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Having gone round the mill on trying to find a good used engine and hearing one too many horror stories aka expensive time consuming stories, I am choosing to bite the bullet and buy new. Also because I think it proper to put my money where my right leaning mouth is, I am buying engines "Made in America", actually made in Wisconsin as both Evinrude (I know Bombardier is a Canadian Co.) and Mercury make their larger engines there. I have chosen to go with two stroke engines for efficiency and torque and weight. I would appreciate any and all comments with regards to the two engines and as they are going on to a a 1970 Currituck 16 and suggestions, advice etc on mounting them onto a 44 year old transom .

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I based my choice for the E-tec for product support. My designated boat mechanic is only set up for and truly likes the E-tec Evinrudes. Both for engineering as well as maintenance costs. I have no knowledge or skills associated with the new computer systems and relied on his opinion.
gchuba

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Made in the US will be hard to find since engine manufacturer's source parts from many countries. Assembled in the US is a different matter.

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Phil, you are absolutely correct as to parts. Assembled and mostly manufactured in the USA is as much as I can hope for. That said, I pretty sure the is more "USA" in Evinrude and Mercury than Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Tohatsu. And yes they are all very good engines.

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GC.... What year and hp is your Evinrude and how many hours do you have on it? Have you had any problems? Thanks, Neil

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This is a new repower for me and I have not used the motor yet. My boat is still in dry dock with a whole lot of upgrades. I bought the motor used, actually bought a whole boat for the motor. The motor is a 2009 200hp HO. Searched for a year and a half. Got all the print outs before the purchase, clean. My fishing buddy has a 90hp E-tec on his non Whaler and truly loves the motor. Quiet ride in his boat. Never a problem when out to sea and reasonable costs the two times he had it at the shop (both times for preventative maintenance). My boat mechanic says great motor and parts are not ridiculously expensive. Understanding the complete dynamics of new outboard motors is out of my league. I just trusted the opinion of a one man shop in the industry for 35 years.

My point for recommending the E-tec is that I chose a motor that the shop I use likes to work on them. l like the idea that with any problems my local support is there.
Garris

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The Optimax 90 is 375 lbs vs the E-tec at 320. I like the quiet of the E-tec also.

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Neil, as others have done, you're starting by asking the question "two-stroke or four-stroke?" You really should be asking "modern technology or yesterday's?" as modern, direct-injection two strokes and EFI four strokes both have the desirable characteristics of good mileage, easy starting and good low speed operation, low odor, and low noise. From there, which particular motor depends on the boat model and planned usage, and other factors such as dealer support and cost.

The Optimax motors are a transitional technology, as are other motors such as the Yamaha HPDIs. They get good mileage compared to carbed two-strokes and run well at low speed, but they are nowhere near as quiet and odor-free as a truly modern motor. Yes, I know they still sell Optimaxes new, but it's yesterday's technology and you will not find it as satisfactory as something newer.

The choice between the two is therefore, to me, a no-brainer even before you factor in the weight. The eTec 90 is the ideal choice for a new motor for the 16-17 footers.

Tim

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Tedious, thank you for your well though out reply. I agree the technology on the Etech seems to be the class leader and given the patents, will likely be so for at least a while longer.