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I went through this dilemma a couple years back. Personally I thought that the F90 was too heavy. If I recall, that was the consensus I got from fellow members here at the time, and it was consistent with what the Yamaha sales rep was telling me. He suggested the F70, even though he would have made more $ on the 90. BTW, he was actually a Whaler dealer and Mercury was an option, but he still thought the F70 was the way to go. My hull is a 1998 - don't know if that makes a difference. School of thought was that with the F70 coming in at 100 lbs lighter than the 90, whatever advantage you get from the extra hp will be kinda small. Maybe a few more mph, but with a few less mpg to go along with it. I' ve certainly seen 90s on the back, and IMO it looks low to the water, and if you are going to ad anything else to the stern it will look lower. Like you, I originally had the 90 hp Johnson Oceanrunner (pro?). I'm on the bay, and on flat water and with good trim I get to high 30s mph. Just a thought. Best of luck.