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| I am looking at buying a used boat and the boats I am looking at have 2 options a Mercury 115 optimax or a Yamaha 115 4 stroke. Which would be a better motor for fishing 90% and towing my young son skiing 10% of the time? This is for a 17' bass boat. |
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Posts: 383
Location: SE Wisc and Vilas County | if u do a lot of trolling get the four stroke if not go with the opti!!!!! nothing like the sound of a 2 stroke |
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Posts: 720
| Honker is right on the money with his advise. I would go with the opti if your a runandgunner type of fisherman. The Opti will blow the Yammies doors off out of the hole and the fuel consumption is as good as the Yamaha's. Now, I'm a Yamaha guy from the word go. So my opinion is going to be very very bias. Yamaha makes the best motor anything I've owned. I like my 115 4stroke. Its as dependable as the sun coming up in the east. I like its performance (although the Optimax is quicker and fuel economy is as good or better). The Yamaha is quiet and smoke free. Trolling with the Yamaha is excellant. So to sum it up. Ethier one will do the job. You need to decide what kind of characteristics your engine should have. |
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Posts: 582
| I think you will be happier with a 4 stroke. Quiet, good gas mileage and only have to change the oil every 100 hours or every season which ever comes first. Although the opti is a good motor, the yamaha is better. That being said, just make sure a dealer near you services the motor you get. Probably the most important aspect. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I like power and speed coupled with excellent fuel economy. The 115 Opti is actually a very quiet motor and is clean or cleaner running than 4 stroke technology depending on the brand compared. I'd go with the Opti. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I too would go with the Opti. The Optimax is actually more fuel efficient than the fourstrokes, and I would put that motor against any 4 stroke and I promise you, you will be amazed on just how quiet the Optimax is. It may not be as quiet, but there is a huge difference in noise when comparing the larger Opti's and the smaller ones.
I prefer the overall performance that the Opti can give you over the more sluggish 4 strokes in that same category. Plus, I like that Opti growl when you put the hammer down!
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Is this a new motor on a used boat? If it is, I'd go with the Merc. Less weight, more torque, probably the same or better gas mileage, probably less maintenance , and probably cleaner.
Too bad putting an E-TEC 115HO on the boat isn't one of the choices. That would be the hot one for torque and speed. |
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Posts: 1168
| TJ DeVoe - 9/8/2010 12:51 AM
I too would go with the Opti.
Shocking!! 
It's on a bass boat, go with the 2 stroke. If it was on a deep-V I'd go with the 4 stroke.
I know guys who have that size of opti and guys that have that size of yamaha. They have no complaints. Can't go wrong either way but since it's on a bass boat that would give the opti a lean. |
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| When I priced out the 115's last year, the opti and the yamaha were about the same price. Both are great motors and I am sure you will be happy with the one you get. My response was pretty decisive! NOT! |
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Posts: 238
Location: Rhinelander | Ulbian has probably the best advice. For the posters comparing how quite an opti vs 4-stroke, I'll just chuckle.
Current rig has a 115 Yami, buddy has close to the same boat with an Opti. No doubt, not even a comparision the yami is quiter by a long shot and no smoke or smell. The Opti has it in the hole shot no doubt but not by a large margin and there isn't much difference between our boats. Don't get me wrong, the Opti is a very, very nice motor and you can't go wrong with either.
Look at total boat hours, bring it to a dealer they can tell you, and what your local/favorite marina services. That is how I would decide.
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Hodag, I said, I promise you, you will be amazed on just how quiet the Optimax is. It may not be as quiet, but there is a huge difference in noise when comparing the larger Opti's and the smaller ones. When both motors are at idle, which is majority of the time, they are both extremely quiet. As I stated above, the Yamaha has it beat by a little, but the 115 Opti is amazingly quiet when compared to the larger Opti's. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I'll second that, I just got a 90 Opti and was amazed at how quiet it is. OF COURSE there is no 'smoke' or smell from my Monster 90 HP Opti...it's as clean as the 4 strokes out there, including the Mercs. |
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| 115 Pro XS!!! Will smoke that Yami in every category (except noise) but it's a good noise when you hear that growl as you blow by every other 115 out there. Sorry, had to. If it's a bass boat, I'd definitely go 2 stroke. Bass boats sit low enough in the water already, don't need any extra weight. Plus bass boats are made for 2 strokes. |
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Posts: 1536
Location: God's Country......USA..... Western Wisconsin | My 2 cents worth if yo haven't allready purchased. Opti is very quick, Quiet and will certainly outrun the Yammy. Fuel economy goes hands down to he Opti, direct injection vs throttle body. The Yamaha is very dependable. But with that said, if you have a problem needing parts the Merc parts come from WI. The Yamaha parts come 6 weeks from now........maybe |
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Posts: 99
| Go with the Opti, for trolling put a Mercmonitor on it and you can adjust the trolling rpms as low as 550 rpm I believe with a push of button. Plus you will like the better holeshot. I second what Tim D and Steve W have to say |
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Posts: 183
Location: Grand Forks ND | I love my Opti and have never had ANY issues with it, nor have any of the other people posting above you. I always get a good laugh when 99% say one thing and then the 1% who have had a bad experience try to discredit the others. ANYTHING mechanical can have lemons. |
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Posts: 743
| i can only speak from my experiences having traveled in boats with the two motors being discussed. these are not opinions, they are my experiences.
two years ago, i got stranded in a friends boat, on the great lakes, who had a Opti 115 (it was a brand new motor, less than a year old). i think that was the 6th time i had been stranded on lakes with friends that had an Opti. but this was the first time in stranded in boat with 115 HP Opti (also the only time i have even been in a boat with a 115 Opti). I think i am bad luck when i'm in some else's boat who has an opti. they just seem to fail at a higher rate than other motors i have experience with.
with that being said, i do most of my fishing on a boat with a 115 Yamaha 4 stroke. zero failures so far. but who knows, that might change the next time i go fishing.
no opinions, must my experiences, even though they are not vast experiences |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I have been in literally dozens of rigs with the smaller bore Optis, not a problem yet. I am currently running a 90. Love it. |
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| i've got a 90hp Opti as well, built around the same 1.5L motor as the 115hp.
it's only "quiet" when compared to the much larger 200hp (3.0L) Opti. it's relatively loud in comparison to an almost-silent 4-stroke motor.
that said, it's an awesome motor and the more i've run it this year, the more respect i've gained for it - Mercury gets a lot of performance out of a motor that size. last week it put me and the Bigman, 2 full monster Lakewoods, a full livewell of suckers, a tank of gas, and all my other boat/fishing gear in a 19' boat up on plane with relative ease. that's mildly impressive to say the least...and based on that i'm sure the 115hp would handle occasional ski-pulling duties on a 17' boat quite nicely.
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