Motor In-decisions Optimax vs 4 strokes

[Fishin Impossible]

Gday all Im looking at 4 used boats and finding it very hard to decide on what I would really like so I have come to ask the experts

1) Trophy 5.8m with 115 Merc Optimax less than 200 hours

2) Aqua Sport 6.7m with a Suzuki 140 4 stroke 400 hours

3) Trailcraft 5.8m with a Yammy 115 4 stroke about 500 hours (new gearbox)

4) Stacer 5.7m with a Merc 115 4 stroke with about 142 hours

I will be using this up in the NT so needs to handle a bit of chop but also need to be a releiable motor and boat, they are all around the same price 35-40k mark and just wanting to get some opinions before knocking some out of the race....

I have done quite a few google searches and it seems like its a ford vs holden type argument lol.... also how much louder are the Optimax than the good ol 4's???
Fuel economy etc etc etc......

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Jarrah Jack]

Never seen an opti in the territory although they're a proven motor. What motors do the local guys have and how easy is it to get a service done?

A 6.7 mtr boat is pushing it for a 140 zuk.

[bobbyb]

can you find a 5.8 trophy with a 140 Suzuki ? would be a good thing..

[SHOOTER1]

Nothing wrong with the optis. I would be looking at the total package re suitability for what you want to do. When talking about hours I think we don"t give modern outboards the credit they deserve. Say the motor has 200 hrs at an average of 4000rpm compare this to a car 200 hours at an average of 70kmh this is only 14000 km. Only just run in.

[zan0_15]

If the optimax are propped right they can achieve very close if not the same economy of a fourstroke. But then u must add the cost of oil each trip into the equation which blows the total cost out a little bit.

[bobbyb]

I have a 150 opti and love it . fuel economy and not to loud compared to the old efi 2 strokes. no stink or fumes and hard to find a bad word against them in searches on the net, so that says a lot.
what type of fishing do you do ? if you tear ass out to your spot and mainly bottom bash the opti is great and sings best at revs, butt if you do a lot of trolling i'd go for a 4 banger.
butt as jarrah jack mentioned i'd be thinking about servicing in your area also. but my thought only. good luck with it.......

[SHOOTER1]

Sure you have to buy oil for the opti (they use stuff all) but the service costs are cheaper I.e oil change oil filter, valve clearances etc.

[Noelm]

If you want a good ride in some chop, you can rule the Trailcraft out regardless of the motor it has!

[zan0_15]

Gday noelm,
have u had a personal experience with trailcraft?
Or are you just regurgitating an opinion/experience that you have read somewhere?

[Fishin Impossible]

Thanks for all the feed back and thanks for the advice on the Trailcraft it was the 4th option my top 2 are the Trophy and the Stacer..... I have googled far and wide and far and bobbyb you are dead right cant find bad words against them..... but if anyone else has any more info or previous commenters think of anymore please feel free to give me some truths......
Trophy 115 Opti 36k
Stacer Merc 115 4 stroke 38.5k
Glass is always going to ride better so I am lead to believe, but Ally easier and quicker to repair, would the Glass draw too much more water than Ally? (thinking of rivers)
Will contact a few mech's up that way and see what there thoughts are on servicing

Cheers once again

[Jarrah Jack]

If you're thinking of doing the rivers I wouldn't be thinking of a glass boat. Snags and rock bars and big tides aren't good for glass boats. I wouldn't be thinking of a stacer or pressed alloy for that money. Platey's are the go around the territory in the rivers. They love their GS Marine style. A 5.5 with a 140 zuk like my mate in Darwin has would be worth considering. They tend to be cheaper in Qld than the NT. The roads can be shocking so you need a strong well setup trailer.

[Noelm]

Gday noelm,
have u had a personal experience with trailcraft?
Or are you just regurgitating an opinion/experience that you have read somewhere?

Been in a couple of different model Trailcraft (including the size mentioned here) plenty of times, and yes.... Speaking from experience, not regurgitating anything, they are an OK boat, but a long way from a good ride.

[ifishcq1]

the trophy or the aquasport
if you are going any distance over chop then the tinnies just can't cut it, especially if you travel over 30km/h
i have been in all of the above and there is no comparison (most of what I do involves big hours on lots of different boats)
The aquasport I went in was a 98 twin console had a 200 2stroke went like the clappers but drank like a drunk however it handled the chop pretty good
the traily was good until the short sharp chop then I needed a week for my back to get over it
the stacer is not an offshore boat despite the write ups it is way too light
The trophy was almost as good as the aquasport but it was also a metre shorter
up where you are the trailer is probably a consideration as well
cheers

[Malcolm W]

Been in a couple of different model Trailcraft (including the size mentioned here) plenty of times, and yes.... Speaking from experience, not regurgitating anything, they are an OK boat, but a long way from a good ride.

Trailcraft were made here in WA (now in China). There is a very high percentage of them running around here due to the amount of dealerships here until they went broke. A good solid value for money boat, but as Nolem said, a bit of a rough ride in the chop. My brother has the 5.8 and is happy with it. They have a moderate deadrise and are very beamy for the length. If you can put up with going slower they are a very stable boat to fish out of. I found the 6.4 bangs even more than the 5.8 due to the wider beam.

[whatscracken]

Remember a 140hp Suzuki is branded as the engine HP however is only 127hp at the prop.