Mercury Optimax

[Skipper]

I have been told not to buy a Mercury Optimax smaller than a 200 HP.. I was not able to get an explanitation. Does any one have a Optimax smaller than 200 HP. that have had a problem?

[Brian/MN]

I have a '99 150 that I love, and a good friend of mine has a 2000 150 that's been great for him. I just bought a new 2001 175 Opti. Does that tell you anything?

[Opti-owner]

My (99) 150 optimax has been a very good engine. It starts easily, runs smoothly and really doesn't use much fuel. The advice you received is flawed.

[Kelly]

I have seen quite a few of the 200-225 HP Optimaxs go down at tournaments,both powerheads and lower units.I don't think thats a fair way to a assess the quality of a particular engine.The touring pros do things to there boats and motors the the average guy would never think of doing.However it's a great proving grounds for what you and me end up buying in the future.Mercury and the other manufactures have techs on site and have these guys back in the water by mourning. The average guy dos'nt run wide open for 70 plus miles.I have alot of friend who run bigger Optimax motors and have never had a problem.I'm guessing some one went to a tournament and saw one being rebuilt in the back of a support trailer and decided that there prone to problems.I think there great personally.Being the pro's typicaly don't run the smaller engines,they have only seen the big ones go down.

[Kelly]

OPP's I goofed and miss read the question.I would still say that the smaller Optimaxs are typically more reliable than the 200 plus size.In day in and out fishing I see a lot more 150's on the water than the bigger ones, because theres more boats in that class.I have alot of friends with 1775 Lunds,skeeters and YarCrafts running 150 Opti's and have never had a problem.That would be my personal choice.

[skipper]

Back to the top.

[RedTheRangerMan]

Not to sound confrontational, told by who? I ran a 225 Opti for almost two seasons and it ran flawlessly. I have several close friends that are running smaller Opti Max motors and they all have been flawless. Of all the Pro's I know, or know of, I cant think of anyone who recently has had a problem. There have been a few, but most were due to neglect or abuse as well.

I spoke with the guys at the boat dealership, they have had relatively few problems with any Opti max, and the ones that have been troublesome have all been bigger motors, and not properly broken in. One guy, ran his motor, 70% of the time, at over 5000 rpm. Smoked his powerhead in the first week of use. hardly the motors fault.

Beware of the he said, she said tips. Also beware of tips from guys running another brand, and never having owned the brand they complain of. This is true with any motor.

My new boat will have a 135 Opti on it and I have no reservations about ordering it. In fact, I am ordering it partly due to the boat having a 23 gallon tank, and the Opti will effectively extend the range of the boat, due to Much better fuel economy, and the fact that I'll be able to run at about 3/4 throttle and still make 50 mph, thereby extending the range of the boat even more.

A bigger plus is how much less I'll have to stop at the gas dock as prices soar out of control again this summer. Now all I have to do is wait for the new girl....................:-( I hate waiting!

[tim(wi)]

I drive boats for a living and have driven a bunch of boats with all kinds of outboards hung on the back of them. The boat I am using now has twin 225 EFI Mercs on it. I know these are not optis but we put over +600 hours on them last year and only had one power head failure. I also have talked to a lot of marine mechanics. They all agree the opti is a great engine and broken on properly is a very solid engine. One of them was even a omc dealer. I will be buying a new boat next year and so far the only thing I am positive on is it will be powered buy a new Merc opti.

[Glen]

Are you using the Smartcraft Gauges by Mercury?

[Ed]

I have a 2000 150 opti on the rear of my 1775 pro v and is the best engine I ever owned. I was out one mourning with temps around freezing, everyone had the hood off trying to get started,
I just turned the key. Love it.

[ken]

Back to the top.

[Floater (why does this happen?)]

These power units have been good for the vast majority of users. One problem has come when motors with a 20" shaft are used on a boat that is used for a lot of back trolling. This makes water back up into the engine and creates problems with parts blowing out or fouling. If one uses a boat with a 25" transom and engine shaft one gets rid of some of this problem. Then the only problems that come along are the "normally" found tune-up problems that most any engine company/style would have.

I've seen lots of engines in the 135 - 200+ hp range that have done very well for the owner. I'd run one. I've heard that there are some new tiller Opti's comming out this year in larger hp ranges. Not the 200s but still...a large engine, over the 125 hp range.

Good Fishing to ya and stay on the top of the water.
Floater