So you are saying the Merc is a better motor because its faster than the SHO? I would think thinks like reliability, cost of maintenance, and warranty would factor in as well. Just for fun Google the Merc coil issues. Fact is ALL brands have issues and at the end of the day its all just personal preference.

Exactly Mark. I forgot about the coils that went out on my Merc... LOL

Thanks for reminding me.

nope just been working my arse off

My next boat wil have a SHO on it for sure. I grew up racing motocross and i know that when 4 strokes show up in a sport they take over. I have been in a few of the and love the power and mileage. No 2 stroke oil and quiet is a great thing to have!

The SHO talk has been like the Ford Diesel 6.0 talk. Eveyone says they have a brothers friends neighbors dentist bosses uncle that has blown up 63 of them in a day but the people that actually own them love them and dont experience half the problems other people "see" and "hear".

You can't suppress the future, one day all outboard engines will be 4-strokes. I applaud Yamaha for their commitment to accelerate the markets use of lower emission engines with better, or comparable performance numbers to a conventional 2-stroke engine. It's here boys, get use to it, it ain't going away..
I like the fact of not buying $25.00 a gallon oil mix.

good deal nate! proud of ya bud! keep on working hard and good things will come!

If I only loose 2 mph to a Merc, I can live with that. The maintence and not spending extra $$$$$ on buying oil will offset the changing of the oil on 4-stroke. I am headed to a SHO.

I'm a machanic on Fork and was a Yamaha rep a lot of problems have been not breaking them in right and babin them. When they are no run right during break in the will they will make oil from the gas that goes past the ring and oil get full of gas and then the oil out the you have bearing issues.

Got my new boat yesterday with the SHO. Im speechless

Thats hard to follow, ebonics? LOL jk

Not saying that at all and if that is the way it came across, that was not the intention.
Sure they will. Most manufacturers have outstanding warranties with options to upgrade. I believe reliability with both Merc and Yammys have already been proven. I think you will need a few years of time before you can establish a true cost of maintenance on the Yammys. The issues with the coils caused some grief for Merc. As far as I know, Merc took care of the issue but it is not like it isn't a known issue on a specific year of motors. I think I also pointed out that there are pro's and con's to ALL manufacturers in my post. I wasn't trying to say one was better than the other like so many people like to try and prove on here. From my post End result, everyone should be happy with what they have. Just because one boat runs 5 mph faster than another doesn't make it a better boat. A Yammy isn't necessarily better than a Merc. It all comes down to ones own opinion. So why don't people understand and see it that way........ I just can't figure out why it has to be such a contest on who owns what on forums. After all, the boats and motors that one has doesn't make up the difference from ones fishing ability. If that were the case, we all would be Pro's....

If I could get the same performance and reliability out of any motor that I have had with my 92 Evinrude 150, I would be a happy fisherman. one power pack and a lower unit. And a big Thank You to J & J Marine at lake Fork. I let her warm up and then clear her out , she still runs like a scalded arse ape...Love my old rude.

I will agree that out of the box a merc will outrun the SHO. Mercury has always had a better tuned factory prop. If you have the Yammy prop tuned, Different story. My FX 21 was running 74.6 with the 25p prop out of the box. I put a vented 27P on it and it went to 78.7, but was blowing out when it came up on plane. I had the 25p balanced and added some cup to it and it got better hole shot(if you can believe that), and it will now run 77.2. Running with a full tank of gas ,full livewells, my partner and all his gear, It will run 73.8.
My next project will be to have the 27p vented turned back to a 26p and weld up the vent holes. Might get interesting Because I still get full rpm's way too fast with the 25P.

And I talked to the Mechanic at Plano marine. Since the recall, they have only had two blown SHO's. One was caused by Improper Break-in. The other was caused by the guy not getting the recall issue with the head gasket fixed.

Everything blows up. And I think it will continue to be that way.

Ginger or Mary Ann......both Hot and would get you where you want to go.... I imagine Ginger was a little higher maint though.