Weight is not really an issue, boat handled 200 efi just fine, $$ is more of the issue, not ready to spend 15-20K or new motor on used boat. I like boat and have a lot of time invested (rebuilt transom and deck 2 yrs ago). Mercury 150 available for 12-13K, motor, controls, SS prop, gauges, tax and 5 yr warranty. Yamaha and Suzuki 2-3K more. Have been kinda hooked on 4stroke but maybe I should price the Optimax??
If you are sure 150 HP is gonna be enough that'd be a great choice I'm sure... I'd probably look at the 200 HP Opti real hard though given you do not care about the extra weight. That is the bigger displacement engine de-tuned but still with the larger lower unit, larger water pump, etc. etc..
I repowered my 26 ft. Seawolf with a pair of Opti 150's back in 2006. It worked out real nice as I've gotten many fairly trouble-free years out of them and they are still going strong. The project was about $24K including gauges/rigging/labor/props. What I've been through with them in that time and 800 hours is as follows. Keep in mind I own 2 of them.
#1 Water pump - they really need new water pump impellers every year and a full cooling system maintenance every 3 years I'd say (ie t-stats and poppet valves). Basically the cooling systems are setup such that if anything becomes neglected you will get an overheat alarm, unlike the older engines where you could go 5 years without giving it any thought, these need yearly maintenance to be trouble-free. Its not very hard or expensive but does need to be done. It took me awhile to succumb to this idea that the water pump impellers take a "set" over time and simply require yearly replacement, ie I'd get a temp alarm and it would cause stress/anxiety when all I needed to do to avoid it was replace the damn things in the spring instead of waiting until August.
#2 Plugs - they take iridium plugs, which should be replaced every few years, and are kinda a pain to replace. At an auto parts store they are about 12 bucks a piece - probably takes the average person 2 hours to replace plugs and requires the lower cowl to be removed (ie best done when you do the poppet valve).
#3 Issues I've had to date, a couple problems with kinked hoses (both fuel and cooling) that came up after moving things around for other maintenance, one air injector failure (a $400 part, was $100 on Ebay, easy to find/replace, Smartcraft told me on the screen it had an "injector fault"), 2 X TPS failures (about $150 and a quick fix, same deal Smartcraft told me what was wrong), one alternator I replaced because I thought it might be making a noise (was like $100 for a refurb one) and the most major thing now I blew a lower unit
- which sucks but is not an Optimax issue rather one common to outboards.
Opti's do use ALOT of oil. They run nice on Penzoil XLF, which is about $20/gallon (half the cost of Mercury DFI Oil), but you can plan on burning at least 50:1 all the time and I swear I see them burning 40:1 on my boat.
On the bright side they run better than my car and are great on fuel, 7 gallons an hour at 3700 RPM (per engine) is my approximate fuel burn, at idle it's like half a gallon an hour, trolling at 1000 RPM is .75/engine. Overall they have been very reliable and trouble-free for the duty and length of time I've had them. They also perform very well, are very quiet, and smoke waay less than anything non-fuel-injected. You just turn the key and they start like your car, let them warm up a minute to be nice, then go.
At the time when I bought mine I might have gone with E-Tec's, except back in 2006 there were both supply and longevity questions with Bombardier as a company - nobody knew if they would make it. If I ever re-powered again I'd probably stick with the Opti's since I know the beast but would again research the E-Tec as they get good reviews too.
Anyway, so #1 no matter what you do, be sure to call around and check online prices. You might be able to order a brand new engine in the crate and pay to have it installed for thousands less than the same dealership will charge you for the entire package. Some dealerships really do not like to do repowers or sell "loose" outboards, they will throw out quotes that are way off. Others specialize in repowers and really want your business. I got quotes for my 24K repower that were as high as 30K for the exact same thing.
Jon
