Repower assistance? Four stroke Suzuki 90 hp vs Yamaha F115

T

Tomcat24

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C Dory Year
1998
C Dory Model
24 Tomcat
Vessel Name
White Knight
The time has come for repowering our TomCat 24. My son and I currently running 1998 Honda 90s. We would like reliability and fuel efficiency in our new engines, my son would prefer the power and counter rotating props while I prefer less weight on transom and lower overall cost. Wonder if anyone else has tackled these issues. I have time and some what mechanically inclined. I would like to do my own installation. So...
 
I can't speak to which engines you'd prefer, but just a note: As I've explored the idea of repowering, many folks suggested that if I stuck with my original engine brand, I'd save quite a bit by re-using the control, gauges, etc.

Well.... yes and no. I *could* use the same gauges, but a newer variant would be nicer. And the control wasn't a big expense. So although I haven't decided on anything yet (and may not even do it), I decided that - at least in my case - there was no big financial reason to stick with same brand.

I see you are already looking at other brands than your original, but just mention it in case its brought up as a reason. May be a valid dollar reason in some cases, but wouldn't be all that much with mine.

PS: One note on Suzuki vs. Yamaha. I don't know about your area in AK, but when I looked up BC/Inside Passage type area, it looked like Yamaha would be well supported whereas Suzuki was a bit slim. May not be the case now, or may not matter to you, but just something to consider.
 
Tomcat24":2aaoqefj said:
The time has come for repowering our TomCat 24. My son and I currently running 1998 Honda 90s. We would like reliability and fuel efficiency in our new engines, my son would prefer the power and counter rotating props while I prefer less weight on transom and lower overall cost. Wonder if anyone else has tackled these issues. I have time and some what mechanically inclined. I would like to do my own installation. So...
Click to expand...

After owning a Suzuki for the last 4 yrs, when I repower it will
be back to Yamaha! Neither Honda or Suzuki have the corrosion
protection of the Yamaha. :wink: :beer
 
Don't eliminate one of the finest motors out there, the E-tech. I love mine and the weight ant toque is much better than others in the same class.

I owned a Dory with twin Suzie 50's and they were fantastic engines as well. If I had been in the re-powering game then, though, the Suzie's were great, I'd have gone with twin E-techs.

Just another thought to confuse you.
 
Iwould also look at mercury 90 and 115 you can get command thrust bigger gearcase with merc
Ive had merc yamaha Suzuki and Honda to me it comes down to yamaha or merc for corrosion protection my last 3 motors were yami 115 two were fourstroke s great engines but this new merc seems to run better.
I also work part time at a vo tec school marine mechanics and yamis and mercs do best just my 2cents
 
I have the greatest Honda BF45 outboards ever made, but I will replace them with a Yamaha 115 when they give me real trouble.
 
The 115 mercy command trust with counter rotating was our first choice. They only weigh 359 where as Yamaha 115 was 386 and Suzuki 90 was 349. On further investigation Mercury had the highest amount of dissatisfied customers so we decided to stay clear. Thank you for everyone's thoughts we do appreciate the info.
 
I've been considering a Mercury CT if I repower - so I'd be very interested to read that customer feedback. Could you say where you found it or link to it? Thanks.
 
Tomcat24":1gyxm8xr said:
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/boats/mercury.html
Click to expand...

And Mercury is the top rated brand on that site. Hmm, makes me wonder about how much trust I would put in that info.

Jake
 
Maybe I'm misunderstanding how that site works, but Mercury and Evinrude appear to be the only outboard companies with reviews, and they are all negative. There are not any reviews for the other brands, so how do you compare?

Personally I put a lot more faith in the reviews from fellow C-brats who actually own the motors, and there have been nothing but rave reviews about the new Command Thrust outboards here so far.

Also, since the Evinrude reviews are 100% negative on that site, I just want to say that the 2006 E-tec 90 I had was an awesome outboard, as was the dealer who installed it (EQ Marine). In regards to customer support I think finding a good dealer might be more important that the manufacturer.

Not trying to make a debate about which outboards are better (I've had them all and think they're all great), just questioning how accurate that consumer site is when most of the brands don't even have reviews, and sharing my opinion I think Mercury and E-tec are equally good outboards that you might unnecessarily be excluding.

-Mike
 
So far in 4 months the new merc 115 CT works Great .I have about 30 hours on it .I'm getting consistently 4mpg and at 4000rpm getting 20-21 mph this the sweet spot for a cc23-venture 23 boat . If seas are flat 4500 rpm gets 25-26 mph top end is 30-32 mph at 5200-5400 rpm . This engine has the bigger gearcase 150 hp lower unit .swinging a 14by17 S/S prop . I'm hoping this engine gives me 10 years and over 1000 hours of carefree boating
 
That is great to hear, sure makes me want to reconsider the command thrust. I have had a difficult time finding the weight of the extra long shaft command thrust, do you know what it is? Also our cruise would probably be at 3000 since we would have twins have you ever calculated your mileage at that RPM? Thanks
 
At 3000 rpm I'm just barely on plane .the mpg seems better at 3500-4000 rpm? The weight was only about 10lb s more I think ? But I did put a S/S prop on which added a little more ?
Mercury is trying to win back the repower crowd and also the pontoon and fishing crews .

merc 150 hp is a 3 litre engine vs Honda 2.4 litre vs Suzuki 2.9 vs Yamaha 2.7 for their 150 hp engines

merc 90/115 uses a 2.1 litre engine with a reg or CT lower unit
vs Honda 115 2.4 litre /90 hp 1.6litre vs Suzuki 115 2.0 litre 90 hp 1.6 litre vs yamaha 115 1.8 litre 90 hp 1.6 litre

Except for Honda's 2.4 Mercury beats them all with weight and litres The Honda is almost 100lb heavier then Merc also the
Suzuki and Honda are more prone to rust and corrosion problems .Living in SW florida with all the humidity and high concentration of salt I opted for either Yamaha or Merc . The Merc won out because of Ct lower unit and the CC-23 only had a 120hp rating vs a 150 hp rating
 
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