What type of motor do I need for a ProGuide V17

"Hello everyone. I am going t

"Hello everyone. I am going to buy a Bass Tracker Pro-Guide V17 SC. Now I have to decide on what type of motor to put on it.

A Mercury 90 ELPTO comes w/ the package deal.

I can pay 2K more for a 90 Optimax, or I can pay 3K more for a 115 Optimax.

I need help! Is the Mercury 90 ELPTO VERY noisy to opperate? Is it easy to use? How much gas does it eat up?

What about the Optimax? Is this a good engine? Is it quiet?

What about the 90 4-Stroke? This is about 4K more.

Will a 90hp be enough power?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you. Sue"

Hi there!

Congrats on the n

Hi there!

Congrats on the new toy!

I'd suggest that you ask the dealer for other clients that has bought a similar outfit. Or let the dealer ask those buyers to call you. Most likely the other clients has also played with various motor options and that you'd have a good starting point from there.

The web is also a good source of info.


Best of luck and great boating!


Benjamin.

"Sue, the 90 horse two stroke

"Sue, the 90 horse two stroke is one of Merc's most prolific mid-sized motors. They have been around for over 30 years with little modification, there is thousands out there and they are one of the couple of 2 strokes still in production in North America.

But as you elude to, they are a two stroke. They produce more noise and burn more gas than a comparable Direct Injected 2 stroke (like the Opti's) or 4 stroke motors.

On the plus side, they are conventionally built and can still be serviced in your own garage without the aid of high tech test equipment, and weigh in at about 300 pounds.

The 90 and 115 Opti's are very nice engines - leading edge technology in the direct injected market. They are quiet, burn less gas than even the 4 stroke models and do not require the maintenance that the 4 strokes do. They will also kick the snot out of any 4 stroke engine in terms of hole shot (if you ski/tube) and in top end speed.

On the down side either of these weigh over 400 pounds, burn DFI oil which in some places is double the cost of normal 2 stroke oil (so you save gas but pay upwards of 35 bucks a gallon for oil - you have to do your own math on that one)

Personally, I would stay away from the 4 strokes. They cost more to service and need service more often - you can't neglect them the way you do a 2 stroke - if you do they are fit for the junk yard in short order - and given the cost, there is no advantage (my opinion).

Personally on that rig I would either go with the conventional 90 (just for cost, ease of maintenance) or the 115 Opti, if you are looking for the environmentally freindly, quiet motor, plus the bit of added power (about 3 mph at top end).

Either the 90 or the 115 will push this rig along quite nicely whether used as a fishing rig or towing a flock of kids around on a tube.

There's my 2 cents "

"Hello Graham and Benjamin,

"Hello Graham and Benjamin,

Thank you for the advice. I love fishing, but this will be my first boat purchase, so I am nervous.

Gramham- How loud would a 90 Classic 2-Stroke Outboard be? Will it be ear peircing. Has the noise quality improved from the previous years?

Thanks,

Sue"

"How to answer - noise is a re

"How to answer - noise is a relative term. A two stroke isn't going to make your ears bleed

There is no doubt they are louder than a 4 stroke or DFI, but at the helm you can still hold a conversation without shouting.

I did some digging around and looked at a couple of "on boat" tests.

At the helm the sound from a 115 opti measured at 59db/idle 79db/cruise 84db/wide open and a 90 horse 2 stroke was 67db/idle 86db/cruise and 95db/wide open.

So at cruise the 90 makes about as much noise as the opti does at wide open...."

"Hi Graham,

Thank you very

"Hi Graham,

Thank you very much for the info. Where did you find this info? I have looked all over, and even checked Mercury Marine's website, and they don't even advertise the Mercury ElPTO 90 Two Stroke motor.

Because of your info, I am leaning towards the Classic ELPTO 90 Two Stroke. This will save me 2K.

About the noise level.... Is the 2008 ELPTO 90hp quieter than previous models?

Do you know how the ELPTO 90 Two Stroke scored on the EPA regulations?

Do you think 90hp will be enough for a Deep V 17 1/5 foot boat? Or, should I look for more hp?

Thank you again for all of your help. Have a good day.

Sue"

"Sue, the noise data came from

"Sue, the noise data came from tests archieved at boattest.com

I don't know that the new 90's are any quieter than their predecessors. But I kinda like the sound of a two stroke - sounds like a boat...

The 90's do not score well at all with the EPA (neither do the classic 50's that Merc still produces). They do not advertise them in the US (can still see the specs at Merc Canada) and the 50 and 90 horse models are now pretty much sold exclusively to the boat builders (like Tracker) for inclusion in package deals.

Merc has saved up enough EPA points with their other motors to allow them to still produce a couple of "pollution spewings" models for the time being. All other conventional 2 strokes were discontinued in 2005.

So that is something to consider. Depending on your location some lakes are going green and banning non-direct-injected 2 strokes (particularly lakes in California and other parts of the west). So depending where you are, you may save 2K only to find your boating opportunities are restricted.

However, if you are in unrestricted areas, the 90 is a fine motor which has an outstanding history of reliability and solid performance...

Your last question "is it enough" - this is strictly my opinion, but this is probably the "minimum" horsepower you want to put on that boat. Regardless of what is promised, I would expect it to push that rig along, with a light load in the mid 30 mph range (34/35 mph).

Simply moving up to a 115 doesn't improve a whole lot for you. Normally it will give you another 3 or 4 mph at the top, but the 115 Opti (or even 4 stroke) weighs another 100 pounds compared to the 90. So it changes the characteristics of how the boat handles and uses some of that extra horsepower just to get that extra 100 pounds hangin' off the stern up out of the water.

On the particular rig you are looking at my personal pick would be either take the 90 2 stroke if you are going to use this rig primarily for fishing/general boating, or

If you plan to use this as a cottage boat, towing kids around on a tube, zipping up and down the lake or beating the next door neighbour over to the best fishing spot, hang the 135 Opti off the back (and remove an extra 8K from your wallet)....."

"Thanks for your advice Graham

"Thanks for your advice Graham. I have a lot of decisions to make. I will try to get as much hp as I can afford. Thank you for the information that you gave me. It was very helpful. Where do you like to fish?

Sue"

"Sue, I live smack in between

"Sue, I live smack in between Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario (less than an hour to any of the 3 lakes) in a piece of SouthWestern Ontario - so I have ample access to bigger water, but still very much prefer the small lakes located east of me.

We spend our summers on the canal systems connecting small spots together, fishing bass and walleye."