All,

I'm planning to test drive a 721 ProXP this weekend. If things go well there's a good chance I'll be making a purchase. I used to bass fish a lot, but work got in the way for the last 5 years. I'm freeing up again, so I'm ready to get a boat and get back to it. In five years there have been a number of changes. I'd like you honest opinion/experience on some trade offs. Please try to keep it factual if at all possible. I know these questions devolve into chevy versus ford debates real quick, so lets try to avoid that. Here's my list:

For the main motor I am thinking I will go with either the Yamaha 250 SHO or the Mercury 250 ProXS. Which gets better fuel economy? I know the Yamaha has better hole shot and mid acceleration. How much faster will the ProXS be on the top end versus the SHO on the 721 ProXS? What is the scuttlebutt on reliability? I haven't been seeing a lot of complaints about either motor.

For the trolling motor I'm trying to decide between the Minn Kota Terrova and the Minn Kota Fortrex. I used to love my Motor Guides electric steer (based on Pinpoint, not their own design), but the motor itself was crappy. How does the Terrova electric steer compare? I know I will do the iPilot. I am thinking 80lbs of thrust at 24v. I usually use 30 series batteries for trolling and cranking. Should I go to 36v and use 27 series or 29 series for trolling and stick with 30 for cranking? Is there enough room in the 721 to fit that many batteries?

For the electronics I am going to go with either 2 Lowrance HDS-8 graphs plus their LSS-1 module in the back or a Hummingbird 998c Si at the console and 958c at the bow. My attraction to the hummingbird is they have the most experience with SI. My attraction to the Lowrance is the bigger screen size. In general though they seem to be very similar now. Are there any clear differences that are pure fact I should be aware of? For example is one faster than the other for updating/screen changes? Reading it seems they are very similar to each other for SI, but maybe Lowrance has a DI advantage? Also people seem to feel the HB has a better GPS. Any factual thoughts are welcome. Maybe someone in Texas can tell me where I can go to compare them side by side. I can�t seem to find anyplace that has them both setup where I can experiment.

Thanks for reading through this and thanks again for replying with specific defensible facts.

Mercury all the way..the rest am gonna let these electronic gurus chime in on...both good on fuel....mid range and hole shot better on the SHO ? dont know about that one...the XS will push your boat to its capability..and are proven

All I have to say is I love my Birds, customer service, releases, have all been flawless for me.

I do have an HDS7 on the front (no lss). If I could do it over, I would mount a 997/998 and interlink them. I want si on the front now.

I would go Mercury, even though I believe the SHO will prove to be a good motor in the long term. Strictly based on recent threads about Lowrance customer service, I would go Hummingbird on the electronics.

I used to run nothing but mercs... never again

The COIL problems they have had with those things has been the worst expereince in my life. Sad part is, I heard the same excuse everytime one would go out.. "We have this figured out and you should not have it happen again".. Such BS.. sad part is, knowing they had a problem, instead of replacing all of them, they would only replace the bad one..UGH.. leaving other bad ones on the motor waiting for them to go out.. costing the consumer tournament money or just flat our ruining your day.

I am now running a SHO on my new Kitty, and I must say.. I love it!!!

Very quiet... plenty of power.. no oil burning and no oil reserv needed in the battery area... You change the oil in it, like you would your car... and I like that.. No blue smoke.. ever.. However, and oil change can be costly, but it is still less than buying oil just to watch ir burn away...

Warranty is FAR BETTER than merc too. Now Merc after threes years drops you to the GOLD level of warrenty, and still claim it as a 5 year warranty,,, which it is to a degree.. But look at the stuff that is NOT COVERED under the gold program.. COILS, Compressors, EDMI boards, etc.. the items that are normally failing...

Yammy has 5 full years with no drop in covereage.. to me.. that is saying something.. Yammmy will cost you a couple of $K more.. but to me, it is worth it.

I use nothing but Birds...and run the biggest batteries you can..
Minn Kota Fortrex is the best IMHO... looks like hell.. but easy to lift and stow..
Mo

mercury minn kota humminbird

From what I've observed along the coast...where outboards are severely tested: I seem to recall that Merc gave special prices to fishing guides, and that's why we saw so many Mercs on the coast. But it's been my observation that over 1/2 the people "with serious money" went with Yamaha's especially with the offshore rigs. My logic is this: If money isnt an object, which makes you feel safer while 50 miles offshore? My personal observations seem to indicate Yamaha. Your mileage may vary.

Yamaha is the only way to go like my partner says Mercs are a poor mans motor and you cant beat Hummingbird period or Minn Kota. Those Pheonix 721 look real nice like the storage setup may very well be my next boat but still like my Skeeter though.

Yamaha makes the best engines peroid . . Mercs are good, but all the ones ive seen in town and owned are finicky. . The proxs is their best motor tho. Minn kota fortrex is a beautiful TM. . get it. . and as far as electronics goes, go to your local fishing store and play with both of them to see what fits your eye better. There is a reason they are both around. IMO, and i sale these things after college. . Lowrance has much better mapping without buying a card, their buttons and operating system i like much more . . Lowrance runs more like a computer where hummingbird just reminds me of the olds ones with a bunch of buttons to keep clicking until you find it. . lol i dont like that, but im young? and the lowrance down and side imaging are a bit more detailed and clearer . . just look at the size of the LSS1 transducer compared to birds. If you look at the pros boats, the only one running humminbirds now that they both have side imaging are the paid hummingbird pros, everyone else just about who is bipartial bought a lowrance hds unit

Does anyone have any hard data for the MPG of the SHO or the ProXS? It seems like this basic information is spotty for reasons unknown. What little data I can find online is pretty mixed. I'm interested in the 250 HP versions. Also it seems both power plants are proving to be reliable except maybe for some bad coils on the ProXS. I assume that is a bad batch sort of issue and that they just aren't wearing out rapidlyndue to andesign flaw in the motor. Are there any common issues know to exist on the SHO?