Help choosing an engine for my SIB

[Slayer33]

Hi all,

my first post here.. I've only been in the boating world for about 3 years now.. and my first 2 years were with an Intex Mariner 4 w/Minn Kota trolling motor. I primarily boat to go fishing and trolling...

I sold the mariner last year, and picked up a Salter Mountaineer 12' inflatable SIB. I had a 2.5hp tohatsu with it, but sold it and picked up an older 1999 Nissan 9.8 2-stroke.

Huge improvement, but trolling with it stinks.. so I've started to look at bigger 4-stroke options that I can still troll with. MY boat transom is rated for 20hp/325lbs.

I live in Calgary, AB Canada and locally I've seen a motor that's caught my attention.. the new 2017 Yamaha F25.. its 126lbs and has some slick features to help with trolling... only problem is that its about $4350 CAD to take it home.

The other option is a Mercury 20hp 4-stroke from Bass Pro. Its 10 lbs lighter than the 25hp Yamaha, but is more simple (no trolling adjustments etc)... the kicker here is that I can get this motor new from Bass Pro for $2700 CAD out the door...

so $1650 less than the Yamaha.. that's a considerable amount for 5hp, new tech and the trolling rpm trim....

I know these things are investments, but is it worth it? Can I troll with a Merc 20hp without adding or modifying things to get a good trolling speed?

Is the Merc less reliable? harder to maintain? etc.. I'd like to know everyone pros/cons?

[Sinistre1]

Well... not quite apples to apples but if you can get your hands on the new Suzuki 20hp for a good price do so... Can troll around forever... well mine can, lol. Weight is under 100lbs for manual start short shaft and other than a bad day with wet gas (as in water infused) nary a hiccup... the water gas issue was solved by pulling a hose, bleeding it and the little tank next to it and pulling the starter a full times to rid it of the remaining contaminated gas. Nothing since and that was early after purchase. It will even run with the crappy gas but you cant let the revs go down or shut it off... You will seemingly never restart it once the sensors detect something amiss

[Slayer33]

I just got a price on a Suzuki 20hp, they're asking $3800 for it.. that's still $1100 more than the Merc..


Are Mercury outboards crap? I don't understand why they are so cheap

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Slayer33

I just got a price on a Suzuki 20hp, they're asking $3800 for it.. that's still $1100 more than the Merc..


Are Mercury outboards crap? I don't understand why they are so cheap

No Mercury are great engines we have two 5 hp at work very quiet and smooth

[Slayer33]

I am leaning towards the Merc in terms of cost obviously... saving over 60% by going with the Merc 20 seems like a no brainer.. except when it comes to trolling and longevity...


Would the 20hp Merc be difficult to troll slow enough with? my boat is 12'6" and probably loaded up is around 1000lbs...


The Yamaha has the variable trolling speed controller, fuel injection, 5 more hp and a few more things to make servicing and maintenance a lot easier... but again, it comes at a fairly large cost.

[jeffstevens763@g]

in my opinion i would buy the merc saving $1650 trolling speed will be down to weight etc i would try it for speed first i would say it will be fine, but if not buy a small electric one to suit your needs they should be cheep enough i know you have the big battery to run it but that will run all your electronics too. you will still have $ left over

[Slayer33]

Bought the Mercury 20hp yesterday, picking it up today! Thanks everyone! So excited!

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Slayer33

Bought the Mercury 20hp yesterday, picking it up today! Thanks everyone! So excited!

spot on let us know how you get on

[Slayer33]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

spot on let us know how you get on

Its so heavy! haha.. the weight on paper didn't seem that much, but the awkward size and method of carrying the motor was indeed a task.

I've got it home now.. just in time for it to start snowing again... looks like it'll be a while yet before I get out on the water..

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Slayer33

Its so heavy! haha.. the weight on paper didn't seem that much, but the awkward size and method of carrying the motor was indeed a task.

I've got it home now.. just in time for it to start snowing again... looks like it'll be a while yet before I get out on the water..

get yourself a sack barrow to move the engine if you set it up with screws facing out launch the boat push the engine and barrow toward it and float the boat under it have it so you just push the boat down a bit to keep in position. gurnard is the man to look for on here he does it with a 25 hp mariner on a 4.2 quicksilver

[Slayer33]

Finally got the boat out on the water last week to try the new motor, unfortunately it was windy and raining... so it was hard to really enjoy it..


Trolling speeds are good enough and my top speed with 2 persons was 34kph, 41kph on my own. not bad considering the choppy waters.