Optimax 115hp opinions needed

[mungindi]

Afternoon Everyone,
I'm in the process of building a boat and I'am at the stage where I have to look at getting a motor. I had pretty much settled on the Suzuki DF115. Trouble is while chasing prices it was put to me that I should consider the Mercury Optimax 115. Besides being a couple of grand cheaper I don't have any experience with them at all. If anyone has any first hand experience with the Opti I would appreciate their input eg- fuel economy reliabilty any constructive opions good or not so good would be appreciated.

Stay Safe
Gary

[TonyG]

Afternoon Everyone,
I'm in the process of building a boat and I'am at the stage where I have to look at getting a motor. I had pretty much settled on the Suzuki DF115. Trouble is while chasing prices it was put to me that I should consider the Mercury Optimax 115. Besides being a couple of grand cheaper I don't have any experience with them at all. If anyone has any first hand experience with the Opti I would appreciate their input eg- fuel economy reliabilty any constructive opions good or not so good would be appreciated.

Stay Safe
Gary

Hi Gary,

I can not profess to being an engine expert (a novice really) but I have a opti 115hp on my bluefin bowrider (5.4m)

I can not give you any comparisons to other motors of similar size, cause I do not know enough about them, only that I read heaps of posts on many different forums & decided on this type of motor.

Whilst I only have about 20 hrs on the motor so far, I have been able to learn the following:

- My motor has been fitted with a stainless steel prop (I guess geared to the engine) & has a top speed of 38 knots @ 5400rpm

- At WOT, it uses about 33litre per hour

- Cruising at 4,000rpm, it uses about 23litres per hour

- Trolling at 700 rpm it uses 0.6 litres per hour

- Average fuel consumption I find at about 2 litres per km

- Smart guages that come with the engine are fantastic & would highly recommend ie fuel used etc

Overall, I am really happy with the engine, it goes like the wind, but if anymore questions, please ask.

Where are you based at, maybe you could come & look at the engine if this helps

[mungindi]

Hey Tony,
Thank's for the the fuel figures and advice they will give me something to work with still a lot of thing's I have to take into account when deciding whether to go 4 stroke or 2 stroke main one being fuel economy. The boat I'm building is 22ft long and only has a beam of 7ft 2in it was designed along the long boat concept so I don't really need huge hp. But I would still like to get along at a reasonable clip if I could as long as I dont have to mortage the house each time to pay for the fuel each trip. Mate thank's for the offer to get a look at your'e engine but I'm about 5 1/2 hrs west of brisbane which sort of makes things a bit difficult But I appreciate the offer I will try and attach some photos to give you a look at what I'm building hopefully they will come out .
Thank's again
Gary

[deadbeatloser]

v4 115 e-tec. :):):):):):):):)
r prease consider:-X:-X:-X:-X:-X:-X:-X

[Almako]

Hi Gary, I am using the Merc 115 opti on my Mako Craft 560 half cabin. I can easily get 40knots out of her. Í'm not 100% sure of fuel usage as i opted to save the $1500 they wanted for smartcraft gaiges. I do know though that the motor used a shit load more fuel and oil when i was running it in comapared to now.

I would say that i use in "good weather" about 50 litres to go from manly to tangalooma then out to flinders and back to manly. However i have used easily double that in rough seas over the same distance.

I have not owned any other boat or motor but i'm really happy with her. What i do find though is that i am locked in to buying expensive two stroke optimax oil and she does use a bit. 8 Litres is about $110 (Quicksilver brand oil for direct injection motors)

When the weather turns good again i will be doing an oil consumption test to see just how much i am using. I will let you know the results. I will be looking at litre per hour consumption.

Thanks
Alistair

[craigie]

Alistair, where are you buying your oil ?
Around Brisbane we get the 4 litre containers (Quicksilver Premium for DFI) for $40 - $45.

Guys,
I too have a 115 Optimax. Mine is a 2004 model with close to 600 hrs on it.

Fitted up with Smart Craft Gauges.

At Cruise speed of 4000 revs, it will cover 2k's to the litre or a tick over 20 litres per hour. Speed will be approx 24 knots.
My Opti sits on a 5.4m "Cyclone" Fibreglass Side Console.

Originally the 115 Opti with Smart Craft was around $16 000, I believe now they are down around $13 000.

Generally I fish Moreton Bay. For a run out from Fisherman's Island to Tangalooma, fishing the beacons, I'll burn approx 40 litres of fuel.

An example of offshore econ...........I ran out to the Northern Barwons in flat conditions from Mooloolaba. Round trip was 120 - 130 k's for a burn of approx 69 litres.

Some things to consider with the Opti............
Plugs are $40 each and changed every 200 hrs
The 100 hour service costs approx $400
the 200 Hour " " " $600

You might want to compare this with the Suzi ?


Cheers
Craigie.

[MrWong]

Hey there,
I cant add too much matey but I can tell you the following.
I have a 2005 Suzi 115, and my best mate (Pegasus - Ausfish) has a 115hp Optimax.

Both motors are fantastic, fule consumption very very similar however he has to pay for oil I do not. He has a stainless prop I dont.
We are both extremely happy with our motors.
We also frequent Mungindi fishing and camping
Feel free to drop us a line.

Norm

[mungindi]

Evening Everyone,
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help me out on this the way I see I've put a shit load of effort into building this boat so far, and I'm only going to get one real chance with the motor selection so every bit of information I can gather will hopefully help me to make best choice I can motor wise for the boat.
Alistair the oil consumption figures would be great, running costs all add to the final choice.
Craige mate the service costs was one thing I hadn't even given a thought to thanks for the tip,plus 69 lts for a 130 klm round trip doesn't seem to bad to me.
Norm the comparison between the 2 engines is great the hard part is that no one engine has anything that really makes it stand out from the other as all the reviews that I have been able to find on both of them on the net have been pretty favourable as well. so it will most likely come down to which engine I can get the best deal on. The E-Tech I have also had a bit of a look at them as well just not sure though
Fishing and cammping in Mungindi Norm mate we'll have to talk.
once again thank you to everyone for your'e time and help.

All the Best
Gary

[doublexl]

hi mungindi,i'm not sure where you live but mr t's marine at capalaba have got 115 opti's for around $11k... & his oil is $85 for 10 litres [dfi quicksilver]..cheers

[Jabba_]

Evening Everyone,
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help me out on this the way I see I've put a shit load of effort into building this boat so far, and I'm only going to get one real chance with the motor selection so every bit of information I can gather will hopefully help me to make best choice I can motor wise for the boat.
Alistair the oil consumption figures would be great, running costs all add to the final choice.
Craige mate the service costs was one thing I hadn't even given a thought to thanks for the tip,plus 69 lts for a 130 klm round trip doesn't seem to bad to me.
Norm the comparison between the 2 engines is great the hard part is that no one engine has anything that really makes it stand out from the other as all the reviews that I have been able to find on both of them on the net have been pretty favourable as well. so it will most likely come down to which engine I can get the best deal on. The E-Tech I have also had a bit of a look at them as well just not sure though
Fishing and cammping in Mungindi Norm mate we'll have to talk.
once again thank you to everyone for your'e time and help.

All the Best
GaryThe best advise for you is, which dealer do you trust??? Is the agood dealer near were you live. Disregard the brand name, as all modern 2 and 4 strokes as near identical in performance and economy after a days fishing or sking..

Go to the dealer that will serve you best and give you the best after sales service.... No point buying the best motor in the world if you cant get good service or no service....

[gar26lw]

Alistair, where are you buying your oil ?
Some things to consider with the Opti............
Plugs are $40 each and changed every 200 hrs


$40 each, is that right?

[mungindi]

G/day doublexl,Jabba
I have contacted Mr T's they were really helpfull thanks doublexl. Jabba living about 6 hrs inland creates a few issues when it comes to finding a dealer one of the main problems to come up is that I want to fit the motor up myself before getting the pd done. which has created some issues but nothing that can't be sorted out. But you are right just about all motors these days are pretty good but the reality still comes down to trying to get the best deal I can. That being said all the dealers I have contacted have been more than helpfull in offering good advice on trying to sort out which way to go not only with motor choice but other areas such as sorting out steering set ups etc

All the best
Gary

[Jabba_]

G/day doublexl,Jabba
I have contacted Mr T's they were really helpfull thanks doublexl. Jabba living about 6 hrs inland creates a few issues when it comes to finding a dealer one of the main problems to come up is that I want to fit the motor up myself before getting the pd done. which has created some issues but nothing that can't be sorted out. But you are right just about all motors these days are pretty good but the reality still comes down to trying to get the best deal I can. That being said all the dealers I have contacted have been more than helpfull in offering good advice on trying to sort out which way to go not only with motor choice but other areas such as sorting out steering set ups etc

All the best
Gary
Regards to steering set up. Hydraulic is the only way to go....

[craigie]

gar26lw,

I can assure you they are $40 per Spark plug, lucky the 115 Opti is only a 3 Cyl !!

No doubt the Optimax is like most other modern Outboards, full of nasty surprises when replacement parts are required.
Had 2 warning Sensors replaced on my Opti a little while back , they cost $250 each, just for the Part !!!
When buying any new outboard you need to factor in serious dollars for servicing and repaires. I would have easily spent another $2500 in this area for the 3 and a half years I've had the Donk.

Not complaining, just a fact of life !!

Even an e-tech (with it's 3 year or 300 hour warranty) would have made little difference with this cost as I have done plenty of hrs in that time.

Craigie.