Your choice of outboard

[MtnMuley]

You won't be under powered with a 150 Yam 4 stroke on that 20' Thunderjet...unless you plan on needing to get the hole shot for a salmon derby.   Anyhow, take a look around at the other sleds and see what the popular choice is.  I seem to see many Yamahas...    

[MIKEXRAY]

I have an e-tec on my boat & love it. The no maintenance is what I like the most. My Buddy's are always tuning , winterizing & changing oil. I've only changed the gear oil. They put the e-tec in some Skidoo snowmobiles this year and are offering it in the 800 cc next year. I think I will upgrade my sled also. e-tecs are great motors, very reliable. Mike

[KimberRich]

Yamaha or Suzuki.  I ran a Suzuki on my Alumaweld and absolutely loved it!!  I don't have one bad thing to say about it.  Amazing fuel economy, super quiet and plenty of power.  I bought the boat used and didn't know much about the Suzuki's.  At that time if I were buying a new boat I would have probably bought a Yamaha but after running the Suzuki for a couple years I'm sold on it.  I know a couple guys with 20' Thunderjets and all are running Suzuki's and none have had any issues.  One of them is running a 115 and one is running a 140 I think..  Both have plenty of power.  Also, I'm not sure what all the different manufacturer's are offering for incentive's and such but Suzuki was offering like a 6 year warranty or something a couple years back and I think it was the best warranty out there at the time.  I've had bad experiences with Merc.   

[AKBowman]

I love my Mercury Optimax. I have great customer service, It has been a great engine, very reliable and only thing i have ever done to it is yearly maintenance and changed the spark plugs. 

I would also get the biggest engine your boat will allow.  Doesnt matter what engine you put on your boat, if you under power it you will hate it, and wish you got the right HP from the start.  So i would go Mercury then the yamaha 4 stroke.

Thats the biggest thing we have been worried about, we might actually end up getting a 200 hp engine so it wont be under powered.

That makes a lot of sense to me. If being underpowered is what you are worried about then absolutely you should get the E-tech. The biggest problem with being underpowered is getting on plane or being aggressive with a quick burst of power when you need it. In those two areas the e-techs absolutely beat up on the yami's and others. Otherwise they run pretty much the same and have as good of reliability. Big difference with the e-techs is 150 will outperform a 200 yami when it comes to torque and torque is everything when talking about power. 

[alanger]

Yamaha or Suzuki.  I ran a Suzuki on my Alumaweld and absolutely loved it!!  I don't have one bad thing to say about it.  Amazing fuel economy, super quiet and plenty of power.  I bought the boat used and didn't know much about the Suzuki's.  At that time if I were buying a new boat I would have probably bought a Yamaha but after running the Suzuki for a couple years I'm sold on it.  I know a couple guys with 20' Thunderjets and all are running Suzuki's and none have had any issues.  One of them is running a 115 and one is running a 140 I think..  Both have plenty of power.  Also, I'm not sure what all the different manufacturer's are offering for incentive's and such but Suzuki was offering like a 6 year warranty or something a couple years back and I think it was the best warranty out there at the time.  I've had bad experiences with Merc.   

THey just had that 6 year waranty going on like last month too, that was one thing we liked. Just dont know too much about them suzuki's but like you said you didnt either, people are starting to convince me on them.

I love my Mercury Optimax. I have great customer service, It has been a great engine, very reliable and only thing i have ever done to it is yearly maintenance and changed the spark plugs. 

I would also get the biggest engine your boat will allow.  Doesnt matter what engine you put on your boat, if you under power it you will hate it, and wish you got the right HP from the start.  So i would go Mercury then the yamaha 4 stroke.

Thats the biggest thing we have been worried about, we might actually end up getting a 200 hp engine so it wont be under powered.

That makes a lot of sense to me. If being underpowered is what you are worried about then absolutely you should get the E-tech. The biggest problem with being underpowered is getting on plane or being aggressive with a quick burst of power when you need it. In those two areas the e-techs absolutely beat up on the yami's and others.

and the fast reaction engine of the verado, so they advertise it as that, is origionally what caught our eye.

should probably go test drive some engines???

Thanks for all the responses cause its best to hear from experience

[C-Money]

 I would look at Honda or Mariner.

[MtnMuley]

I would look at Honda or Mariner.

Has Mariner even built a motor in the last 10 years??



and the fast reaction engine of the verado, so they advertise it as that, is origionally what caught our eye.

should probably go test drive some engines???

Curious as to what you'll be needing a "fast reaction" motor for on a Thunder Jet??  And, where can you test drive an engine??  Not poking fun, just curious.

[alanger]

I would look at Honda or Mariner.

Has Mariner even built a motor in the last 10 years??



and the fast reaction engine of the verado, so they advertise it as that, is origionally what caught our eye.

should probably go test drive some engines???

Curious as to what you'll be needing a "fast reaction" motor for on a Thunder Jet??  And, where can you test drive an engine??  Not poking fun, just curious.

why not have a hot engine on your boat???

haha

well you can test drive one like a car cant ya?

i havent heard anything about a mariner engine in a long time.

[bowtech721]

Ya im pretty sure that mariner isnt around any more and if they were they were just mercs with a different paint job if i remember right

[MtnMuley]

Yes, I remember Mariner and Merc having a lot, if not all, of the same components.  

....langer, if you want a hot motor, just get it over and get a 300 Verado or 300 Yami HPDI........

[C-Money]

Wow, I learned something today! Thanks guys! I have a 1982 Mariner on my boat and it has always ran well for me. I had no idea they were a thing of the past. I do think you are right, Mercury and Mariner were very similar, if not the same.

[bowtech721]

Yes, I remember Mariner and Merc having a lot, if not all, of the same components.  

....langer, if you want a hot motor, just get it over and get a 300 Verado or 300 Yami HPDI........

forget those tiny things get the the yamaha v-8 350 hp... 

[alanger]

Yes, I remember Mariner and Merc having a lot, if not all, of the same components.  

....langer, if you want a hot motor, just get it over and get a 300 Verado or 300 Yami HPDI........

300 is just a little over kill man .

[lokidog]

I've got a 90hp 4str Honda 2005 and hate it.  Cold starting thing.  I also have a 150 hp 2str Yamaha, 1999 Saltwater Series, and absolutely love it, trolls for salmon, starts instantly after not being used for months at a time.  It sucks on fuel economy though.

I talked to a guy with a new Honda 90 and he said his starts like a car engine and runs great.  When replacing mine, someday, I will look for the lightest engine that has good reviews.  Hopefully, that will be a long time away with the prices of new outboards being insane. 

[ironbuck]

Stay away from verado.  Etech or a yamaha only way to go