93 208 Repower - V6 or V8 Mercury

TMANN · Jan 15, 2024

Anyone on here repowered a 208 with one of the new Mercs?

I'm currently running a 04 200 carbed Merc that weighs 406lbs. It performs well and tops out at 42 loaded heavy. Boat has a hardtop and terrible bottom paint. The bottom paint issue will be fixed soon enough.

Sticking with a basic mechanical motor since all of my controls are new.

I'm struggling to decide which motor to go with. 225 V6 weighing about 475lbs or jump up to the V8 weighing 50ish more. There isin't much of a price difference.

The V8s from 225 to 300 all weigh the same.

I tournament catfish and frequently use a rear livewell made from a toolbox. A 140lbs of fish and 60 gallons of water in the box, doesn't seem to affect the boat much even in rough conditions other than being slow to plane. Hard to believe really.

The boat is rated for 230.

Any input would be appreciated!

seasick · Jan 15, 2024

What is max HP for your hull. I think it may be 200 HP.
Weight isn't the only concern. The extra thrust of a larger motor may put excessive stress on the transom.
In addition, exceeding the rating may be a problem for your insurance company..

Mustang65fbk · Jan 15, 2024

The hull is rated for 230 hp per the brochure. I'd think the Mercury 225 FourStroke series would likely be your best bet as it'll be the lightest of the 4 stroke motors at 475 lbs. And the weight is the same between their 175 hp FourStroke up to their 225 hp FourStroke, so imo it would be better to get more horsepower since they all weigh the same anyway. Lastly, I don't imagine a mere 70 lbs of additional weight would make that much of a difference. If it did, you could always move batteries around and so forth to offset the weight distribution.

TMANN · Jan 15, 2024

I guess what I'm really asking is if anyone knows or has experience with the difference in performance of the 3.4L V6 225HP vs. the 4.6L V8 225HP. Then there is the 225HP Pro XS which is also a V8.

The V8 should be better, just don't know if its worth the additional weight/fuel burn. Everything adds up as you guys know.

Mustang65fbk · Jan 15, 2024

TMANN said:
I guess what I'm really asking is if anyone knows or has experience with the difference in performance of the 3.4L V6 225HP vs. the 4.6L V8 225HP. Then there is the 225HP Pro XS which is also a V8.

The V8 should be better, just don't know if its worth the additional weight/fuel burn. Everything adds up as you guys know.

You mentioned in your first post that your boat as it currently sits will top out at 42 mph heavily loaded down, and that's with only 200 hp on it, so do you really need/want to go faster than that? My guess is that with an extra 25 horsepower that the boat with the appropriate propeller on it will be even faster, especially if you fix the bottom paint and so forth. I'm thinking that the v6 version of the 225 hp outboard will be more than adequate enough as opposed to the v8 version. So I imagine going with the v8 version wouldn't be justifiable in any sort of way. At least imo. Lastly, I don't imagine there will likely be many on here that have experience with the Mercury as they don't seem to be all that popular, at least on here. It seems like most on here tend to go the Yamaha route and then it seems like a second would be Suzuki.

Graybeard315 · Feb 10, 2024

Anther thought is a 4 bladed prop,,, to help with additional weight.

Don Davis · Feb 10, 2024

What year is your 208 and does it have a hardtop? I have a 2012 Suzuki DF250 V6 3.6 liter, xxl that weighs 600lbs on my 1999 228G Seafarer with a hardtop. The DF250 has an insane amount of torque with my boat which weighs about 3500 lbs dry. I’m not familiar with the torque curve of the Mercs but these modern 4 stroke engines seem dialed in. I personally would need to have some compelling evidence to upgrade to a V8 for my boat in the future. My 2 cents.

Gulffisher · Feb 22, 2024

While not apple-to-apple comparison, I just repowered my 220 Dauntless (OK I know it isn't a GW) with the V6 and I am very pleased so far. Boat essentially leaps on plane, is plenty fast, and gives me almost 5 mpg planning at mid twenty. I have digital shift and throttle and wish I had gotten digital steering as well. At this point I would not go back to mechanical.

luckydude · Feb 23, 2024

Mustang65fbk said:
You mentioned in your first post that your boat as it currently sits will top out at 42 mph heavily loaded down, and that's with only 200 hp on it, so do you really need/want to go faster than that? My guess is that with an extra 25 horsepower that the boat with the appropriate propeller on it will be even faster, especially if you fix the bottom paint and so forth. I'm thinking that the v6 version of the 225 hp outboard will be more than adequate enough as opposed to the v8 version. So I imagine going with the v8 version wouldn't be justifiable in any sort of way. At least imo. Lastly, I don't imagine there will likely be many on here that have experience with the Mercury as they don't seem to be all that popular, at least on here. It seems like most on here tend to go the Yamaha route and then it seems like a second would be Suzuki.

My buddy with the Canyon 271 is looking at Invincible cats. You can get them with Yamaha but everyone runs Mercs. The Mercs are lighter and narrower. Their 300 seems to be pretty reliable.

Just a side comment as I've been studying Mercs lately.

Mustang65fbk · Feb 23, 2024

luckydude said:
My buddy with the Canyon 271 is looking at Invincible cats. You can get them with Yamaha but everyone runs Mercs. The Mercs are lighter and narrower. Their 300 seems to be pretty reliable.

Just a side comment as I've been studying Mercs lately.

From what I've seen on here, it seems like Yamaha is the most popular choice for outboard repower, followed by Suzuki. It seems like every so often you'll hear about Mercury being a contender because of the weight, but I rarely ever hear anyone considering Honda. I think if I were to repower it would be with a Suzuki DF250AP because of the digital or fly by wire controls, the 5 year warranty and I've heard nothing but good things about Suzuki customer service. I wouldn't necessarily count Mercury out of the running as I think they definitely have their place for guys wanting to save some weight.

Gulffisher · Feb 24, 2024

luckydude said:
My buddy with the Canyon 271 is looking at Invincible cats. You can get them with Yamaha but everyone runs Mercs. The Mercs are lighter and narrower. Their 300 seems to be pretty reliable.

Just a side comment as I've been studying Mercs lately.

I'm not sure why, but there appears to be some potentially "more-than-usual" number of Merc 300 powered cats breaking prop shafts. I normally would not believe such reporting except I personally witnessed such failure. I the case I witnessed, Mercury was great and quickly address the matter. Make sure your buddy is aware that prop shafts MIGHT be an issue on cats. I think there is a beefed-up shaft replacement.

But we have gotten way off OP's question... unless you look at possible lower unit differences between 225 V6 and 300 V8 Mercs.

seasick · Feb 24, 2024

Hull max HP Rating??

Next tell us what your needs are; go as fast as possible or get a better hole shot. Maybe you plan on a lot of trolling. All that is input into selecting a prop. You can't get it all. Any prop you select is a compromise.
I also strongly recommend that you see how the boat floats now with the current motor and then add some dead weight aft (or a body

) to see how the waterline changes.

If you are making 42 mph in that hull with a full load ( I am not sure I believe those figures. How did you measure speed and what is a full load?), you shouldn't expect much more out of a new engine. You may end up with less especially if you don't exceed the hulls rating. If it were me, I would look at motors rated for 200HP and weighing about the same as your existing motor. The Yami I4 200 comes to mind.

Mustang65fbk · Feb 25, 2024

seasick said:
Hull max HP Rating??

Comments #1 and #3 mention the maximum horsepower number

TMANN · Feb 25, 2024

Speed measured with a Dutchman's log. I use a brick and rope to measure depth.

seasick · Feb 25, 2024

I don't know if you are serious or not. I had to look up the Dutchman's log explanation. I am still smiling at your answer.

TMANN · Feb 25, 2024

I was just messing with you seasick. Pretty sure I took these running to fish. Full of fuel, livewell full of bait, fishing gear, and just me onboard. Prop is a 19p Mirage Plus. I think the V6 225 Merc would be perfect on this 208.

I actually looked at a bigger Grady (248 Voyager) on Friday, so this one may be staying like it is for a few more years.

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93 208 Repower - V6 or V8 Mercury

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