Mercury 150 Optimax

[Heath]

Has anyone got one of these engines?

I am trying to find out what owners think of them.

[seqfisho]

Heath,

Would certainly push the Quinny along at a fair clip ;D ;D ;D :o

Glen

Eat Sleep FISH!!!!!!

[Heath]

Well :-* :-* :-*

It aint exactly for the quinny ;D

It's to do with a lovely NEW Cruisecraft Explorer 600 8)

[skippa]

Heath,

A mate or mine has one on his new Signature 630F and he seems quite satisfied with it.

Personally, I've only been out with him once, from Manly to Tangas and there was 6 of us on board. For my money I reckon it used a fair bit of fuel. From memory it took about 90 lt to fill her up again. I know there's a lot to be said about trim and economy, and I know it wasn't trimmed properly all day (Very frustrating)

But in fairness it started first time all day, although it was very noisy when sitting down the back.

Another mate has a 150 saltwater EFI, and he swears by it...... not at it.

Cheers,
Skippa 8)

[Volvo]

:o A 150hp on the ace end of a glass 630 with sixpeople onboard and not properly trimmed in my books wouldnt or shouldnt be doin too good fuelwise either ?? me dont thinks ???.
But!! tell ya what Heath a 150hp Optimax me reckons would sure look good ont the end of my rig :).
Malcom douglass sure seems ta think they is good motor :).
Cheers

[element]

Heath,
I had a 135 opti --same block as 150 opti-
If someone has said fuel economy was a problem I would seriously question this as you could leave Bribie fish all day wide off Moreton plus troll and not use 100litres. average 1litre 1 NM.
I currently have 175 FI Evinrude and very similar --Travel horizon to Seaway -out 20KMS off seaway then return to horizon shores (average 65litres trip ) I expect 4 strokes would be similar or a touch better.
Opti had a harmonic balance noise at 3000 revs --after talking to other fishos and a mate in Sydney who is a merc mechanic this is a normal trait -under 2800 and over 3050 rpms low noise levels but at 3000 you could notice the noise considerably.
Good luck with whatever you decide to put on your boat-
Strategy

[Moffy]

Heath,

I fish regularly with a mate with a 135 Optimax on a Cruise Craft 533 Reef Raider (assume your query relates to Optimax's in general and not just the 150) - I used to fish with him in the same boat but with his old motor a 120 hp Evinrude. We generally fish in the same area (around 35 to 40 miles offshore) and the drop in fuel bills with the new motor is substantial.

From memory we used to use around 140 litres round trip with the old Carbi 120 evinrude (120 underfloor and at least one 20 jerry for the trip) - now with the optimax we use far less fuel - last trip (2 or 3 weeks ago) where we did more running around than usual (we went out nearly to the Jenny Loiuse shoals for a look) we used around 79 litres round trip - this was the figure on the fuel consumption guage near the end of the trip anyway. So fuel economy is pretty good in my book. - we did run pretty economically (out at 3500 rpm - giving around 26 knots) - but i think that that is still pretty good considering how far offshore we were.

hard to comment on power, as being 15 horses and about 10-15 years newer, it defintely has more grunt than the old 120. Certainly gets the boat up and going when you give it some. - in fact my mate is considering dropping back to a 115 optimax - mainly for the weight saving more than anything.

as for noise - its definitely a 2 stroke - no 4 stroke quietness with this outboard. can't recall whether it is appreciably noisier than the 120 he used to have or not. fact that it is a cabin boat with full clears doesn't help though.

Hope this gives you some food for thought.

Craig

[craigie]

G'day Heath,

I've got a brand spanker 115 opti with only 15 hours on it (less than 2 weeks old), i realise it will differ a bit to the 150 but my fuel consumption figures may be of interest.
Did approx 115 k's running around Moreton Bay on Sunday, for a fuel burn of 45 - 50 litres. Motor is on a 17 footer that was not heavily loaded.

Cheers
Craig.

p.s. If lee (Optimax) catches this thread, I'm sure he can give you a good run down on his 135 Opti.

[boatboy50]

Heath,
Have operated the 200hp Optis for hundreds of hours. The 135/150/175/200 are all the same engine, with minor changes.
The Optis are good on fuel, but not quite as good as a Honda or Yammie 4 stroke of equivalent power.
The Optis have earned a reputation for blowing compessors consistently. Usually after about 400 hours or so. Compressors are the part that compresses fuel, and is very expensive, between 3-4 grand i think.
The available parts for them have left a bit to be desired at times also, but i think Mercury are catching up.
Good luck in your choice.
Darren

[dazza]

hi heath,
why the 2 stroke?
have just repowered our haines 680 with a yammie 225 4 stroke. haven't done many hours yet (bloody wind), but it seems like we made the right choice. we looked very long and hard at the 2 strokes, all brands. in the end there is not much difference between the 2 and 4 strokes these days, what really sold us was the lifespan of the 4 stroke.
would be interested to know what is swinging you to the 2 strokes
cheers
dazza

[element]

Dazza,
The weight of the 4 stroke would have my previous 540f half under at the rear end.
I am interested in your lifespan of 4 strokes--I have not heard of 4 stroke outboards until the last few years although I have known 2 strokes have deveoped over 60 plus years. I believe good engineering is critical for any motor and all motors have suffered some problems , even honda when I researched what motor to put on my Victory.

Interested in your lifespan factors
Regards
Wayne C

[element]

Dazza,
The weight of the 4 stroke would have my previous 540f half under at the rear end.
I am interested in your lifespan of 4 strokes--I have not heard of 4 stroke outboards until the last few years although I have known 2 strokes have deveoped over 60 plus years. I believe good engineering is critical for any motor and all motors have suffered some problems , even honda when I researched what motor to put on my Victory.

Interested in your lifespan factors
Regards

[element]

Dazza,
The weight of the 4 stroke would have my previous 540f half under at the rear end.
I am interested in your lifespan of 4 strokes--I have not heard of 4 stroke outboards until the last few years although I have known 2 strokes have deveoped over 60 plus years. I believe good engineering is critical for any motor and all motors have suffered some problems , even honda when I researched what motor to put on my Victory.


Strategy

[boatboy50]

Talking of lifespan, I have operated both Honda 4 stroke and Mercury Optimax engines extensively all in the 150-225hp range.
As mentioned the Optis have their probs. They are a reasonable engine, and we have been replacing them after about 1000 hours (have one at the moment with 1200 still going).
The Hondas have a lifespan of longer i believe. One set of 225's we have at the moment, is up around 1200 hours, and still going strong. We havnt touched these engines apart from to service them every 100 hours. We have no intention of replacing them at the moment.
I have heard of other commercial guys getting 2500 hours out of a set of 130 Hondas, and only replaced them on the "surely they will blow soon" theory.
I myself got 2500 hours out of another Honda 50 before it finally went kaput and was not worth repairing. The problem was not mechanical either, was in the alloy mounting bracket, which cracked and broke, and could not viably be repaired.
We have routinely replaced our Mercuries after about 1000 hours, to keep them in warranty, to avoid costs out of warranty.
No such issues with the Hondas, keep them until they finally die!
Regards
Darren

[Heath]

Guys, guys, guys,

Woooooohhhhhhh,

This post of mine is over 12months old. Someones been doing some serious digging :D


It's all been said & done. See my webpage ;)

[Daintreeboy]

It was moffy, ban him..........................please ::)

[dazza]

heath
didn't look at the date of the post. remember you getting a new boat last year- thought you might be greedy ;D ;D can never have enough toys :)

strategy
i think boatboy has probably answered your question

cheers
dazza

[Heath]

Boats just on 12 months old acually.

Couldn't be more happy with it [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

[boatboy50]

Heath,
How many hours have you done since? What hull is it on? Have u had any probs? Fuel Consumption?
Let us know how shes goin?
Regards
Darren

[Heath]

Ended up with a Cruisecraft Explorer 600, powered by a Yamaha 175 2 stroke. A four stroke was just too expensive in that sort of HP range, was looking at an extra 12k.

At the moment we have 97hours on the clock. Fuel consumption is comparable to our 70hp Yamaha... at 3500rpm ;D. Which it what we were counting on. At WOT sees us skipping along at 87km/h, sure if you give it a gob full you feel it at the bowser. At 3500rpm use approx 700ml / KM & travel around 48km/h with the wind or around 42km/hr against it. Amazing how much the wind affects ground speed. Most importantly, we travel in comfort & stay dry.

Problems, well we've had a few minor ones.

We had an issue with the donk, where we had oil in the bottom of the pan. It was found that a joiner on one of the oil hoses behind the starter motor was not pushed home properly. With the boat itself, no issues. The bait pumps which were Johnsons have been replaced under warranty with Rule pumps. The Johnson pumps just can not take it & either sieze, crack or get water in the motor. Had a prob with my sounder, but it was the transducer, which Lowrance USA rectified quickly.

Have done a few small extras on the boat. Plumbed the second livewell, berly bucket, installed a fluro light, several more rod holders. Will be putting in a VHF in the next few weeks as well, when I get a spare moment.

All in all I am still impressed with the boat 12 months on, no complaints at all.

Wynnum marine & Cruise Craft have been fantastic, for any little tid bits or info/advise. Customer service is A1.

[boatboy50]

Heath,
Good to hear. Its not often you hear good things about a dealer/boat combo.
The cruise crafts are not my cup of tea but seem to be a lot of other peoples.
Regards, and hope all stays well for you
Darren

[Mustang]

Heath,hows the Yammie going,any probs after 18 months?

I'm looking at a 150 2 stroke in a few months,i hear Yamaha is the way to go now but the saltwater series carby models are a bit long in the tooth now aren't they?

I would prefer DFI but the HPDI have their probs too i've heard.


Cheers

[jimbo59]

buy a 4/s no noise no smoke not much more pennys to puchase. they put a 225 yam in a test tank constant fuel test prop full throttle 6000 hours then thru a leg out of bed that works out at over 50 weeks or 12 months constant



[smiley=chinese.gif]plees cosider

[Heath]

Gday Mustang,

Have 172 Hours on it now, no issues at all with the Donk.