[BearFishing]

Assuming low hours (< 100) and properly maintained, would you recommend one of these outboards over the other? I'm most interested in general reliability.

Some background:
I know the situation with Evinrude closing doors, but I don't think this is a concern over the next ~ 5 years which I'd probably own the outboard (given extended warranty to I think 2027). Please correct me if you see differently.

I've been looking at used bay boats (mod V). I see many Yamaha's such as the F150LB, and have a general perception of these being reliable outboards (I4, 4 stroke). I've come across a couple of interesting boats with these 2 stroke, 3 cylinder Evinrudes, and I really don't have any experience with these so looking to tap into this forum's collective wisdom.

Thanks in advance!

 

[new224mako]

I’ve had an Evinrude.

I’d buy a Yamaha


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[Speck-a-holic]

I owned a G1 Etec - 115 V-4 since 2007 ( bought new). I just re powered with a Suzuki.
There is no way I can recommend anyone spend their hard earned money on an Etec. I know many on here will dis-agree. This is from my experience.

I did get 2000 HRS out of mine, but, I had issues just about every season. Some were covered under warranty and some after the warranty expired. And the ones not under warranty were quite expensive. I also had to get on a waiting list for service anytime the motor went down ( in the last 3-4 years). I am not sure if that is an Evinrude thing or just across the board in the marine industry. We'll see how it goes with the Zuk.

Good luck with whichever way you decide.

 

[cruss]

I had a f150 Yamaha on my tram at got 300 hrs before valvetrain gave out do to an internal part broke and traveled into oil line. My mechanic who only works on yamahas has a shop full of these motors all ages with same problem

 

[acoastalbender]

If you're looking for a perfect outboard you will look a long time but I don't think you are ... I have owned a few different brands but never a 4stroke ... I have owned a few etecs and am comfortable with them ... a couple warrantee repairs, a couple on my dime but overall my feeling is it's the right direction for internal combustion engines ... you get the torque and HP in a smaller simpler package so Evinrude figured out how to oil it without the burn but not how to recycle it ... if you could ever come up with a reliable oiling and recovery system it would set a new standard ...