Do you guys have any advice on the best 9.9 hp mercury (which model) to buy? Can you use a bigger fuel tank for it than the one that comes with it? What would be a good bank charger to get to go with it to power fish finder battery or trolling motor battery upfront or a cranking battery? Can I use my trolling motor battery as a cranking battery too?? Any advice and suggestions will be helpful. Thanks guys.
I’m assuming you’re looking for used?
IMO the best affordable small used 2 stroke outboards were the last generation of 2 strokes made by OMC (Johnson/Evinrude) or the last 2 stroke Mercs with the shift selector on the twist grip. Both were made from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. Both have all solid state ignition so no points.
In a 9.9 (OMC) or 9.8 (Merc), both of these outboards were very, very good. Parts are easy to find and will be for decades. If you run good fuel and good oil, these machines will easily outlive you and will still be running after you’re gone. I had a 25 OMC from 1984 that had thousands of hours on it and my current 25 Merc from 1997 has untold hours on it and runs perfectly.
A 10 HP of either make will be difficult to find with electric start. They are out there, but you will have to search long and hard and then pay the price. I sold a 15 HP Johnson with electric start last year, my phone was on fire for days, demand is huge for these.
Personally, I love the ease of use with the Merc shifting on the grip, but they are more complex engines and harder to work on. The OMCs are stone simple and because of that they are very very reliable and easy to work on if needed.
Yes, you can run with 1 battery. These engines take almost no power to start.
Yes, you can run any size fuel tank you want, but man you’d have to be running a long, long way to use 6 gallons in a 10 HP. On long runs I just carried an extra tank and switch over the hose.
Grouse
