ETEC engines

[times two]

Looking for any pros or cons on the bigger (225)

etec's.....

John

[borderline 350]

Dear FT,

The big E-TEC OB's are the first real competition for the Yamaha's. Very popular in the Florida fishing boats. Lighter, less parts, better fuel economy and a big difference in "Required maint. costs". Very quiet running also. Just hold your breath when pricing these critters!.........Jet Boat Bill

[times two]

Got a deal going on a boat with a 225 ETEC. Everything I've seen has

been good, but had a guy tell me today that they will not take the extended

trolling hours well, much like the old 2 strokes.

[borderline 350]

Dear Capt. JF,

The trolling speed.....Florida.... 5 MPH is slow!! Great Lakes Salmon Fishery 1.7 to 2.5 ....equals trouble with any big OB motor due to the long hours spent on fishing here in the Great Lakes. you will have to use trolling bags to get it slow enough! The cost of fuel will force you to buy a 9.9 trolling motor. The musky guides have even switched to trolling motors because of the fuel costs. And they are going 3 to 5 mph, (trolling). I would even venture that trolling is about to undergo a revolution and drifting may be in the future. $4.00/gallon gasoline may be the trigger point. ....... Jet Boat Bill

[jimski2]

The big question on the 2 strokes is " Where does the oil go?"

On a 4 stroke you drain and change it, on a 2 stroke where does it go????

Eventually you may not be able to sell your 2 stroker.

[times two]

Borderline:

I here what you're saying about the trolling speed. But even with the

i/o I have now, I actually will run a bag, and then bump up the rpms

a touch. Uses more gas, but I was told once that its better for making

sure everything is circulating as intended. Figure to do the same on this boat.

Knock on wood, no problems as a result.....

[UpGrady]

My brother ran a 20' Key West with a 150 Evinrude ETEC for a a few years, granted it was a 2003 Model year, but he was never able to get the engine dialed in to idle down very well, it did not like anything less than 1200 rpm... docking was interesting at times for him... they might have solved this problem by now, but if it's an older ETEC then be wary...

On a side note, he was running side by side his buddy with a 20' Sea Fox Center Console with a 150 Yamaha 4 Stroke fishing 40 miles offshore from Charleston, trolling for 6 hours then running back in and they each burned right around 35 gallons of fuel if my memory serves me right.. regardless of the total number, the consumption was virtually identical.