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Hi all,

The current 2005 Mercury 40-hp 2-stroke on my 13 started running rough (louder, knocking) during a recent trip, causing me to pull it out of the water until I could figure what was wrong. After going through everything I had considered (cleaned carbs, tested spark, compression (120, 120, 120), I got a hint that it may be the stator, and rather than to deal with pulling the fly-wheel, I took it in to a local shop. Note, the engine has no noticeable performance loss, and no trouble starting on the first try every time.

One week later, the shop had pulled the lower-unit, and found the splines on the driveshaft to be twisted.

Running without the lower-unit, the engine was still making a knocking/pinging noise, which prompted them to take a look at the power-head. They tested the compression and got 90-120-120. Sticking a scope into the top cylinder, the piston is pitted & the cylinder is heavily scored. The other two cylinders look perfect.

The shop thinks the damage is likely from picking up a submerged rope at high rpms. The noise started while running the ICW.

Insurance has mentioned they will likely total the engine.

I've just noticed that Mercury 2-strokes are no longer available, and a 40 hp 2-stroke weighs ~ >60 lbs than the current 2-stroke I have on back.

I've seen a lot of talk about that much weight being an issue, even the current 2-stroke being too much weight. It is heavier in the back than I would like already, but I could also move around the fuel tank & batteries to compensate, as well as add some other sort of ballast if needed.

A 30 hp 4-stroke Mercury still weighs more than the current setup. As is, the boat will currently do 30 mph with two people @ WOT, and I would like to keep the speed it has now.

I believe I could also replace the powerhead of the current outboard, but worry about reliabilty (maybe I shouldn't), and hate to pass the opportunity to put a new engine under warranty on the boat.

I also see that the new Yamaha 40's are lighter, although still heavier than the current outboard.

Asking for input!

Thanks!