How to Find the Best Outboard Motor for You
No matter your age or income level, more and more people are getting into boating.
Whether you love to go fishing, are into waterskiing, or even going for a quick ride as a stress reliever, boating is a great activity both solo or with friends. With numerous boat shows and events taking place all across Canada, it’s easy to feel like you’re a part of the community in no time flat.
Whether you’re ready to buy your first boat, or if you just want to upgrade your current one, getting the right outboard motor is crucial.
However, it can be difficult to know where to start – and it’s even harder to get unbiased advice.
In this article, we’re telling you everything you need to know about how to find the best outboard for your boat.
We’ll discuss the basics of what you need to know when shopping for your new outboard engine, and then move on to a quick overview of some of the most popular brands on the market today.
By the end of this post, you’ll be ready to hit the high seas with the outboard motor of your dreams!
What Should You Look for?
When you’re choosing the best outboard for your boat, you’ll need to look at a variety of factors. Let’s take a look at a few of the most common ones now.
What Is the Engine’s Horsepower?
Do you feel the need for speed? If so, the amount of horsepower your engine offers is going to have a huge influence on your final decision.
While it’s true that how fast you personally like to go on the water is somewhat important, you also need to look at the size of the boat you’re trying to power.
The horsepower will also influence things like the cost of fuel, the average number of passengers you’re likely to have, and more.
It’s always best to look for an engine that has a little bit more horsepower than you think you’ll need – better too much than too little!
While 10 horsepower Tohatsu is a good amount of speed for an inflatable boat, a dinghy, or any other smaller boat, the bigger the boat, the more you’ll need.
If your boat is anywhere from 10-15 feet long, you’re probably better off looking for an engine option with at least a 25 hp outboard.
If your boat is even longer, in the 15-25 feet range, then you could look for something between 80-115 horsepower – for minimum speeds. You can even go up to 300 horsepower!
Do I Need a Two or Four-Stroke Engine?
There are two basic types of outboard engines: two-stroke outboards engines and four-stroke outboard engines. Two-stroke and four-stroke tell you how many revolutions your engine will need to complete to finish an individual cycle of power.
Which one is right for you?
Two-stroke engines are almost always more powerful than four-stroke engines, despite what the name implies! This is because your engine only makes two revolutions per individual power cycle.
So, while you may go faster, but some engines will burn more fuel and have worse fuel efficiency.
Four-stroke engines, on the other hand, need to make four revolutions to complete an individual power cycle.
However, they are usually much better for the environment. More good news about four-stroke engines?
Recent technological advances have helped them to complete revolutions faster, so now it’s easier to find more powerful four-stroke engines.
Companies like Mercury Marine have been adding super-chargers to their Verado series outboard engines to increase their low and mid-range power and throttle response.
Adding a supercharger also helps get better fuel economy as the motor isn’t working as hard at average speeds. Think of it like the engine has to work and rev less to move the new boat.
The Weight of the Engine
Often, so many buyers are so focused on the speed and the stroke of the engines, that they forget about one of the most important aspects of engine buying: the weight of the engine itself!
While yes, outboard engines are generally small in size, they can get heavy! Of course, the higher the horsepower, the heavier your engine will be. Some of the larger Suzuki four-strokes can even get up to 600 plus pounds!
When deciding on the best option for you, you’ll need to consider the weight restrictions and limits of your boat. Don’t also forget to consider your usual number of passengers!
How Does Your Engine Generate Power?
These days, there are lots of ways to power your outboard engine. Though usually, gasoline does the trick nicely, electrical and even hybrid engines are becoming more and more popular in today’s market.
It’s all about your personal preference, but keep in mind that a more fuel-efficient system can also help you to prevent having to interrupt an awesome trip to refuel your boat.
How Secure Is Your Engine?
It’s not exactly a pleasant topic, but you do need to take into consideration how secure your new onboard engine will be – especially if you’re in a smaller, more exposed boat.
If you’ve made such an investment in your new engine, you want to make sure you’ve done all you can to protect. Lots of boat owners choose to install GPS devices in your motor. That way, if someone does steal it, you’ll be able to track them down.
You could also consider adding locks to your engine or even getting lights that are motion-sensitive in your yard.
What Are Some of the Best Outboard Brands?
When you’re ready to request a part, you need to be sure that you’ve chosen the best outboard. Now that you know the basics of how to make that decision let’s take a look at some of the most popular brands that you can choose from.
Evinrude Outboards
With over 100 years to perfect their engine design, you can be sure you’re getting decades’ worth of design and innovation.
The Evinrude E-Tec motors have performance, weight, and design in mind with the second generation Evinrude G2 outboards. Both the first generation “G1” and second gen “G2” is the quietest, lightest, and cleanest engines made by any outboard engine manufacturer.
People give Evinrude a bad wrap because the majority of their motors are direct injection two-stroke. People still think of the old 80s two-strokes gushing oil and gas into the water and enormous smoke clouds behind the boat as you take off.
This is not the case but in fact and thanks to new technologies Evinrude can claim they have the cleanest running engines both two-stroke and four-stroke available today making them one of the best outboard motor companies.
The goal of this brand is to give you a maximum amount of torque while using a minimal amount of fuel. It also can be equipped with automatic engine trimming, as well as other globally compliant technology.
For eco-friendly boaters, this is a great option.
Suzuki Marine Outboards
These award-winning outboards are especially great options for those that plan on travelling for longer distances with their boats. With over 20 different outboard models to choose from, there is indeed something for everyone.
These are also among the more affordable options! Due to the cheaper price point, they are becoming more popular on the market today.
One of the main drawbacks to this Suzuki Marine has an extremely limited dealer network. When it becomes time for service and warranty work you can expect to travel to get to a Suzuki approved dealership.
Honda Outboards
If experience is the best teacher, then Honda has had lots of time to become one of the best outboard brands out there – they’ve been in the marine business for 45 years!
What makes Honda Marine one of the best outboard options?
First of all, they’re made with their exclusive Intelligent Shift and Throttle System (iST.) This remarkable and powerful system can work with as many as 4 engines and 2 different control stations.
It’s especially helpful if you need better docking features and abilities. Also, these outboards even offer system defaults that you can control. Who doesn’t love being able to get in their boat and go, instead of losing time messing around and re-programming controls?
It’s also made with their patented “Boosted Low-Speed Torque” (BLAST) feature. BLAST helps you to get smoother acceleration, gives you better torque, and helps to cut down on knocking.
This means that your boat will accelerate faster, which can help you if you’re in a bind!
Honda Outboards are similar to Suzuki, and the dealer network isn’t well developed so if you need any service or warranty, you can expect to look far and wide to find someone that is certified to repair it.
Yamaha Outboards
If anyone can claim the title of engine reliability and longevity, it is Yamaha Marine. Yamaha Outboards have been on the front lines of the marine industry since 1958 when they made the first Yamaha Marine Engine.
Since 1958 they honed their skills and created some of the best most reliable engines to mount on small fishing boats to a 35-inch transom shaft height to fit large yachts.
Yamaha Marine company sells exclusively four-stroke outboards all the way from 2 horsepower to 425 horsepower. Everything from throttle response, performance, reliability, to high output engines Yamaha has an outboard motor that will work for your boat.
Mercury Outboards
This company makes some of the best outboard options on the market today. First of all, Mercury Marine is committed to delivering you powerful performance – without excessive noise.
They’re also specially designed to keep vibration levels down so that you can relax when you’re on the water whether you’re on a pontoon boat or small fishing boat!
Even better?
Because they’re designed to keep their fuel economy and consumption low, you’ll get more bang for your buck while doing your part to keep your boat environmentally-friendly.
They also have more lightweight options, and many of their options come equipped with four-stroke power. No matter what speed you’re travelling at, you’ll certainly enjoy the ride!
Where Can You Find the Best Outboard for Your Boat?
Now that you know what you need to look for to find the best outboard for your boat, and have some information about the most popular brands out there, you’re likely ready to take the next step!
That’s where we come in.
When you’re investing in your fishing boat, you want to be sure that you’re getting the best quality of products. You also want to be sure that your vendor can provide installation, repair, and even customization services.
With over 85 years of experience as a family business, we offer some of the largest boating (and even ATV and snowmobile) selections around.
We can also help to repair and upgrade your boat by providing our certified services!
If you still need a little help deciding on the best outboard, or any other boat part, for you, feel free to check out our blog! We offer advice on financing your boat, talk to you about different kinds of boating options, and more.
With the beautiful Canadian summer around the corner, the right outboard can make this your best year ever. You’ll also feel more secure knowing that you’ve chosen an engine that will keep everyone on board safe.
What are you waiting for?
Get in touch with us, and let’s find the perfect outboard for you, your family, and friends!