Hey Sponger!

Pymatuning Lake here in Ohio - Pa is a 14,000 acre 9.9 lake. The vast majority of the on it have 15 hp carbs on them to bump up the hp. It's not too difficult to bump a 2 stroke up but a 4 stroke is supposed to be a real pain.

The one advantage to that 4 stroke is if you do a lot of trolling, the carbon won't build up in the exhaust like on a 2 stroke. Every couple of years, my buddy has to replace the exhaust on his 9.9 Johnson from carbon build-up. It gets like concrete and won't come out. Also, a four is much better on gas. The Big Foot should give you better low end torque due to the lower gearing.

You might check around for a good used one or a rebuilt one. I just bought a 96 Merc 9.9 4 stroke with an electric start for $1,200. Cost $300 to ship from Seattle to Cleveland but I still came out ahead.