  I've heard great things about Suzuki's too, but have no first hand experience with them.  

I have a 2012 F60 Yamaha that has been great. In 2005 Mercury cloned the F60 Yamaha and started building them in China. Prior to 2005 Yamaha made the 40-50-60 four strokes for Mercury in Japan.

I think that they have all of the bugs out of the Chinese Mercury's by now. I think the Lunds look really nice with the black Mercury's on them, but my Alumacraft with a gray Yamaha looks good in my eyes.

Depending on where you live it can be a little more difficult to get your Yamaha winterized. Thats about all that I have had done to mine in the six seasons that I have owned it, but I like to use OEM oils and filters.

I have a 2005 40HP Mercury on my  pontoon.....flawless.  I had a 2005 60HP Mercury on my Alumacraft fishing boat ..... had one issue repaired under warranty in the 11 years I owned it with 800 hours on the motor.  Now I have 2017 150HP Mercury on my Lund Impact...so far with over 80 hours last season it has been flawless.  Due to the same parent company the Lund with a Mercury will be less $$$ than outfitting a Lund with a Yamaha but it is very doable.  If I really wanted a Yamaha I would take a close look at a comparable Alumacraft.  I really don't think you can go wrong with a Mercury or Yamaha both very good, reliable engines, IMHO.

There's a lot of good engines out there but I would definitely look at the Evinrude E-tec's  I have currently have the 115 etec.  Performance wise they beat every other engine out there. Look at youtube videos comparing Etecs to Yamaha and Mercury...amazing difference.  Lighter, a lot less maintenance (none for 3 years).

Here's two videos comparing Etec's to Yamaha/Mercury

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-7I00cZUE0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XRCDN3JKZ0

I would go Yamaha every time.  I own a 115hp 4stroke and a t-8.  Mercurys have burnt me in the past that's why I run Yamaha and my dad now runs a Suzuki on his Lund.  I also bought a new boat not to long ago and it would have been an additional 3k to power Lund with yami so I didn't get a Lund (other things to).  I have an older 2 stroke 25hp merc and that shares a lot of parts with Yamaha.  If I didn't own a Yamaha I would have no problems with a Suzuki but never a merc again.  I also had a lot of problems with ford trucks now I have gmc s and no issues.  So ford or chevy?  Buy a Yamaha and don't look back.  Also Brunswick does own both companies and I believe they also own crestliner.

In the early 2000's Merc partnered with Yam. Yam powerhead and Merc below that. I had a merc 40 2 stk and a Yam 50 4stk. After the powerhead they were the same. I have no knowledge of where that partnership is now.

Anyhow, I don't think you could go wrong with either one. I was never a huge Merc fan, after owning a Yam, but I will say the Opti and 4stk kicker I have been running for 10 years now have been rock solid. Not one issue. The last I looked into buying a new boat I believe it was around 2k to repower a Lund to something other than a Merc in like hp.

Call your dealer and see what they can do for you.

Yamaha all the way. If they want to sell the boat they will put a Yamaha on it. I have bought 2 lunds and they both had Yamaha's on them.