Motor choices

[friscospices]

I am going with a 90 hp out board tiller on a 20'alaskan. What are the pro's and cons of the yamaha with troll down controls in comparison to the merc with the troll down controls. I know yamaha had merc beat hands down a few years back but what are every ones feelings now? This place is great I have read more in the last week then in the last year!

[friscospices]

Wow no opinions on the merc vs. yamaha
I know they both have troll down controls, but is there any unknown problems with either one. Again both being 90 hp tillers.

[Dave C]

I'll jump in. I do not have direct experience with the Merc, but looked at both Yamaha and Merc when I chose a motor for my 1725 Pro Guide (75 hp). The Yamaha's tiller arm is better (IMHO), cheaper, and simplier to install. When I got the details on the Merc, I had to buy smartcraft guages and the new tiller handle to make it varialble rpm. With the Yamaha, you just hang it and you are ready to go. All controls are on the tiller arm. The Yamaha was about $2,000 cheaper because I did not have to buy extra guages, etc. Also, for 4 strokes, Yamaha has been ranked #1 for several years. There is a big difference in size of the motors because Merc uses the same block for 115, 90, and 75 whereas Yamaha 90 and 75 are the same (a little extra weight for the Merc accordingly). I did not care for the large size of the Merc. I'm sure the Merc is a great motor, but for the reasons stated I went with the Yamaha. Its been a great motor.

[1625rebel]

I won't comment on the tiller arm differences, because I don't know. But I would echo the size difference that was stated above. I don't want to tread on the Merc, because I have never actually been on the water with one. I'm sure it is a fine motor. Some of the performance bulletins suggest that the Merc may run a little faster, though they use better props in thier testing.

The thing that is somewhat strange is Merc used the smaller Verado block and internals for the 75, 90, and 115, except they deleted the supercharger and all related equipment. So you end up with a block that has very stout internals, but you also have a lot of extra heft. The 400 vs 369 lbs is significant, but so is the actual size of the outboards. The Merc is a very larger motor. Take a look at one before you make your decision.