Repower on a Budget: Modern Outboard Engine Power
When it comes to performance boats and engines, nothing really comes cheap. Sometimes when you have a great boat you’ve had for a long time or found a great deal on one, there usually comes a time when you have to repower. The reality is an old engine won’t last forever and some of the new features are really nice to have. If you run a single engine performance boat, or even a midsize twin, there are some options out there that are easier on the wallet than buying a brand new performance engine. And there really aren’t any true performance outboards other than from Mercury Racing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t repower on a budget. With a few aftermarket parts, some really popular engines can be great budget options. Here is a list of some great engines from 150 HP to 300 HP.
Although we all miss the performance and lightness of the older 2 strokes, the new engines simply have more torque and are far more efficient. Direct injection 2 strokes were quite good but the newer four strokes are really efficient when run in their sweet spot. Although slightly heavier, you can sometimes run slightly less power and be really close in performance.
Mercury V6 Four Stroke
We recently wrote about how the V6 Mercury is deserving of some tuning by Mercury Racing. The reasonably light engine with some great technology is a a great repower engine. Mercury also has a great certified pre owned program where you can find lightly used engines that have been inspected and refurbished for great deals. They come with a warranty through Mercury dealers. For me, the real bargain here is the 175 ProXS. This engine is the lightest of the V6 because of the ProXS cowl at 470 Lbs, and it revs a little higher than the regular 175 or 200. For used or certified preowned, they are a great deal. You can feel pretty confident replacing any 150 to 200 HP with this engine.
The popular Mercury 4.88” gearcase features low water pickup on the nose and a sleek design. You could cone it, or swap it out for a Torque Master 1.75.
The 4.8” gearcase has low water pickup and 1.85 gears, so out of the box you’re doing okay. You could put Mercury Racing lower motor mounts on, or have some solid ones made and with a nosecone kit, you have a nice little engine that will give you years and years of use with very little maintenance.
If you need more, the V6 225 is a sweet spot as well. Very well priced from the get go and with used ones around, you can have a pretty light and stout package. If you want to go the extra mile, you can install the Torque Master gearcase with 1.75 gears to really transform this outboard. For me it’s the 175 ProXS if you don’t need the extra HP and you want a great deal, if you need that power, the 225 is the one to get.
Polarizing, but it grows on you. The 225 V6 is a great package.
Another added benefit, since the engine is so similar to the V8, you can use a side steering kit, Imco makes one, and use it on the V6.
Direct Injection
The last generation 2.5L and 3.0L Optimax were great engines. You can find incredible deals on these, plus there are parts to upgrade them, from mounts, to interchangeable gearcases, you have some great choices. Crunch the numbers and you might be further ahead to go with a newer four stroke. But, these are amazing engines that are pulling thousands of hours of duty. And, the Mercury Racing 250 XS and 300 XS are great out of the box. With so many switching to the V8 platform, expect to see good deals on these.
The older Yamaha HDPI and Evinrude Etec outboards are also very competitive and often come up as great deals, parts are available and you can often get some aftermarket parts as well, like mounts and performance upgrades. The direct injection outboards don’t always have the weight advantage the older two strokes did, but the small block ones are reasonably light.
Yamaha Four Stroke
Yamaha has the 4.2 V6 which we have also talked about numerous times and the big V6 has been in service for a long time so the market has plenty of deals. And, aftermarket parts are available so you can pickup a 200 SHO and have a great platform for a great price. Even though they look gigantic, they weigh around 505 Lbs. These are reliable and powerful engines.
The big Yamaha is a beast. They have made plenty of these for a good used selection.
If you love Yamaha but you’re running a smaller boat that can’t handle the V6, no problem, Yamaha has one of the best 4 cylinder four strokes on the market. The 2.8L 150 and 175 SHO are exceptional. The 150 is a great deal, has an acceptable 2:1 gear ratio and outperforms the older 150 two stroke in performance tests, plus you’re well under 500 Lbs. But, the 175 has 1.85 gears and is underrated, so you really want the 175 SHO in most cases.
A nose cone and some stiffer mounts can make this a great little package to repower a lighter sport boat and it won’t destroy your wallet. For a bigger boat, 22 and up the 4.2 might be best, for smaller lighter boats, the 2.8L is a the way to go.
150 Horsepower
I mentioned the Yamaha 2.8L 150 SHO above and although the 175 is the one to get, the 150 is no slouch. In the 150 HP range, Mercury and Yamaha lead the way. These are bullet proof engines. I would love to try the 150 SHO or 175 SHO on my Allison Grand Sport, I think it would be great.
With a few upgrades the Mercury 150 is a nice little performer. Light, smooth and bullet proof, it’s hard to beat. The ProXS version is slightly more powerful.
The Mercury 3.0L 4 cyl comes as a regular 150, and a ProXS version. The regular 150 has 1.92 gears, which is good, but is limited to 5,800 RPM, although the actual limiter is 5,940. The ProXS increases the RPM range to 6,000 but for some reason gears down to 2.08, which hurts the engine to me. But, if you’re industrious, you can use any other gear ratio Mercury offered with this popular gearcase, the 4.88”. The 4.88” was available in 1.75 and 1.85 over the years, so it’s a little work that goes a long way to change it.
The 4 cylinder Yamaha outboards are proven great performers, offering great power and value.
For me, if you have a light and fast enough boat, these 150 HP’s are a great option. You might not care about breaking the sound barrier anymore but you can run all day and still get great performance for a great deal. Used, these 150 HP outboards can be around $6k to $9k. Take a look at our 150 showdown article to see a side by side on performance. On a really fast boat, it’s amazing what a solid 150 HP will do and you can really see why gearing is so important. The taller gears (lower numerically) pose an advantage by being able to run lower pitch props and spinning the prop shaft faster. Depending on the boat, this can make a huge difference.
115 Horsepower
Although not many boats running 115 HP wouldn’t be considered high performance, there are some great old boas that were really small that just can’t handle the weight of the 150+ engines. Again, Yamaha and Mercury are leading in this range too, the 115 SHO and ProXS are super competitive little engines.
Light, compact and affordable. Perfect for a classic sport boat under 17’.
The Yamaha is a 1.8L 4 cylinder weighing 377 Lbs, whereas the Mercury is a 2.1L 360 Lbs engine. Both rev to 6,300 RPM. On a light little 17’ and under hull, they would be amazing. For the Merc and you can get a larger command thrust gearcase that could hold the 1.92 gears from the 150, or you could swap that gearcase all together. The Yamaha might be able to run the 2.8L case, but I don’t know for sure. Both are great little engines at a great value. I can think of some great old Hydrostreams, Checkmates, Glastrons and Bajas that would be perfect for one of these.
Extremely popular on small flats boats and bass boats. What a great little package this Hell’s Bay is with the Yamaha 115 SHO.
With the right setup, the newer four strokes often outperform older two strokes. Some newer engines are very underrated with HP slightly above what is on the decal. With many newer engines hitting the used market there should be some really good deals as time goes on. And you won’t miss burning oil, I promise.
