fuel economy

[dlb511]

I am assuming that by "four banger" you are really meaning "four stroke"?

[Tiny]

dbl511,

I've been down the exact same road you are going down. This is what I found, a Diesel would be nice but IF I had a repair it WOULD be expensive. Cost to aquire and economy wise, as well as ride, in my humble opinion, it's hard to beat a 20 ft seacraft Scepter or CC. Best economy that won't cost you an arm and a leg would be someting like a 130 yamaha or a 4 cyl I/O, all are capable of getting 3.5 mpg or so at cruise. I'm just getting my rig set up but know from test runs it's getting over 3.5 mpg. Not bad considering you can probably find one or put the rig together for under 5-7K. You can get 5mpg or so with a high $$$ 115, 150 4 stroke but even at 5$ a gallon it will take a lot of hours to recover the $$$ and repairs will cost a lot more.

I've spent dozens of hours looking into every boat out there (don't tell the wife) and this combo meet all my criteria.

I can't wait to get it all together. Good luck with your search.

By the way we have a 74 20 Scepter with a 1991 yamaha 130.

[dlb511]

Tiny.
I am leaning more towards an outboard. I think they are a lot easier to maintain for one thing. I am a little partial to the Yamaha's. I used to be a Suzuki dealer and back then we all figured Yamaha was our toughest competitor. In the early 1980's they were the most expensive outboard you could buy. I find more Mercs on the used boats I have found than anything else. I will probably settle for just about anything in the 130 to 150 hp range that is in good condition.

[Tiny]

Maybe Fr. Frank will chime in on here. He and I discussed motor choices at length. He was keen on the yammie 130 and the older 2.0L merc's...both are pretty good on gas, and not to expensive either. Parts are cheaper on the merc, but I found a good yammie and snatched it up!!!!

[Bigshrimpin]

Tiny.
I find more Mercs on the used boats I have found than anything else.

There is a reason for that!!! Those pre-92 Yamaha's are all busted up with their shift shafts rotting out and frozen bolts snapping off.

[Tiny]

not looking forward to that day :-)

[Bigshrimpin]

DLB - I sent you some pics of the Master Angler . . . and it's now in the for sale section too with a 2.0L 150 Mercury. I don't have any fuel burn numbers yet . . . I'm guessing it'll be very close to 3.5mpg - 4mpg with flat calm seas. I'll let you know tomorrow