Nightmare Opti 225

[alanc chapman]

I have a 10 month old Mariner 225 Optimax.

To date I have had:
a new gearbox,oil reservoir replaced and nowa new starter motor is being fitted. The engine has had over heating problems. The wiring loom has also been replaced.

Cant complain re the service I have recd to rectify but am I just unlucky or are they problematic ?

Would welcome professional feedback.

[brucehawsker]

I have an 8 month old 150 optimax with no problems at all. Boat itself has been a pain, but not the engine.

[searafting.no]

chapman,

we have 2 Evinrude ficht 225 2003 engines that we consider to sell and buy a uesed 225 2002 Optimax, but after some research i didnt dear to buy the optimax engine.

The shop had 2 engines that the customer had deliverd back because this was 3 optimax engine he had problems with.

The ones that was in the shop had a broken reed valve and the other had changed the entire wiring harness on the engine because of a burnt fuel injector.

I allso did a research on diffrent message board in the Us and found out that the Optimax is not a engine without any problems.

I found things like overheating, electrcal problems and a lot issues about people had too change powerhead.

People allwas have told me too stay away from Evinrude engines,but i must say that we are very happy with our engines, i allso have a freind that have 2 evinrude 250 2004 engines without any big problems

[TIM]

could you give me the addreses to the 'good' mercury forums????

[Hightower]

This is a handy resource for engine woes. It helped me decide on my Merc 4 stroke. Either do a search for your particular motor or just trawl.

http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ul...cgi?category=5

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by brucehawsker

Boat itself has been a pain, but not the engine.

Oooo, do tell.

[brucehawsker]

Nothing at all serious. Hull is wonderful, performance beyond my wildest dreams. I have felt as safe as houses in some horrible conditions, even when keeping up with Richard B.

But a series of very small niggles has meant that I have had a constant 'problems' list since she was delivered.

I am told that anything which can break on a boat will. Well.....

our second set of bilge pumps have just packed up
the compass is useless, placed next to an auxilliary speaker for the radio - which incidentally is a Navcom and is super, but with a dreadful manual
the fire extinguishers are rusting
one of the seat backs bent on her first serious voyage
we have had an air hole on a chine which burst at both ends and needs GRP work
the throttle is sticky at low revs
a pin has fallen off the front bench lock and needs repairing
a small area of gel coat has fallen off the driver's pod

Nothing serious, and probably to be expected in any boat. Solent have been super supportive throughout.

That is all, but it takes the edge off the new boat experience.

Bruce

[Hightower]

Well Bruce, if you wan it done properly......Do it ya self.

I bought a new steering wheel from Vetus and fitted it, the compass went from -40 to +40 deg when I turned it. Vetus suggested I de-mag it or they'd refund me the money. So I de-magged it at work and it's fine now, but how can you sell a steering wheel for a boat that affects the compass so much. It's crazy!!

Incidentely my compass is right under my Silva S10 VHF and isn't affected at all.

As for fire extinguishers, I guess rust is going to happen if stored in the elements. I have mine stored under a Jockey seat.

What bilge pumps are they Bruce? Are they the rule type? I've heard storys of some of this type of pump failing because the brackets break, is this the case with yours, as there are some really simple solutions you could do yourself to stop this from ever happening again.

As for all the rest of the problems the major one is the sticking throttle, it's a safety issue if its bad and needs attention. Get Solent to sort it allong with your hull repairs.

Good luck and happy boating.

Andy

[swginn]

Hey Bruce, sorry to hear of your few niggles!!

What kind of compass do you have?? If it's a Plastimo you can get a compensator and "swing" the compass. Barnet did this with mine first day, without me even asking and it works perfectly even with Icom and Lowrance in close proximity. Still though, the only time your ever likely to need that compass will be if BOTH your plotters pack up, which will eliminate most of the interference and you can simply turn off the radio anytime you want a perfect reading!!

As regards the fire extinguisher you can get a recess from Barnet Marine that will hold the fire extinguisher and has a perspex front to it to protect it from the elements.

Gel Coat and GRP imperfections shouldn't be tolerated in any new boat, but they do happen. I'd be very surprised if Solent didn't sort you out though.

Same goes for the backrest, throttle & latch.

Hope its all sorted promptly for you Bruce!!

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by swginn

What kind of compass do you have?? If it's a Plastimo you can get a compensator and "swing" the compass. Barnet did this with mine first day, without me even asking and it works perfectly even with Icom and Lowrance in close proximity. Still though, the only time your ever likely to need that compass will be if BOTH your plotters pack up, which will eliminate most of the interference and you can simply turn off the radio anytime you want a perfect reading!!

You can't turn off the magnet in the speaker, if this too close to the compass!

Nick

[swginn]

Forgot about that!! Sorry it was late when I posted that . But if you fit a compensator it will correct all of the interference!

[Nick Hearne]

Forgiven
Now this has got me thinking I wonder how many people have a deviation chart made up for there compass?
I for one do not!
Nick

[Hightower]

You could always De-mag the compass....Problem sorted .