Motor Upgrade question.

[crackles]

I am about to upgrade the motor on my 2000 X and have decided on a Mercury 50 Big Foot.

My first choice was Yamaha 50 High Thrust, but that is no longer imorted into Aust., so its a Mercury, which I am told is almost the same, anyway.

My Question. For those out there who already own a Mercury 50 BF. Are you happy with it? Would you recommend it? Sorry, two questions.

I decided against a Honda, being still a carbi motor, as Mercury is now EFI, and believe this is the way to go.

So, just before I spend a huge amount of money. Anyone?

Thanks,
Crackles

[Sloop John B]

I have the Yamaha.

Watch it when you swing that Merc up. It'll hit your seat

Guys on the old board would cut the seat so it would fit. Ridiculous.

All I can think is, don't move it up all the way.

Keep an eye on that sucker.

[crackles]

Sloop John B,

Thanks. I'm told Yamaha and Mercury did a lot of joint development of these motors. I am replacing a 25 Yamaha four stroke. Lovely motor, but I want the extra power for that quick trip home - when needed. By order of my commander, as a matter of fact.

First I've heard of the seat problem, although I done a lot of searching on this forum. Intersting.

As I've said before, I like your style.

Thanks.

[Robert]

Why not go with the Mercury Big Foot 60hp EFI, same weight as the 50hp?
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http://www.mercurymarine.com/60_efi_bigfoot inline 4cyl. 995cc 264lb. 18Amp Alternator
http://www.mercurymarine.com/50_efi_bigfoot inline 4cyl. 995cc 264lb. 18Amp Alternator
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Are the Evinrude outboards available in Australia? Evinrudes can be white to match your Mac26X and not be too hot to touch in the sun.
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E-TEC 60hp 2 cylinders 2.67 gears 863cc 240 lb. 75Amp alternator
http://www.brp.com/en/Products/Evinrude ... tID=ETEC90
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E-TEC 115hp 4 cylinder (60degree V4) 2.25 gears 1726cc 269lb. 133Amp Alternator.
http://www.brp.com/en/Products/Evinrude ... ID=ETEC115
NOTE: The 115 4cylinder has the same 133Amps as the 6cylinder, mayber that means an extra 50 amps available for fast charging the house batteries!
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Suzuki DF70hp inline 4 cylinder 2.42 gears 1298cc 359lb. 25Amp Alternator
http://www.suzukimarine.com/sr06/df7060 ... _specs.php
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The Evinrudes are EFI 2 strokes designed to go without any dealer maintenance for 3 years and they have the low gear ratio like the BigFoot. I wonder what the cost is for the Mercury BigFoot including the first 3 years maintenance compared to the cost of the Evinrude with no maintenance.
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I'd like to hear the results from the E-TEC 115 V4 269lb. on a Mac26. In particular, how quiet it is to run at 3/4 throttle on gentle seas and how fast that would be. I bet the 115 V4 is low enough to tilt without hitting the seat. (The inline 4 cilynder Mercury is a tall one). All else being equal, a larger displacemnt engine should run smoother and quieter since it will not be running at maximum.
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Australia
BRP Australia Pty Ltd.
Sea-Doo Watercrafts
Sea-Doo Sportboats
Bombardier ATV
Ski-Doo
Johnson & Evinrude
56 Canterbury Road
Bankstown NSW 2200
Tel: +61-2-97946600
Fax: +61-2-97946651
General Requests and After Sales: [email protected]
Website: www.brp.com/en-AU/

[jsserene]

Robert, the E-TEC 115 hp shows it weighs 369 lbs not 269 lbs.

[Lease]

Crackles,

Can I be as indiscreet as to ask about price?

Finding it difficult to get any information on prices of outboards in Oz without having my details added to yet another thousand spam merchants.

Also, can EFI ouboards be subjected to the same kind of CPU tampering in order to change power outputs (let us not go into warranties, just hypotheticals), as in cars?

[Robert]

The 269lb. 115hp did sound too good to be true. Sorry to post that error.
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I still like the 369lb. (actually it might be 375lb. with the 2.25 gear ratio option) V4 115hp 133Amps outboard for the Mac26. I think looking into the actual values of the alternator charging system is a good idea. If there is really a large amount of charging power available from the V4, that would be a big advantage (a microwave oven, lots of lights, radio, etc..) for longer trips on the Mac26.
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The E-TEC 60hp 2 cylinder also has the 75 Amp alternator that the 3 cylinder engines use, so it might have a large amount of extra charging amps.

[Catigale]

Crackles - Ive sailed four seasons with my 50 HP Mercury BF EFI and have had no problems. It does stop when your gas tank is empty, but YMMV.

Very Happy with it. Parts locally available. I think going with the 60 HP BF would make sense, no weight penalty, and you can use the extra 10 horses

I believe I have the 14x10 BF prop but em or pm me if you want to confirm

[Moe]

We have the Mercury BigFoot EFI 60HP on our Boston Whaler. It's a great outboard. Very quiet. Very smooth. Very fuel-efficient. Starts easily and doesn't hesitate or stall when cold. No choke to have to use. I can change oil and filter without removing side cowlings, just the top cowling. Highly recommend it.

[crackles]

Thanks everyone.

Robert,

My understanding is the 26 X is only factory rated to 50hp and my insurance company wants letters from MacGregor stated more h.p. is ok before they will cover me. I don't trust insurance companies and don't want to give them ANY reason to reject a claim, should I need to. So, for that reason alone, I'll be happy with a 50hp. Would prefer the 60, but, so be it.

Yes, Evinrudes are available here. My last power boat, a 18 foot bowrider used a 130hp Evinrude. Nothing but trouble. A few times, while standing -next- to the boat, the power tilt would start to move - all by itself. It took three goes ,and several dollars, by a mechanic to find the fault, which was up at the remote console. Very thirsty too.

FYI> When I bought my 26X, there was another one for sale in Sydney, which had I believe a 115hp motor. No one wanted to touch it and reason given to me was the big motor.

Lease,

$8900 less trade for the 25hp. of $2500. I shopped around and all the prices were the same except for one guy who wanted another $750 to fit it. Needless to say who didn't get the sale. I just wish I had a reason to keep the 25hp. Motored for six days over Xmas around the Hawkesbury, used 18 litres of fuel. GPS showed I covered 36 NMiles. Didn't miss a beat.

Catigale and Moe,

Thanks to you both. I've read your comments in many threads but nice to hear it direct. If I may ask, any problems with the motor hitting the seat, as mentioned by Sloop John B ??

Crackles

[Robert]

crackles,
If I had to worry about the insurance company I'd stick to the 50hp also. I think the Mercury BigFoot is the best you can get in the 50hp tried and true catagory. The Evinrude 50hp has a nice low gear ratio and high charging possibilty, and if what they say is true (no maint. 3 years and common parts with the whole E-TEC line) service should be a bargain. But, the E-TEC is new technology, and given that you did not have good service from a previous Evinrude, I'd stay away also. I like technology, but since my Suzuki dealer is a great dealer, I would lean toward the Suzuki. But I would take a long look at the E-TEC also.
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My experience in buying a motor was to look at Honda first, but the dealers have a bad attitude and they want very high prices. I could at the time get the Honda 50hp from Canada for $2000 less than in the USA, but the USA dealers told me they would not service it. Then I discovered the brand new technology Suzuki DF50, for $1000 less than the Honda and with a great dealer I was sold. That was before the Mercury had EFI. I have used Mercury outboards several times, I have a lot of respect for their smooth running and starting first time every time dependabilty and ease of getting service anywhere.
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Robert

[Moe]

crackles, I will have to defer to those who have the BigFoot on a Mac. Our 26X had a Suzuki DF50.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

My understanding is the 26 X is only factory rated to 50hp and my insurance company wants letters from MacGregor stated more h.p. is ok before they will cover me. I don't trust insurance companies and don't want to give them ANY reason to reject a claim, should I need to.

i was out of warranty when i re-powered with the Tohatsu 90.
no problems so far.
BTW, at 310#...lighter than the 60/70 Suzuki 4 stroke-slow poke.

[Frank C]

The original Arena Yacht Sales said that they originated use of the Bigfoot in days when most Macs had a Tohatsu or Honda 50. Their standard approach was to mount the motor to meet "the hull-bottom" standard position. That means that it might be sitting a little higher than some might choose, and it does strike the 26X helm seat at full forward tilt. Their answer was to simply cut a half-moon into the back of the seat, about 3 inches high and appropriate width. They did this for my Suzuki-60, but it still hits the seat - the Suzi is quite a bit bigger than the Merc.

[Robert]

I have heard of people paying $7500 for their Suzuki DF50, I paid $5500 installed. The "good" Suzuki dealer has the best service and the best price. A hundred miles closer to my home the "bad" Suzuki dealer takes stuff out of the Suzuki "stuff included with the engine" box and charges extra for the stuff they did not pay for. Example the Suzuki DF50 is suposed to come wih your choice of prop. Good dealer let me try out free of charge the Suzuki 13,12,11,and 10 pitch props, Bad dealer was going to sell me my already paid for included prop and all others that I wanted to try.
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There was even a closer "bad" Suzuki dealer to my home than these two, they wanted me to leave my boat in their service queue for 3 or 4 weeks just for the 20 hour checkup, Good dealer does the checkup while I wait with an appointment made a few days in advance.
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Good Dealer is Salt Water Marine (formerly Pennington Marine) South of Wilmington NC, close to Caroline Beach.