becuase a boat can go fast doesnt mean that you always drive it at 70mph. it does, however, mean that you can cruise efficiently at 45mph, which is a big deal when travelling 60-100miles round trip in a day.

The easier you run an engine, the longer it will last.
Going fast all the time will lessen the life of any engine.
Getting on plane quick counts most in my opinion, second in reliability.
I have a Yamaha 150, it runs good, and starts good, except in cold weather.
It's slow to start in cold weather and it sometimes dies when shifting from fwd to rev.
Most of the times it dies is when I really really need it to NOT die.

I have a 150 YAMAHA 4 stoke to. My motor is NOT any harder to start in cold weather. Like you mentioned, when going from reverse to forward or forward to reverse mine will kill to only if I move the throttle shift quickly from one to the other. If I do it slowly it does not.

My Yahama dies too much. It dies when I drop from a high speed to idle. Not just fwd to rev.
It is under warranty, but no one can find out why.

Guess I really should have worded it differently. I did have an idea about the average spped for both models. When I mentioned performance, I was really asking if anyone had experienced any problems, electronics, mechanical, nussance issues that may have been a regular occurance in the models. top speed really wasn't my main concern, whether one or the other is faster by 3,4, or 5 mph, really will have no bearing on my final decision. fuel economy, mechanical issues, and maintenance schedules were my main concern.

There are a buttload of crabbers in Big Lake that run Yamaha's on the back of Carolina Skiffs.
But if you look at the Oyster boats, they run everything on anything.

Most of those offshore rigs in Venice got yammys hangin on em. But I do love the optis. It would be hard not to go 4 stroke tho

If I were getting a new motor, it would be a 4 stroke. No particular manufacturer in mind. But that ain't happening anytime soon. Going 40mph WOT in my whaler doesn't bother me one bit. I just run in the dark so I can beat everyone there. :)

Triton has been sold and is now owned by the same group that owns Ranger, Stratos, and Champion. They are also all made in the same location.

No problem, I understand what you are looking for now. If you sort through these posts at least four of them should be helpful to you.

Ray, mine was doing the same thing. Jerry's fixed it. I think he cleaned a jet or something.

Don't forget to consider who will service your motor. I have some friends that are guides who all ran yamaha 4 strokes at one point. They switched over to mercury 2 strokes (Pro XS) only because they were displeased with the service at their local yamaha dealer when it was time to get the motors serviced; they were not displeased with the motors themselves. I have also been researching the yammys and mercs to decide which one is going on my new boat (hopefully within the next year) and good service and support is something that I feel is important to consider as well. Every motor is going to have some issues at some point or another, no matter which brand you buy, so getting it back on the water quickly without too much hassle is a good thing.

:pissed: Very good friend of mine has a 250 zuk with 90hrs on it tore up in the shop, and they dont know why it blew the head gasket. The paper read out shows the motor has never been over heated, or over reved, and 70% of the hours are ran between 36to4400 rpm's Its 6 months out of warranty, and zuky said shove it were the sun dont shine. $6500 for rebuild with 90 dat warrant, or $8500 for new powerhead with 3yr. warranty. This is my third friend with a zuk that has had this exp. one did have 700 hard hrs. period, but still in warranty, and zuk told him to shove it also. The mechanic working on the one with 90 hrs said zuk knows they have a problem with the head bolts on the 225 and 250's but does nothing to rectify the problem. Merc or Yamaha is the way to go. you wont go wrong either way.:)

When the lower unit went out on my Zuk 300, they gave Lake Area Marine a really hard time about it. If it were not for Lake Area going to bat for me I don't think they would have paid for it. My Zuk had 95 hours on the motor when it went down. When my Verado went down three weeks ago Merc paid for it without asking a single question. I understand Yam is also easy to deal with when motors are still in the warranty period.

Not sure about now, but Mercury was #1 down South for years.
My old 200 HP offshore motor was still going strong at almost 14 years of service when I sold her.

I also worked in South America and didn't see the first Mercury. But I saw a buttload of Yamaha diesel outboards. Everyone and their brother had diesel outboards down there, as well as diesel mini vans and small 4 door trucks with shift on the column. Long before we saw the small 4 door trucks up here.

I love those VMAX cowlings you could shave your face in the reflection on them! lol

This thread has been reopened to anyone that would like to discuss the SHO v/s Optimax like the OP asked about. No more back and forth about Mercury or Yam's annual sales or other non productive posts will be allowed on this thread. If you want to participate in the Merc v/s Yam earnings call debate and you are a premium member with access to the gill net, please see below.

I had the 150 short shaft HPDI on my other boat. I loved it to!

Im running a 250 SHO on a 24ft seafox. The boat weighs around 2400lbs dry and that sho can get it on step in less than a boat length. It tops out around 54 when loaded down to fish. In my opinion on the fuel milage, i think it does pretty well. I have a 90gal tank, and i can fish all week on that tank. She starts first crank everytime!!!

[QUOTE="W";285589]Who has a BlackJack Red on BigLake with a Sho??? /QUOTE]

Capt Bruce Baugh has white w Red blackjack and SHO engine. BTW, his SHO blew a power head. 1st problem I've heard with the engine.

BUT there are at least 2 of that same boat on the lake. I've seen em both out. The other one was running like the pilgrim.

[quote="W";285646] Why didnt youy start a new thread, you would have gotten good responses on this one?:confused:

Bass fisherman I work with had a siezed journal bearing on his SHO.
Yamaha replaced the whole powerhead with no questions.

[quote=cmdrost;285604]
Oh Lord, not you to:shaking:

[quote=Raymond;285841]:rotfl: i thought the same thing too raymond!!

Pilgrims they are among us........and who is the internet W?

You...great guy in person...then you turn into internet W offshore and between fishing trips! :rotfl: :p

Guys stay on topic please.

Just have to keep you in check!!! Get ready offshore tomorrow :eek: 7 days

My powerhead did not blow on my Sho-4 stroke. It turned out to be my lower-unit. I ran over a crabtrap and the line wrapped behind the prop. I did not recognize the problem until I made it to the ramp and pulled out about 18 inches of line wrapped inside.It blew about a week later. Dealer wrote it off as a defective seal. Yamaha then shipped me a new lower unit. All Warranty...

I ran Mercury outboards for decades. It was difficult to go with Yamaha, but after some research I decided to make the change. Its basically new technology. Its lighter by almost 100 lbs as last years 2 stroke and has more torque as well.
Mercury may come out with the same technology in the near future. Who knows...

Obviously I am somewhat new HERE , but I definitely can Speak for the SHO and its capabilities.( I have owned every motor under the sun and sometimes 2) I have 2 family members who own 2 SHO's and several friends who are running them on Majek Extremes and they are FAST. I agree with most that has been stated.(Evis,cmdrost,mont.) etc. But all in all, a Majek Extreme 22' with a 250 Sho and a Bravo 1 XS prop fit for the boat setup is VERY fast. actually they are faster than the Merc. Opti's Pro Xs. seen it on a few occasions. For whatever reason that motor and that boat are a fit in paradise. I can only speak for that boat. And I do like Haynies a lot, but they are different vehicles than a Majek. I can tell you that a 250 Sho on a 20' Champion and the(new) FXP prop is Lethal I know that first hand. Even in this heat!!

Look on Youtube for an 82.4 mph Majek Extreme it will have a SHO on the back.

I will caveat this and say I like Merc. But they are Problem Child's most on here Know that.(Compressors, Electronics for sure). Wireing Harness Etc.

[quote=Raymond;285841]
I had to put it in words he understood.

Glad to hear it wasn't major. Thats just the original story that was passed on to me, and I didn't bother to follow up.