I had an '06 150 VTEC on an 18ft flats boat until this year. It ran great - no problems at all. BUT - it is slow coming out of the hole and in shallow water I had to use the trim tabs to help it get out of the water. It has that variable shifting cam that takes it up a notch when you reach 4500 rpm - actually shifts the cam to a different set of lobes. Runs at 130HP below 4500 RPM and gets the 150HP rating running over 4500 RPM. Sort of frustrating trying to run right at 4500 - it would be shifting up and running away and thne coming back down - I was constantly on the throttle at that setting. Learn to run inder or over 4500 - but not at 4500.

Very quiet idle - several times I forgot to shut it down while I was on the bow fishing. I was told the 150 is the Honda Civic 4 cylinder engine block turned vertical - don't know that for a fact.

You are all right - very large profile and very heavy sitting on the transom. I would get comments like - "is that a Volkswagen mounted on your boat?" Had to move trolling motor and start batteries forward to try and compensate for the weight - still sat really low in the water.


I do find this: the guides and charter people run whatever engine they get get a sponsor to give them. The commercial trap and net guys run Hondas almost exclusively. That is in the southeast Georgia and Northeast Florida area - don't know about other areas of the country.