" Pete,
Keep in mind
" Pete,
Keep in mind those whaler's are the about the heaviest (and no doubt safest) 13 footers money can buy.. if it was my boat I'd stay away from the four strokes, they weigh a ton and that's really the biggest problem with over-powering a small heavy boat... not to mention the cost. I couldn't tell you much about other makes, but recently I was shopping for a new outboard in the 25 HP range and was told at two different shops (Mercury dealers) that they spend more time working on the 4 strokes.. one guy actually went as far as to say the small two strokes "really just don't break".
As for the make, I don't think it matters with the 2-stroke engines in this range, they all are similar and are tried and true designs. Look at the warranty and keep in mind the cost of parts and labor.. a North American make will be cheaper, a four stroke will sometimes be a more complicated repair. Some extended warranties (Mercury for one) are about half the price of others. Pick a shop that you trust and is close to home. Look at what options (ie power tilt, oil injection, controls) come and at what cost.
So my two cents is to find the HP capacity on that boat, and then pick the engine that matches it (or a litte over
) minimizing weight and cost, being sure it will be practical to bring it into the dealer when neccesary.
One thing to add, I tend to knock the 4-strokes, but I don't live in CA and I spend all of my time in salt water (where the fish and enviorment don't care much about the noise/pollution). Also, when under power, I'm usually headed somewhere only to kill the engine and drop a line. Those 4-strokes are very quiet at idle and may be much nicer for a pond or lake somewhere or for someone who prefers to leave the engine running all the time.
Jon "
