My dad is debating between a Mercury 4-stroke 125 and a 2-stroke. He understands the 4-stroke is heavier and not as good of hole shot as the 2-stroke. He plans on using the motor the majority of the time for fishing and maybe a little tubing. Any pros and cons on the reliability between the 2 or personal experiences?
Some of the new 4 strokes have really improved their holeshot… I know Yamaha did. I’m sure a merc guy will help us out soon…
I run a 115 Yammy 4 stroke on a Crestliner 1750…by running a 19 pitch prop I get out of the hole much better than the factory 21 pitch and only lose about 2 mph top end.
Mercury does not currently produce a 125 4 stroke, the only 125 they make is the Optimax. No doubt the 125 Opti will have a much better hole shot than the 115 4 stroke, not much to choose from as far as reliability, they both are pretty reliable.
If money allows and the boat has the capacity rating, I would be looking at 150’s. Much more choices in various models. That being said, while I run a 250 2 stoke I would go 4 stroke all day. Less noise no extra oil (at $30+/gallon) and in my opinion, better resale. You may lose a little on the hole shot but who cares its fishing not water skiing. 
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
