Who makes Mariner?

[sTTu]

I alway thought that Mariner outboards were made by Mercury and then someone told me that Yamaha were also made by the same company that made the Merc and Mariner, is that true ?

Would it be fair to say that most modern outboards ie Yam, Honda, Merc, Mariner, Suzuki are pretty much of a muchness, I'm finding the choice of boat impossible never mind the complication of the engines !! Should I be overly concerned about which lump sits on the back ? I'm looking at 80hp to 115hp.

Your thoughts, as ever, are appreciated.

Thanks

[Locozodiac]

Merc which is same as Mercury had a joint venture with Yamaha to produce portable engines in the 5 to 40 HP size, now a days portables in the 2.5 to 30 HP 4 strokes and 2.5 to 50 HP in the 2 strokes with light variations are produced by Tohatsu which is same as Nissan.

So 80 to 115 must be Mercury's own make. The good about mentioned Jap brand engines is that don't make crappy engines. Are very even in quality, just pick your personal brand.

Happy Boating

[jezza2011]

Mariners are Mercurys but origionaly designed for salt water use apparently.
mercs/mariners blow 40hp were yams apparently.
so 1-40hp was or is yam and 40 onwards are mercs.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by sTTu

I alway thought that Mariner outboards were made by Mercury and then someone told me that Yamaha were also made by the same company that made the Merc and Mariner, is that true ?

Would it be fair to say that most modern outboards ie Yam, Honda, Merc, Mariner, Suzuki are pretty much of a muchness, I'm finding the choice of boat impossible never mind the complication of the engines !! Should I be overly concerned about which lump sits on the back ? I'm looking at 80hp to 115hp.

Your thoughts, as ever, are appreciated.

Thanks

To my mind the first decision to make (assuming you are talking new outboard) is 4 stroke or new technology 2 stroke. If its 4 strokes then by and large for the main brands you mention there is not much between them, so the factors which usually help people make up their minds are:

- cost
- weight
- local service / support

[Boats&Outboards]

Except a lot of the larger Mercury F series 4 strokes have Yam power heads

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ askboatsandoutboards4sale@sky.com ~ 07930 421007

[m chappelow]

Wouldent like to comment on the later ones but Story I got when they first came out on the market around 1978 was that the smaller portable engines from 2 hp right up to the 60 hp were all Rebadged Yamaha's whilst the larger 70 hp up to the 175 hp were then all rebadged Mercurys..
I know many of the mariner parts were the same and were interchangeable with the Yamaha model engines .
Suppose it was the Same as the the old Evinriude & Johnson engines that were the OMC group different colour schemes and badges but mechanically the same engine .

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Poly

To my mind the first decision to make (assuming you are talking new outboard) is 4 stroke or new technology 2 stroke. If its 4 strokes then by and large for the main brands you mention there is not much between them, so the factors which usually help people make up their minds are:

- cost
- weight
- local service / support

+1 with perhaps local service and support coming first

[sTTu]

Originally Posted by Leapy

+1 with perhaps local service and support coming first

100% on that one ! I have a great Suzuki dealer whos done a great job for us over the last few years. Just seeing Ribeyes with Yams and some of the other ribs with Mariners, they wouldn't be my first choice simply because I dont know the local dealers.

Ha! Ha! and there was me thinking..."I'll just go get myself a rib"

[Turbodiesel]

In the old days some Mariner were made by the sanshin company who made yamaha engines hence the old 40/30/25/20 were always referred to as 40 Sanshin engines by us at the factory.
Now Mercury build them all, when they get to Belgium (marine power europe) they get a Mariner top cowl or a Mercury top cowl. All built on the same production line. Mercury also own a large part of Tohatsu (TMC) So im told!! hence the small Mercs/Mariners are the same as some Tohatsu engines.
The older style Merc/Mariners four strokes were also Yamaha Based power heads, such as the 75/90/115/225hp.
These have been replaced by Mercury's own four stroke called the L4NA (Line 4 Normally Aspirated) Or the Verado L6 and L4.

[thomas]

I run a 115 Merc and a 60 Marina, both EFI and great engines and I'd buy them again if i had the choice, qbut I get fed up with the stupid price for spares, in some cases it would be cheaper to get the parts machined yourself rather than buy them from Mercury, but from why I hear, most brands are as bad.

[Turbodiesel]

Originally Posted by thomas

I run a 115 Merc and a 60 Marina, both EFI and great engines and I'd buy them again if i had the choice, qbut I get fed up with the stupid price for spares, in some cases it would be cheaper to get the parts machined yourself rather than buy them from Mercury, but from why I hear, most brands are as bad.

Agreed!! some Merc/Mariner stuff is silly money. But like you say some other brands are to, i needed a starter motor for a 10 year old Honda BF90, it was over £1200!!!!!

[clydeoutboards]

Originally Posted by Turbodiesel

Agreed!! some Merc/Mariner stuff is silly money. But like you say some other brands are to, i needed a starter motor for a 10 year old Honda BF90, it was over £1200!!!!!

all brands are bad and in many cases it is cheaper to buy in the USA than the UK which is daft at best. It also means longer times for getting parts with Yam in our experience being the worst.

[9D280]

The rebadging game has been going on fgor years.

Outboards donlt have the aled volumes to warrenat everyone making their own. Who made any partuicular lump will depend on both the age & size of the engine.

The classic is the wee plastic case'd 1.5/2/3/3.5hp "end of an era" 2- stroke that I think I have seen everybody's branding & paint job on at some location in the world!


It's like cars - there are usually only two or three suppliers for any given component...

[uncle al]

when I used to work at the distributer and worked the boat shows , when I was on the mariner stand I would get one person a show saying "mercury are crap", and when I was on the mercury stand someone would say that "mariner were crap" I didnt spoil their day I just agreed with them.

[Locozodiac]

Have a client that bought (2) 30 HP 2 strokes engines to Merc and Mariner dealers, sold that guy a Tohatsu same 30 HP engine, when all 3 of them where sitting on it's respectively engine stand side by side, took all 3 cowls off, the owner exclaimed surprised "gee all are exactly same" but to his wallet disappointment prices were not same, being Tohatsu way cheaper.

It's incredible that some Merc and Mariner dealers don't know that both brands are same and compete knlfing each other with mean words, definitely will cut their throats off if new that Tohatsu is the boss in the 2 & 4 stroke portable range.

Happy Boating

[Turbodiesel]

Also The new range of Bloodyrude engines up to 6hp are supplied by Mercury too!

[Downhilldai]

Originally Posted by Turbodiesel

Also The new range of Bloodyrude engines up to 6hp are supplied by Mercury too!

Did you mean Twatsoo?

[clydeoutboards]

I think he did or if we are being picky then Nissan

It's incredible that some Merc and Mariner dealers don't know that both brands are same and compete knlfing each other with mean words, definitely will cut their throats off if new that Tohatsu is the boss in the 2 & 4 stroke portable range.

sorry I think that every dealer knows they are the same up to 30hp but if you are a mercury/ mariner dealer you could not admit this as the Tohatsu is cheaper for the same thing so you would lose sales.

lets face it. you would need to be v stupid to buy a mercury/ mariner 30hp or less unless you thought having a mercury / mariner badge was a status symbol. Hence why these dealers keep their mouths shut and Tohatsu dealers dont.

[samt]

Originally Posted by clydeoutboards

I think he did or if we are being picky then Nissan



sorry I think that every dealer knows they are the same up to 30hp but if you are a mercury/ mariner dealer you could not admit this as the Tohatsu is cheaper for the same thing so you would lose sales.

lets face it. you would need to be v stupid to buy a mercury/ mariner 30hp or less unless you thought having a mercury / mariner badge was a status symbol. Hence why these dealers keep their mouths shut and Tohatsu dealers dont.

I've had various mercs, mariners and tohatsus. Resale value on the mariner and mecury engines was slightly better. Also some plastic parts on tohatsus did seem of slightly lower quality when looking at the same engine side by side.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by clydeoutboards

you would need to be v stupid to buy a mercury/ mariner 30hp or less unless you thought having a mercury / mariner badge was a status symbol. Hence why these dealers keep their mouths shut and Tohatsu dealers dont.

Or you have a mercury dealer handy and believe you will get better service from the guy who supplied the engine. Local service support is one of the compelling reasons for selecting one engine over another.

Or you believe that Mercury might give better warranty / after sales support.

Or you believe that the resale value of the engine will be higher in the long run with a more "appealing" badge.

Or you prefer the colour of the mercury / mariner livery.