Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

  • 0

Best 2-Strokes? Rude or Merc? Longevity, Cost, technology


Macattak1

Question

Greetings,

I have been looking at fishing boats and OBs. Lund or Alumacraft. I have been looking at used and new pricing. I am really only interested in an Evinrude or a Mercury OB. I would also like to stay 2-stroke. I am hearing some opinions about the Rudes v/s the Mercs. A dealer that sells both and more really likes the Evinrude Etecs over the Merc 2-strokes. He says they just have the technology jump as they never went 4-stroke and their 2-stroke is probably the best on the market. That is just his opinion that I asked for.

I am very interested in personal opinion and experience.

I am not interested in Yamas, Hondas, Suzukis, etc.

Thank you very much.

Peace and Blessings

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

They are both extremely good.

Where you buy your engine will the most important decision, after sale support and a good service department are key.

Popcorn ordered.... grin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Greetings,

Agreed. I was impressed with the local dealer I visited. He showed me several boats, gave me info and the different OBs, and priced two different boats for me. Not once did he go into the 'are you buying today' or 'how soon will you be buying' or 'our boats are way better then the other competitor boats', etc. Very nice.

Peace and Blessings

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I have a subscription to Bass & Walleye Boats magazine. In most of their "shoot outs" the Merc Optimax usually does the best overall and is usually the cheapest. I was really supprised when the Opti's have done better on fuel economy than everything including 4-strokes. I have been impressed with what I have read about them.

I have a Yamaha 4-stroke so I am pretty unbiased on this topic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Greetings,

Thanks. Opinions count. I also found Mercs page where they claim to beat out Rude in basically everything that Rude claims to be #1 at....

I will probably go Merc. But I sure wish there were others around here to speak up...???

Peace and Blessings

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I really don't think you can go wrong with either. It's really more about how you take care of it. One of the most bashed motors is the Force outboard, but I know of plenty that are still going strong with proper care.

That's not saying you can't have problems, but just a general statement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

My 2004 Opti is everything I wanted in a main motor.

Cold or hot weather, it starts right up every time.

No more choking and flooding out. I was initialy

concerned over the price of that synthetic 2 stroke

Mercury oil @ 26 bucks a gallon!! My fears have

since been laid to rest, as I have not gone thru

as much as I thought I would. In fact, I have yet to go

through the two gallons I did buy. As for MPG, the Opti

will beat anything out there. A trip up to Ottertail

in June, highlights this pretty well. We were based out of a resort on one end of the lake, but fished the opposite

end for most of the trip. This meant a high speed run from one end to the other. Plus we used a 9.9 Merc Pro Kicker

for constant trolling while on the hot spots,and for locating the active fish. When it came time to gas it up on the road for home, it took 11 gallons!! A few trips up

to Mille Lacs,Big Sandy, and other large bodies of water have born out with similar results. My OPTI came with the

"Smart Guage" system. This system consists of a digital

guage that is on your dash. There is all kinds of things you can monitor on your OPTI. Things like MPG,MPG for trip,

voltage,oil PSI,Temp,RPM,etc. Quite handy at times

There are other things you can do and monitor, but

I listed the ones I use most. Anyways, my vote is for a Merc!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Im not a Evinrude fan at all. I had 3 of them and none of them were impressive so I went Yamaha. In your case though I would go Opti. Guys I know that have them seem to be happy with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Greetings,

Thanks for the info! Does you system monitor fuel flow? I mean, we can not trust the MPG read out in our diesel trucks. How accurate is the Merc system? I know you dont have an odomitor to know your exact mileage. So, I guess I am asking how accurate it is? What it measures?

Thanks

Peace and Blessings

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Greetings,

Thanks for your input. What year and HP rudes have you had? Last one I had was probably an 1979 15hp. I loved it. But I know that my buddies 9.9 Merc was not as fast, but close to it. He had a 12' boat that was lighter v/s my 16' Alumacraft with a console so...

Any way. Thanks.

Peace and Blessings

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I have a 2000 40 horse 4 stroke Evinrude. I have not had any problems with it. I am looking at upgrading my boat next year and am thinking about getting the evinrude e-tec.

I am not a fan of Mercs but it is mainly political. I don't like the fact they bought out Lund/Crestliner and are making it tough to have a choice on what motor you buy. They also don't make motors anymore anyway just the housing and lower unit. I think the power heads are suzuki but someone else can correct me here.

According to Evinrude the new E-tecs perform better in all the tests.

I would say both companies are probably both right and wrong when it comes to the marketing. Companies always find "Statistics" to back up a marketing claim.

I would say you are safe which ever Evinrude you buy wink.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I'm not really sure of the accuracy of the smart-craft

system? It does read current consuption of fuel, ie

gallons per hour XXX. A dealer would know more about

such specifics. There are things like "press of a

button winterzation". The motor will double the oil

used, same for the initial break-in. The only down

side as I see it now, would be learning some of the

maintenance steps so I can do them on my own. One example

is that the OPTI's use a water seperator. The book

says once a year to drain it. I haven't done it myself

yet, but my dealer's wrench guy is going to show me how.

I hear one of the plugs is a bear too,plus they

are quite a bit more $$$ than a standard plug.

Ah well, when you wanna play with the big boys

you want the newest stuff....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Quote:

I have a 2000 40 horse 4 stroke Evinrude. I have not had any problems with it. I am looking at upgrading my boat next year and am thinking about getting the evinrude e-tec.

I am not a fan of Mercs but it is mainly political. I don't like the fact they bought out Lund/Crestliner and are making it tough to have a choice on what motor you buy. They also don't make motors anymore anyway just the housing and lower unit. I think the power heads are suzuki but someone else can correct me here.

According to Evinrude the new E-tecs perform better in all the tests.

I would say both companies are probably both right and wrong when it comes to the marketing. Companies always find "Statistics" to back up a marketing claim.

I would say you are safe which ever Evinrude you buy
wink.gif


According to Mercury the Optimax outperforms Evinrude. I don't know or care. Merc is now making all their own outboards from 75 hp and up. I don't know about the smaller ones. I have a Merc 15 4 stroke that has a Yammy powerhead and a 9.9 Pro Kicker that is a Tohatsu. I also have a merc Verado that is all Merc. I haven't had anything but Mercs since 1980 and have no problems at all. I don't think there are any bad outboards out there anymore and you can have a problem with any of them. I have looked at a Lund catalog the other day and you can still get a Honda on a Lund. wink.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I can't comment on the newer motors, though I hope to be able to in a few years. For now I'm running with an '84 Evinrude 90 Hp. That thing is a beast! I've had it for 5 years now and not a single problem.

Unfortunately OMC has been gone for quite some time now. My father in law had problems dealing with Bombadier on his newer Johnson O/B. Not positive they still own both Evinrude/Johnson though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Hiya -

I really think you have a great problem, so to speak: choosing between two pretty appealing options.

I've run Optis for the last several years and have loved them. Other than one defective part, which was quickly fixed by Mercury, they've been pullet proof. Last fall my Opti started on the first turn when it was 9 degrees... Fuel consumption at cruising speeds is very good, and they have a nice power curve - good out of the hole for sure, which is important to me when I'm in big waves. I'd buy another in a second.

I've heard lots of good things about Etecs as well and actually got a chance to run one this summer. Hard to get too thorough an opinion in a couple days, but perforamance was impressive. They're quieter than an Opti, and offer some nice features like easy winterizing and no break-in period.

About the Mercury guages - once you get them calibrated for fuel consumption, they're very accurate. Once you see how much your gas consumption goes up when you firewall it, you'll be really inclined to back off and run at cruising speeds... Watching your MPG can get addictive smile.gif

Good luck with your choice.

cheers,

Rob Kimm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I have a 2001 Merc 40 (Lund, cabin), a 2004 E-Tec 40 (Pontoon, cabin) and a 2006 E-Tec 90 (Mr Pike in the cities).

I currently favor the E-Tec's, but I have never had an issue with either Merc or Yami. The real reason I favor the E-tec's not only because of the performance, but more importantly it is a motor that the "masses" do not have.

I like new, innovative, different gear. I like the fact that people are consistently commenting or asking questions about my E-Tec. I enjoy the gear as much as the fishing.

In general, I have no brand loyalty...Period.

I am currently looking at Kawasaki, Honda, and Yamaha ATV's. I ruled out the Can-Am (BRP) because I did not like the chassis design at all.

Next year, I will probably buy a 3/4 ton diesel. Chevy, Ford, Dodge...(Evinrude, Yami, Merc). They all all good products, so In this case, I am going to buy the best deal.

I do not like the fact you are basically locked into buying Merc if you buy Lund (at least Brunswick is making difficult to do otherwise). I am glad I got my Lund this year with the E-Tec.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Greetings,

Thanks. I am kind of leaning towards Evenrude as that is what I have had and had good luck. They have excellent technology and the market is not flooded with them. That last one is kind of a double edged sword. However, it appears that they have a premium price?

I have seen Merc's response to the Rude claims. But I have not seen Rude's claim in writing how they tested it to be better than Merc's. So kind of makes me think of the king with no clothes on...

I prefere not to follow the masses either. Not that they did anything bad, but more that I like to be a little different. Just not at the cost of my wallet or repairs.

Peace and Blessings

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.


  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.