I have a 175 Verado Big Tiller. Over 1200 hours. Granted I have had a Couple of Issues ie: Fuel float (Ethanol issue) and wiring harness (Hundreds of hours of back trolling). Overall No oil issues, No lower unit issues, No blown power heads, Great performance and Great trolling. I do all the maitenance myself; oil, fuel, lower unit done on suggested time frames. Can’t say enough about the big tiller I only use regular Starting/deep cycle batteries never any problems. For me Four Stroke all the way.

You may want to look into the new 150 Four Stroke. Looks like a pretty awesome motor. Sounds like they built it like a tank and not much heavier than an Opti.

I have a 2008 and Merc has always covered repairs under warranty and Lybacks Marine has done those repairs. They have been great at getting me back on the water quick.

JT

I’m glad I saw your post today. For beads Thorne bros has largest selection,Safe Bait in becker, Prince bait, go to my web for more. On blades what size are you looking for?Most of my blades sell out of state. Safe bait has a really nice selection of our carry over blades from Fishlander. Shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] I leave for the AIM Green Bay tourney Tues so get back to me as soon as possible. Thanks Jon Tennessen

Dave
I’m glad things worked out for you. When it comes to spinners I’m like a kid in a candy store. I get really excited when I come up with a combo I know will catch fish or maybe it caught me.
Jon

Dave,
The harnesses look Great !!! I forgot I had sent you out all the samples so you had more colors to use. I think those should do well for you on your trip to Green Bay. Let me know if I can be of more assistance in the future.
On a side note Dean at Everts is going to start to carry some of our beads for all the live bait riggers down on the river. They will be in stock soon.
Jon JT Custom Tackle

I wanted to chime in here. I run a 175 Verado Big Tiller on 2010 Pro Guide. I will tell you that this motor is a top shelf choice. I love Yamaha also and have owned them in the past. So i do have experience with both brands but not a 150 Yammie 4 stroke in particular.

I want to start with fuel efficiency. I have Merc Smartcraft guages and as far I can see from fuel burn #s and refilling at the pump they are pretty close.

Backtrolling dialed down 550 rpm .3 gal per hour
40 mph full tournament load 10-10.5 gal per hour
WOT 48-49 mph 6400 rpm tourney load 17-17.5 gal per hour

In my personal opinion I’d have to say those are good fuel burn #’s for the hull it’s pushing. Back off the throttle 400-500 rpm’s and you’re down to 13-14 gal per hour.

Reliability is real good too. I have had one problem with the harness but we pretty much determined it was a rigging issue and was zip tied too tight to the hydraulic steering mech and that part of the harness acted as a hinge.After 370 hrs a wire broke.

Power and speed- I’d put it up against any other 175 4-stroke. I’d have too say it will most likely rival most 2-strokes also. The best part is no smoke and alot less noise.

Gearcase and Prop selection – Merc is #1 As a matter of fact I always ran Merc props on my Yammies.

I know it sounds like I get my Equipment for Free. I don’t. But when I believe in a product I’m going to tell you about it. Just like my Marcum Flashers

Jon Tennessen

What year is the hull ? The reason I ask is the newer hulls have IPS in turn they run drier and have a higher hp rating. I have owned two 18ft Alaskan tillers. These boats are awesome if you don’t need a ton of storage. I really miss having one when it comes to shore lunch etc… You can pull it up any where and you won’t hurt a thing. The bottom line is you can’t go wrong with this boat and resale on these hulls are extremly good.
Good Luck !!! Jon