keen1 wrote on Feb 24^th, 2017 at 10:09pm:



Hey Keen1, I am no expert but we have been doing a bit of research on 2 strokes vs 4 strokes, I decided that at the end of the day the modern 2 smokers work out a bit more cost efficient if you do a lot of boating, especially over a few years.

Personally if you want to do a lot of slow trolling/harling etc I would look at a small auxiliary motor  to attach, just for that purpose.

buy a Honda mate even a good second hand one they are the bench mark of reliability cheap to run and just keep going

there is trolling and there is trolling

game fishing lure trolling no worries, slow trolling and they, 2 strokes, will still oil.

modern high pressure 2 stroke technology whilst a vast improvement over the 'old tech' motors has to a degree stalled somewhat due to the worlds slant to an emmission free world and hence 4 strokes are where advancements and tech are mainly focussed these days. The majority of outboard maunfacturers react primarily to the Americas market. There are waterways, both salt and fresh in the US where you arent even allowed to use a 2s.

That said, high pressure and old tech 2strokes still feature on thousands of boats around NZ and will do for a long long time. They are of course still made new and are still advancing and when weight and price amongst other things are important they are a prime consideration. Nothing better than a 2 strokes performance as well........

personally, 4s all the way now if you can though for general recreational boating

had both would never go back to 2 stroke 4 all the way

Speaking of 2 strokes, I have a mercury 60Hp on my boat and it has just started using quite a bit less petrol. The motor would have maybe 50hrs on it so would you expect it to start using less gas once it is run in ?. My last 2 trips it would have used almost 1/3 less gas in similar conditions to before. I was very surprised at how much petrol was left in the tanks compared to "normal"

also search at thehulltruth.com - completely unbiased real world user feedback without manufacturers spin. Theres also a few shoot outs/comparisons.

Compare your warrantys, local brands service centre reputations, and the fine print too....please

If you're doing the hours I think 4 stroke wins hands down. If you're just doing 50-75 hrs a year, as many are, consider the difference in price and servicing. it might be that the $k price difference is all the fuel and servicing for a few years.