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Joe, I am going to use a tilt/trim electric /pull start version of the Yamaha 9.9 that is the reason it weighs a bit more than the 88 lbs in my calculations.

I can't thank the person who suggested I search the site for Yamaha 115 Outrage 18 performance. Found a gold mine of info! Followed a link from PhilT here to another site where the whole EXACT scenario I am considering is discussed to death! Spent over an hour just reading! I even got a prop to spec from Tom Clark for my exact application if I go with the Yamaha 115. I didn't have to ask! Apparently he's already been there and done that:)

Finnegan, I really would like to stay with a US manufacturer such as Mercury, but...well...I had a Mercury one time back in 1990's...I am sure they are much more reliable now...let's just say me and a Mercury in my past could absolutely NOT get along. I was towed 2 times with only 56 hrs on the one I had, the last time was from 6 miles offshore into Freeport. I got a great trade in value for that one the next day...exactly 62% of what I had to pay for it new on the boat. It appears you have had much better luck than I have, or for that matter, anyone I know personally with Mercury.

The reason I want to go to 4-stroke power now as opposed to the 2-stroke option is that the 4 strokes, at least in our area here, hold their value and last longer than the 2 strokes. Whether this is based in facts or not, opinion in my area is that generally when run equally as hard, a 4 stroke outboard will last at least 2 times as long. I really have no idea if this is true myself, but all the Texas Gulf Coast outboard guys that I know tell me this. Since they appraise value of outboards professionally, I have to consider what they say.
The E-Tecs have a really bad reputation for various reasons locally on the coast where I do business. For example, While I was hanging around yesterday getting in the way at the shop, one of the local professional guides in the Palacios TX area and I were discussing outboard repowering. I mentioned how I had heard nothing but good about E-Tec's, he started bending my ear. I do not know personally if anything he said was true, but I know he does a LOT of fishing out of boats and he has to have 100% reliability in his business. He tells me that the E-Tec uses a water cooled ECM. He says that this ECM containment is a weak link, and that saltwater corrosion will cause big troubles quick. Apparently, he did not think that running a saltwater cooling stream circulating in the engine around the ECM was a very good idea. I repeat, I don't know if this is true about these engines, but what people think of them directly affects what they are worth. For all I know, ALL outboards could be cooling their ECM's with saltwater. I DO know I liked the E-Tec specs better than any other when I looked at the numbers on paper, the alternator amps alone is a big plus.

I like the Yamaha controls and instrument systems the best out of any brand I have considered, but I am still trying to figure out how they interface with my Garmin electronics package and autopilot. Still searching for interface compatibility specs...I know this info has to be somewhere. I can't find any clear answers to this on the outboard manufacturers sites so I am going to Garmin for answers before making my final decision.

I will probably never sell my Outrage. I will have at least 20 times what its worth to anyone else invested in it when I complete my project here. I will leave this boat to my Grandkids when I'm gone, and I don't want them to have any clearcut evidence that Pappy was addled at this early of an age:) Even if this might be true:)


Oh, BTW, I will have a complete set of worn out teak doors from the super console that will need a good home when I am done with all this, I ordered a complete new set of all doors and compartments today for mine from Mike at Nautical Lumber. The personal page here was invaluable while we were discussing what I needed, I just directed him to my personal site where he could clearly see what I needed precisely while we were on the phone. Another fine example of how the personal pages here are priceless, thanks Joe!