Mercury engines

My 1997 Honda 90 HP has a Merc lower unit. It has been a flawless set-up for me so far. The later model 90 HP have a Honda made lower unit and it is compatible with my motor also.

Just got back from "visiting" my boat today. There sure is a bunch of snow on and around it. I am going to Az. for several months and let "the big heater" in the sky take care of it in the spring.
 
Pat
Sail Annapolis, which replaced Cutter Marine here near Chesapeake Bay, is not a Honda dealer. At least their not listed on Honda's web site.

Then again, Cutter is listed on C-Dory's web site even though Cutter has dropped the line.

As far as Mercury OB, my last boat had a Merc 90 EFI. Loved it. Started right up every time.

Allan
 
This is the first I heard of a Honda with a Mercury lower unit.

I do know it could be a confusing issue, since Mercury used the Yamaha powerheads on their lower units for several years, and at approximately the same time, OMC sold Suzuki's that were painted white as Johnson outboards.

These two adaptations of Japanese outboards to American brand products were necessitated by the increasingly tighter emission control standards, which were easier to meet with 4-stroke motors, and the American factories were not yet tooled up to produce 4-stroke outboards. Other attempts to meet the emission standards were done by creating direct injection fuel systems on 2-cycle engines, with varying degrees of success.

The air/emission standards usually referred to are the C.A.R.B. (California Air Resources Board) requirements which precede those of other states. This led to the two star, three star, and four star C.A.R.B. ratings for outboards as the standards were gradually tightened over the years.

I'm personally convinced that a 4-stroke engine with EFI is the very best engine design currently available, but then I've never owned an Evinrude etech motor.

Joe. :thup :teeth
 
Sea Wolf":2tnk2rlt said:
This is the first I heard of a Honda with a Mercury lower unit. Joe. :thup :teeth
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My 1998 90 Honda had a Merc lower unit also. :mrgreen: :beer
 
tsturm":alxvd3bb said:
Sea Wolf":alxvd3bb said:
This is the first I heard of a Honda with a Mercury lower unit. Joe. :thup :teeth
Click to expand...

My 1998 90 Honda had a Merc lower unit also. :mrgreen: :beer
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I'd like to hear the explanation about why the Honda appeared on the American market with a Mercury lower end.

Must be a story there somewhere!

Les? Anyone?

Joe. :thup :teeth
 
SeaWolf.......

It is my understanding that the 1st 75/90 HP Hondas used a Merc lower unit because Honda did not make a lower unit to fit it. It was quicker/cheaper to buy from another maker until they did have one.
I got into this 3 yrs. ago when I damaged my lower unit in a high speed reverse shift while going onto my trailer on the surf in high seas. It was my fault and had nothing to do with the type of lower unit. When ordering a replacement my mech. told me that I could have either a Merc. built again or a now available Honda built one. He said that the Honda was cheaper (surprise) but that the Merc. was more rugged. Long story short......there were no Honda lower units available but there was a Merc. As the salmon were swimming by with me on the bank it was a Merc. ($2250)that won the game.
 
Jack in Alaska":1mrsarzn said:
SeaWolf.......

It is my understanding that the 1st 75/90 HP Hondas used a Merc lower unit because Honda did not make a lower unit to fit it. It was quicker/cheaper to buy from another maker until they did have one.
I got into this 3 yrs. ago when I damaged my lower unit in a high speed reverse shift while going onto my trailer on the surf in high seas. It was my fault and had nothing to do with the type of lower unit. When ordering a replacement my mech. told me that I could have either a Merc. built again or a now available Honda built one. He said that the Honda was cheaper (surprise) but that the Merc. was more rugged. Long story short......there were no Honda lower units available but there was a Merc. As the salmon were swimming by with me on the bank it was a Merc. ($2250)that won the game.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Jack! We kinda knew that there wouldn't be a Mercury lower end on a Honda if Honda had its own available.

I wonder how many more of these "marriages of convenience" hybrids there are floating around? :lol:

Joe. :thup :teeth
 
Folks - In the FEb. 2006, Trailer Boats edition, Jim Barron, the engine expert, has an article "Who Makes what for Whom?" A few quotes from his article, "Honda has used its own powerheads for years, but there was a time several years ago when some three-cylinder Honda powerheads employed Mercury lower units and props. That's no longerthe case, and now Honda builds the entire line....last year, Yamaha-built powerheads were used in Mercury four strokes from 25 through 225 hp, with the exception of the Verados, of course. Mercury supplied the lower units and some EFI systems in place of the carburetors used by Yamaha in its comparable engines...For 2006, Yahama-built four stroke powerheads are used by Mercury in non-Verado four stroke applications from 40 to 225 hp. Unfortunately, the 75, 990, 115,and 225 versions are not SmartCraft compatible because they use Yamaha's EFI system." There you have it from the horse's mouth.
Yellowstone
 
So the above article would take the 90 I have far longer than I thought it was built (possibly even to now). It would be worthwhile checking if you use the boat in skinny water (as I do). You can dang near trim a Mercury all the way out of the water and it still pumps coolant (one of the reasons I switched from Johnson to Mercury (2 strokes at that time). The powerheads on both 90's are bulletproof (I assume the Yamaha people would say the same).
 
thataway":28jfoa3t said:
.....

I once had a "space age plastic" transom on on an inflatable. It broke right along the edge of the outboard (25 hp electric start) when I was planning the boat in 2 foot chop--Ever seen any one "hand hold" a 25 hp outboard? I got the inflatable along side the larger boat, and Marie jumped off--of course as I slowed down, more water came in the boat. She got a spinaker Halyard down to me on the next pass by the larger boat, and we hooked it to the transom, and pulled the boat out of the water by the motor--didn't get any water in the engine.

.....
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That is an impressive recovery! I once had to hand hold a 15hp outboard. My uncle built a wooden skip-jack in the 70's from plans printed in Popular Mechanics. It was well built but she had taken a lot of abuse from my father and then from me when I acquired it in the mid 80's. I decided to run the max horsepower (15) on one particular day. This boat was 8' long, 4' wide, and the highest point on the gunwale was 1' high. The bow came to a point and was about 3" above the water when planed off.

I went to a lake in Maine by myself at about 6 in the morning. The ride was incredible! I could literally get a little air if I goosed it over the wake. Long story short, I was running wide open across the lake. All of a sudden, a few drops of water were coming straight over the bow. Turns out the transom was slowly falling off with the engine! I had tied two safety lines from the mid-point of the boat to the engines and they were as tight as guitar strings. I grabbed a line tied to the bow with one hand and grabbed the engine with the other. I was in deep water when the transom started to go and I did not dare come off the throttle. I was running at perhaps 30 mph and I ran this speed right down a narrow channel straight for the boat ramp where I was parked. About 50 yards from shore (with people lot's of onlookers) I let off the throttle. I came off plan in about 5' of water and the transom ripped right off. Ha ha, I jumped out, and pulled the engine and transom off the bottom. I immediately started the engine and let it run for a few minutes. She ran fine and I was good to go. The boat sank to water level as soon as the transom came off. It must have been quite a site for the onlookers as I carried the engine, still connected to the transom, then the boat carcass onto shore.

Anyway - as far as Mercs go - I run twin 90's on a commercial boat. Both are carbed and are maintained to run fine courtesy of the US government. I find them to be loud compared to other engines though. I have had a few flame outs with them, (of course usually during critical maneuvers with passengers aboard).
 
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