Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Just curious to see who out there has a mercury optimax... I have been thinking abt upgrading my boat. Thought just a 2 toon with 90 hp would be good enough, and it gets the job done, but after being on a friend's tri-toon, I have noticed a BIG difference. I've decided that more toons and a bigger motor=better watersports and smoother riding. I have found a 2005 voyager (tri-toon with a hard top!) that has a Mercury Optimax 150, and just wondering how good they are.

So far our 150 opti has been flawless.

There's no getting around it, most modern high tech 2 strokes will accelerate much better than a 4 stroke, and be 3-4 mph faster on top end. They're more desirable on high performance hulls--rather than 2 toon boats.

But 2 strokes are louder at medium cruise speeds and are rough idling. 2 strokes and 4 strokes all get loud at full throttle.

Fuel mileage may be about the same, but 2 strokes require expensive outboard motor oil. On the other side, 4 strokes require oil changes every 100 hrs.

Most pontooners are not high speed people, and 4 strokes suit their needs better. If pontooners do a bunch of water sports, a 2 stroke may actually suit their needs better.

love em..........put gas in the tank and oil in the other tank (it changes itself) and go
still a die hard opti fan
doc

I have a 2006 200 hp Opti on the back of my bass boat and it has been trouble free. It only has about 125 hours on it because I can be fishing as soon as I back out of my slip. My trolling motor probably has about 1,200 hours on it.
In 2010 took it to the shop and had the water-fuel separator and impeller changed out. Mechanic said the plugs were good-no reason to change em.
Except for making sure I treat the off-the-lake fuel with Mercury KwickCare ethanol treatment and adding Sea-Foam at the end of the season, I don't do anything else.
Add gas, oil when needed and go like hell!

any idea what the difference in weight is vs. the typical 4-stroke?

The_Hellbilly wrote:any idea what the difference in weight is vs. the typical 4-stroke?

Less or more, More or less depending on the HP rating. 2 or 4 the gap is pretty narrow now a days. 2 strokes still have a hole shot advantage in most cases, but the "lean burn" 4 strokes are taking back the MPG title again as they are moving up to 1990's EFI closed loop systems instead of 1980's open loop "dumb" EFI.

Mine is two years old and has been perfect