Is a Verado to heavy for my 79' 23' savage?

[Fr. Frank]

...For simplicity I would stay with what ever 2 stroke you have dealer support on down there - dealer support being the kicker when in BFE

Dixon, you hit the nail on the head. Dealer support really is the key.

But just to make things clear, Paraiso Marino in San Jose, Costa Rica has certified Mercury Verado technicians. They provide warranty service via truck to Puerte Limon on the Caribbean coast, and to Puntarenas and Puerto Quepos on the Pacific side. But for major repairs like engine tear-down they're gonna want to haul your boat back to San Jose, ...for a very hefty towing fee.
And the next closest Verado servicing marina is either Panama City, Panama or San Salvador, El Salvador.

[JohnB]

Dealer support on the Suzuki is the week spot for them. In my case, I have a dealer 15 minutes away, and 2 others about an hour a way. Mine came with a 6 year warrantee, and when I was price shopping, the verados were way out of my price range, and they were only offering 3 year. The 250 zuke was 13.1k out the door, rigged, propped, everything. The 2 stroke oil in the opti, and the high test gas in the Verado also added to the cost of the merc. Simply put, I couldn't afford the Verado.

I have run Mercs for years, and I think Optis are great motors, but they were more expensive than the Zuke. Also, if you noticed, I have a large hardtop on a Sceptre, so this rig is already heavy for a 23' SeaCraft. Weight is something I am always trying to remove, so in my case weight was a bigger issue for me.

[joshmon71]

I gotta speak up as a verado owner...

Verados and not simple-There is absolutely nothing new about 4 stroke engines, and supercharging. Design the engine for an integrated SC not a bolt on. I don't buy that argument about Verados=more parts=less reliable. Time will tell, and I may eat my words.

Fuel and Verados-High test gas in verados is a myth...sort of. The 250 verado gen 1 runs on 87 nothing has changed on that, going higher buys you zilch. I have the 2005 250 shop manual on CD to confirm that. The 200-275 are the same block same weight, just computer diffs. To get 275 on the 275 gen 1 you ran 91 but it can run on 87 this is the Gen 1 motors. Its not the same for Gen 2 they are better as in double digit efficient over Gen 1 (which is pretty damn good begin with). The 300, run it on high test 93 closer to 320. run it on 87, 300 HP. Merc says 91 or 87...The fuel burn numbers go up with low test is all from numbers have seen by owners of the 300.

Summation-fuel costs should be better on Gen 2 Verados than Suzukis until you get over 5500RPM, by double digit % efficent gains across the range for Gen 2 verados up till 5500RPM. Merc has a report to this effect comparing 300 Suzi to 300 Verado but stops at 5500RPM. Plenty of reports out there non merc from owners on running 87 in 300 Verados and fuel burn.

~13K is a steal of a price for a 250 Suke. No brainer there.