Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Any advice on 4 cycle motors?

Getting back into fishing public lakes again after a 6 year hiatus. I'm using an electric motor right now for small local lakes, but want to add a 4 cycle outboard under 10 horse for my 14 foot aluminum deep v. I sold my last 2 cycle motor that I never liked. It was a Johnson 15 horse and although they tend to be good motors this one had issues.

I've heard good things about the 4 cycles, as in very quiet, no gas can needed for the smaller models, very efficient, and no oil has to be added to the gasoline. I do hear they are heavier than their 2 cycle counterparts.

Anyway, any favorite brands out there? Any to stay away from? I assume Yamaha, Honda, Mercury, and Suzuki are good brands. I see some names out there that I've never heard of that must be Chinese, and the prices look too good to be true. I think I should probably stay away from them.

Most likely I'll buy brand new.

Advice?

I've got friends who had Hondas and never had a bit of trouble with them. They are heavier, much more fuel efficient, and no 2 stroke oil to buy. Besides being quieter to troll with the low speed operation doesn't foul plugs. I doubt you could go wrong with any of them but look hard at the Honda even if it costs a little more. I don't think anyone beats them for small 4 stroke engine across every genre they are used in.

To tag on to that I know the smaller Honda's are air cooled so it lessens the associated maintenance. I only researched the 2.3 so not sure if that is true more powerful motors.

I have a 5 hp Merc that is water cooled, and has the option of running a gas tank and hose or use the internal tank.

When transporting, you gotta pay attention to what side they say could be down. There IS a down and up side.....

Thank you gentlemen.

Scott,

It will stay on the boat.

I once transported a Mercury 9.9 every day one summer from the trunk of a car to the boat and back again. It was between college and I was doing a creel survey on a local lake. Kind of sour on transporting motors after that!

The 5 hp seems to be about 2/3 the weight of the 9.9. I have both.....

I have the 9.9 Merc 4 stroke. It is very quiet and fuel efficient. Also will troll very slowly.

All 4 of those brands are top notch. Tohatsu should be in there also. Check out the extended warranty and the dealer itself.

Cabelas and Academy both carry the small Mercury 4 strokes.

John F are the new small 4 strokes fuel injected? I have a 115 Merc 4 stroke that is in need of some run time. It is super silent compared to a 2 stroke.. Dan

Tohatsu makes Mercury and Nissan 4 strokes up to 30HP. I know the 2.5-9.9 Merc's are carburated. You can often get a better deal on a Tohatsu simply because people will look right past them, but it's the same motor. I bought a 3.5 Merc 4 stroke last year because it had the integrated fuel tank and I got a killer deal on it from my nephews Pawn Shop. I don't want to stumble over an external fuel tank in my little pond boat.

Only the 25 HP and up are fuel injected,as far as I know. My 9.9 is a 2012, and carbureted.

We have a 20hp merc four stroke and it has the balls of the 10hp yamaha two stroke. The 20hp has twice the fuel mileage and stays on the boat.

I got a heck of a deal on my 5 hp merc. I just happened to be in the marina talking to them about a motor and they told me about this one. Seems a guy bought a motor for his pontoon boat, and they told him to measure it to see if it needed a long or short shaft. He said he measured and it needed a short shaft.

Guess what. It needed a long shaft..... He had less than an hour run time on it, and he also didn't fill out the warranty. So, I ended up buying a virtually new motor WITH a warranty for a used motor price.

Not sure what the laws are like down there but in Canada if you have more then 10hp you need to have a boat license and registration numbers on the boat.

So the guys up here are buying up the 10hp yamaha two strokes and modding them into 15hp. The 10hp and 15 are the same block/base. Man dose a 12 foot skiff go with 15hp two stroke on the back.

I think it may vary by state. Here, we have to even register/license our canoes. No motor or trailer with them.