Outboard Selection For Bay Boat
 

In the next year I will be buying a bay boat and need input on best power for the hull options im interested in. I am leaning towards finding a hull and trailer package first (used) then buying the motor separately when exactly what i want comes along for the right price (im VERY patient...).

Length - 21'_22'

Make/Style - Nautic Star_Blazer Bay_Champion_Pathfinder, that basic range of quality...

HP - 175hp_225hp

What do you think would be the absolute best value for a power unit? By value I weigh dependability, speed (don't want slow lane, don't need 65mph), efficiency, availability of parts and ease of home/field maintenance and repairs if need be.

I like mercury due to experience with small engines, despise evinrude large engines, hear good things about yami Vmax, and like the 175 SUZ on my companies Tran Cat.

I also get off on having a smaller engine that can that can hang with larger ones (efficiency), is there a 175 in the bunch that could yield near equal performance of other brands' 200 or 225's?

that will really depend on what hull you buy. The weight isnt the same on every 21-22ft boat. Im partial to suzuki, yamaha, and honda four strokes, if you want a two stroke get an optimax

I have a suz 175 on my 2104 frontier. I say the suz is great on gas. Had a 61 mile round trip and only burned 12 gallons on gas. With 3 adults and 2 kids in the boat and 50 gallons of gas. Just finish the 10hr break in so it may get more r less well see! Good luck

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What's your cruising speed and rpm right now?

Gunna be hard to find a bay boat and trailer used without a motor,jus sayin. My pick would be yamaha but suzuki does make good engines. They do corrode quicker than some but if you keep it flushed and cleaned it will be fine.

3500 35 mph. 4000 40 mph. 54 wot mph 5600 r 5900. Id remember exactly. With a full tank of gas 2 -3 adults

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Nothin wrong with that! I'd be happy with cruising in the 40-45 range @ those RPMs.

They have a champion in Laf right now with no motor, they can be found - like I said, I'm very very patient

Watch those champs, especially the one built pre 2000. Have alot of wood. Soft spots in th floor and weak transoms.

That's a no go, thanks fr the heads up!

Know first hand, had a 21' 2000 model. had 2 soft spots @ leaning post, 1 on back deck. And that was a very well maintained boat.
I believe the 2001 and later were wood free. (Not 100% sure.)
Here are some pics of one with wood.. (wasn't mine though)

If y'all ha to choose blazer or Nautic, what would it be?

Alpha got me thinkin I just need to go buy a brand new frontier getup and quit playin around.

Thats the American way:D

I was going with blazer and N star at first but once I saw the lay out of the frontier i was sold
They r the biggest 21ft 1/2 ft boat. Compared to bb and ns. It nice storage looks good. That 8'3 beam make a big diff. Compared to nautic star 7'9 beam.
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Blazer over nautic and frontier over both.

Yam four stroke for me followed by suz, both are good for different reasons. Stay away from the verado and etech. For two stroke opti is the only way to go for a big boat.

The Frontier is a fine boat and I was told they had a smaller fully capped boat coming out

Frontier/Optimax

^^^^^
This

Only reason I like Suzuki better than Yamaha is cause that's what I own. IMO can't go wrong with either one

I looked at them all and bought a 2200 BlazerBay because it was the right deal and it fit all my needs at the time. I looked at Frontier's and think they are nice boats but I wanted a full liner boat. I would do the same again. My next boat will also be a liner boat. The fit and finish is better to me. My next boat will likely be a 24' boat.

As far as motors go I have a 150 4stroke Yamaha and would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking at a 22' and under boat. My boat at WOT will run 53/54 MPH on GPS. At 3800 RPM's I'm running around 35/36 and sip fuel. I can't give you exact numbers but I can fish all day and run quite a bit and only burn 8 gallons of gas.

I don't know about you but I don't have the time to put together a boat and try to get everything right. A older used fiberglass boat has tons of things that need repair and replacement. My neighbor bought an older bay boat and all he does is work on it. I would much rather spend my time fishing. Something needs doing on my boat I take care of it immediately and don't put them off so when I get a chance to go fishing all I have to do is hook up and go. That is well worth the expense of purchasing a ready to go boat to me.

The Frontier 2104 has a liner now

Really? That would have made it tops on my list before then. I'm going to go have a look at them when I'm home. I bet a Frontier with a liner powered with a 150 Yamaha 4stroke would be a near ideal boat for what 95% of us use them for.

I just checked them out online and the 2104 does look like a nice boat. It certainly would be on my short list for a new bay boat.

Here is a pic
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I'm pretty sure you can get it lined or rolled

Alpha. Is that the black jack console and leaning post? That's a fine boat

Think I'm going to go to Lake Area to put one together this Friday. Can't hold off any longer. I gots the bug

2005 Kenner vision (mako name w Kenner hull. Hull ID KENA & '06 opti) for sale as of now
Message for details!

it has black jack leaning post. The only difference w the bj console is, it has 8 rod holders and the frontier has 6. I can add the 2 rod holder to make 8

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Awesome boat Alpha - are these the same ones LAM had packages listed for about $30k?

The one for 30K was the Rolled Gunnel Hull,

No maybe the one without the liner.
2104 w 175 w/ trim tabs washdown pump. Bj leaning post. Starts at 35k

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Frontier has a 21 open, 210 with a cap. And the 2104 has the full liner

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Alpha, that is nice. Thanks for posting up the pics. Why did you go with the Suzuki? Have you experience with them in the past or was it a price thing? I really don't know anything about them.

I think the only way to go is with a leaning post as well. I've owned boats with the flip/flop ice chest seat and that is a huge PITA. The leaning post is strong the tackle storage is the shiznet and the storage below for a ice chest tops off the deal.

If your looking for a 22' I would go with the Nautic Star with an Optimax . The Opti fuel economy is right there with the fourstrokes . In my opinion the Nautic Star is finished better than others in its price range . I currently run a 24' Nautic Star with a 250 Opti Pro XS as my guide boat .

What's the difference between the pro and regular opti? All specs are identical on the site, except the pro is about 8lbs heavier - I must have overlooked something.

Performance, The 2 motors are not even in the same league!

Where is the performance coming from? Specs are identical except for shaft length.

Attachment 51053

Are you looking at the 200? I cant tell from the pics. I heard the only difference is the sticker between the two, but the 225 and the 250 are different.

After a quick google search this is what I found
http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/19929#.UadS6ZyOl3c

I would stay away from Yamaha 2 stroke I have an 200 hpdi the fuel system is a pain to keep up and it hates old or ethanol fuel there is 5 filters that must be cleaned every year to keep it running smooth and they are not easy to get to, one is in the high pressure pump, strong engine otherwise never had any major problems just fuel system

200

Not sure if it clarified anything or confused me more! Interesting they claim CF reeds, yet the on guy had his changed at about 250 hours because they were broken and chipped, and they were all stainless which is contrary to what merc ha been telling others.

Seems to me most people that had talked to a tech from merc said they were the same motor

Alpha, you messed up this pic with that fella standing in the back, we got to work on your photoshop skills. lol. Good looking boat.

My bad.... ill do better nx time. :)

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Alpha - how is it cleaning that floor? Scuffs and stains yet? They come up easy?

All the Pro xs engines have performance upgrades, EXCEPT FOR THE 200. It's labled Pro xs but is acutally a standard engine. Don't think they even offer the non-pro xs in 200 anymore.

Also, you asked Alpha about how it was cleaning his boat.. I've got the Blackjack and it's got the same type decking.. Really easy to clean.. Really don't have to worry about any particular shoes, IMO. had Champion before and it was a B###H to clean.

The floor cleans up really well, no scuff or stains. I have a wash down pump so before i go in for the day i scrub the floor with a brush. Then when i get home i use attawood none skid deck cleaner, with works pretty good!