225 e-tec on a 1997 seafarer???????

stmry

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Yesterday was a bad day! my 200 saltwater series yam blew a piston rod, power head completely shot. only 470 hours on it . it looked like new, and was running great. now i need new power and I was thinking of an e-tec. what do you guys think? will the weight be o.k.? and how about their track record? This was the first yamaha i ever owned...i'm a little disappointed to say the least. i know this was a fluke but i'm apprehensive about going with a new yamaha.any advise will be greatly appreciated. thanks, steve
 
I've been very happy with my E Tec 250 on my Gulfstream. It has just under 100 hours on it and I've had no problems with it. Great power, very fuel efficient, quiet and doesn't smoke.
 
I put a 250 Etec on my 248 this year, and love it. It replaced a 225 OX66 Yamaha. It is quieter, far tourquier, and less stinky. The boat feels much happier with this motor - more responsive and faster.

I've only got about 20 hrs. on it so far in this rainy summer, but couldn't be happier with it.

I'd think that a 225 would be a great match for your boat.

Good luck in your decision.
 
Everyone has their opinion on which engine is the greatest, and you won't change their minds otherwise. Yamaha, Evinrude, Suzuki and even Mercury are all good engines and none of them would be a bad investment. However, I like the E-TEC for a few reasons, and these are in no particular order.

-no maintence for 3 years.
-quiet, smokeless, odorless exhaust
-lightweight
-high torque
-few moving parts: no timing belts, alternator belts, camshafts or valvetrain to break.
-winterizes itself-don't even have to pull the cover off
-engine color matches Grady gelcoat very closely

See if they will throw in a free 7 year warranty, they did for me.
Hope you have better luck with whatever engine you hang on the back
 
X3 for the etec.
I had a 75, not a lot of hours as we decided we needed a bigger boat right away, but that motor was fantastic.

I have an aquaintance that owns a fleet of houseboats, several hundred actually, and half of them have etecs. I asked if the have any trouble wit them and he said he didn't even know what was on them, if there was a problem he would have heard something.

I have another aquaintance that works on outboards for a living and he, like a lot in the biz, if they aren't prejudiced from the ficht disaster, swear by them.

They would be on my short-list for a repower for sure. Or a Suzuki. I think both are tops.

In your case, with an older boat, I would be looking for someone's HPDI take-off. You should be able to repower for half, and your controls should work with the same brand. The HPDI's are pretty quiet, better on fuel, and have a bulletproof reputation. For a single, either right or left hand will work, so it opens up alternatives for you.

EDIT: Here's one of those take-offs on ebay right now, 200 or so hours, crated and ready to ship. Bidding is at $1525 right now. I'd go about $6500 on it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-Yam ... enameZWDVW

EDIT II: here's rebuild shop with a rebuilt 200 with full warranty, $5000:
http://nwfloridaoutboard.com/forsale.html
 
200 OR 200HO OR 225HP Etec and you are good to go..
 
i was wondering if the additional weight of the e-tec over the yamaha saltwater series II would be a problem. i think there is an 80 lb. difference.steve
 
I could be wrong, but I don't think weight would be an issue. I say that because I have a Yamaha F225 on my '03 Seafarer, and I'm sure the Etec is lighter than my engine.

IMO, HOOPER cited many good reasons to consider an Etec. Pretty hard to argue with the points HOOPER made.

I must admit, I like my F225 for how smooth and quiet it is for ultra slow speed trolling for Walleye on Lake Erie. I can run that thing all day at 600 rpm and not a single hicup or vibration.
 
your 2003 seafarer was designed for the additional weight of a 4-stroke. my model is a 1997 pre 4-stroke era.
 
For anyone using their boat often and keeping it a relatively long time, like at least 7 years, that warranty is very valuable, not now, but later on, particularly since Bombardier like Yamaha takes care of their claims w/o a fuss or denial, as I have read elsewhere from owners experience and my own.

It breaks down, it gets fixed, period. I don't want to know anything about it - just fix it !

At these prices, every outboard motor should come with at least 6 yr unlimited hour recreational use warranty.

These motors be it modern 2 stroke or 4 stroke cost the same as entire cars, not bottom of the line cars either.

The two year warranties are insulating. Outboard motors sold 40 yrs ago had two year warranties. Even three years is a "no big deal - don't do me any favors " warranty.
 
The Mercury Optimax has been out longer than the e-tec and Mercury has recently upgraded it - its now quieter and delivers better fuel economy than the e-tec. Additionally, Mercury has many more dealers out there than Evinrude. You'll also have a greater selection of props too.

Opti's in my area are cheaper than e-tecs and you can get them with DTS, Digital Throttle and Shift, which is VERY nice if you haven't tried it. With the e-tec you'll hear the same ole clunk when you put it in gear as they don't offer DTS. Opti's also come with Vessel View electronics, the state of the art, and e-tecs electronics cannot compare.

Also have you checked the price of Evinrude's XD-100 two stroke oil !! Its over $ 50 a gallon down here. Evinrude just announced a 10 % increase starting in July, the Opti oil is much cheaper.

IMO, e-tecs are very over rated for the money they want for them and what little they give you compared to the Optimax. Weights should be very close to being the same.