my buddy has a 19’ sea pro and needs to repower, currently has a yammy '01 115 4 strk that has a laundry list of problems!!
that said he wants to repower with a used 2 stroke bc they are cheaper
please help me talk him out of that decision with your thoughts and ideas
19’ Key West CC 140 Johnson
16’ War Eagle 40 Yami
12’ Alumacraft 1954 Johnson 5.5
can you swim 5 miles? “NO” then what is the difference in 5 miles and 50 miles!!! Go for it!
i would think that it would depend on what type of problems and why are they there. is it because of poor maintenance or just maybe a bad motor. i have a 2001on a 19’ cc seapro bay and really have not put the care into it that i should but do change oil and foot grease. keep staybil and startron in the fuel. there are so many good reasons for a four stroke as far a fuel mileage, quietness, cleanliness and less expense on oil. i am probably not the best source but just my opinion and i have owned boats for 40 years. this is my first four stroke. it is in it’s 13th year with me and i would do it over again.
whats wrong with a 2 stoke? I run a 150 vmax and love it. Sure I get less mpg and have the added cost of oil but what the heck. Twice a year I run some green through it, change the plugs, water seperater, foot oil, drink 3 beers and she is back on the water. If your not running offshore or on the water every day how much money are you going to save with a 4 stroke? If the price difference for a motor is 4 grand thats a hell of alot of fuel.
With that said I saw a couple of deals on boattrader some 140 suzuki’s down in Florida - new in box they were 2012/3 for 8 grand and a used o6 with under 300 hours for 5k something- more hp than the 115 and I belive less weight.
Key West Stealth
150 V-max
heres my thing with two strokes, the oil is outrageous $25 a gallon and its only gonna go up! he shear life of the motor, how long before it blows up! ive got a 2 stroke 40hp yamaha on my duck boat which basically sits all summer and a 140hp 4 stroke on my cc key west which sits all winter, nearly every year i have to rebuild the carbs bc they are so gunked up, while the 4 stroke johnson fires up first turn of the key in march even with 30 gallons in the tank all winter long and runs like i just hung it up in october/november…that what i feel is wrong with two strokes
19’ Key West CC 140 Johnson
16’ War Eagle 40 Yami
12’ Alumacraft 1954 Johnson 5.5
can you swim 5 miles? “NO” then what is the difference in 5 miles and 50 miles!!! Go for it!
I had a 1900cc sea pro with a 115 2 stroke. That thing ate me out of house and home. Now I have a 20 ft cc with 150 4 stroke. Run 40 miles one way from the jetties and back for under $100.00. Would hate to see what my old boat would cost me. Go 4 stroke!!! Not to mention the noise difference.
A wise man once said “Do as I say not as I do” Good advice when I tell you that.
you can’t compare a fuel injected 4 stroke to a carb’d 2 stroke.
You still have to change the oil in a 4 stroke. Plus you have the filter.
Some of the newer 2 strokes don’t burn as much oil as the premix carb’d outboards.
I’m still a fan of 4 stroke motors. But 2 strokes still have a place on the water. For a 19ft boat, I personally wouldn’t want an older 2 stroke. But I’m on the water quite a bit. But my 4 stroke doesn’t save much, if any, over my dad’s 2 stoke optimax on a similar hull.
Mako 1901 Inshore-Honda 130
10% of the people catch 90% of the fish.
2 stroke E-tec. No carbs, uses VERY little oil. Check them out.
New ETEC’s and Opti’s are oil sippers and start up regardless of weather or sitting.
My old Johnson 2 stroke burns less oil in 100 hours than it would cost to do the 100 hour service on a 4 stroke. And that is with Evinrude premium oil. Also I keep mine in the garage and use non-ethanol fuel. I decarb the engine yearly, and I have never had to rebuild carbs. Carb issues are user error/neglect, not mechanical error.
“Banana Pants”
Indigo Bay 170
90 Johnson
Wilderness Ride 115
Just had my 250 E tec 300/hr/3 yr service! I have run the “H” out of this thing and this is the first time it has had the cover off. It has cranked every time I hit the switch and use mimimal oil and runs great on the lowest price gas. I fish at least 1 day a week except the months I had a valve job on my bad heart twice in a year! Thank God for Evenrude and pacemakers they keep me fishing! I also have and use a 200 merc a 25 merc a 10 hp merc. a 115 yam. a 9.8 yam, (2) 5.7 marine powers but the E tec gets the most use. Thaught I wanted 250 4 stroke yam, but the price ran me to the E tec!
Oil doesn’t cost me $25.00 a gallon and my 200 yammy has run like a champ since 1992.
nearly every year i have to rebuild the carbs bc they are so gunked up,
I suspect you don’t treat your fuel before layup, or drain your carbs. Made all the difference in the carbed DT 140, below. No gas to evaporate, no gunk …
In 2003, I replaced a Suzi DT 140 with a DF 140 on a DC 190, fuel mileage went from 2.5 to an honest 5+ miles per gallon, speed went from 42 to 47 mph. Shoulda never sold that boat … 
There really isn’t a comparison between a 4 stroke and 2 stroke unless you are wanting a light motor to run skinny. I have a 2 stroke Yammy for the above mentioned reasons, but 4 strokes are superior in every capacity except for weight.
I think he is crazy to replace a 4 stroke yammy unless he has a lemon. If so, he probably doesn’t want to spend much money and I can see why a 2 stroke would make sense. As many mentioned, newer 2 stroke engines like the Optimax are nothing like your basic carbed 2 strokes; they are much much better.