Opinions? – 2007 Mercury 115hp Optimax

I’m in the final stages of purchasing a boat with the 2007 115hp Optimax. Are there any major concerns I should be looking towards before pulling the trigger with this particular model or year? Is the oil super expensive? Is pulling cranks with this motor on a 17′ hull for walleyes going to be an issue (seller claims not)? Is maintenance any different than other comparable brands/models?

This will only be the second boat I’ve owned personally, but spend 3-4 days a week in friends’ boats all spring-fall (and in my own old one). My old one was a 1999 Mercury – 2 stroke tiller. My fishing partners have claimed that an Optimax is completely different from older carbureted models with regard to emissions, reliability, performance, etc.

Thanks for your help!

No they are good motors. The big v6 opti motors had some issues when they first came out, but by 2007 they had the issues taken care of on all of them as far as I know.

I wouldnt troll with it. Not a good idea to put a bunch hours running it just above idle speed.

I had a 2005 115 opti and it would load up and foul plugs when I trolled. Other than that it was a snappy motor.

When you guys say “a bunch of hours trolling” are you talking just a day’s worth of hours consecutively at idle?

I generally troll for 30-40 minutes or so until I run into fish, and then try to work the active areas with a bowmount and other tactics. I would also often run the big motor up on plane to move locations down or up river from wing dam to wing dam fairly often.

I don’t want to be fighting fouled plugs or other issues, but would really like to pull lead core on occasion with the big motor. Dang!

I have a 2008 115 Optimax and it’s awesome. However there was an issue with a bad batch of coils. There was a period of time Mercury would replace all 3 at no cost but I’m sure that’s expired. Maybe a dealer can look at your parts and tell you if they are from the potential bad batch.
Some people complain about the cost of oil, but I only use a gallon a year and I’m running mine a lot. I pick up my oil in November and the dealer gives me a discount.