Your "Top Five" outboards of all time.

[Frank Molé]

TWO EIGHT ZERO

[mk30h]

ChrisCraft Commander 10 hp 19.8 cu
Merc 200 20hp 22cu
Merc 400-500 4cly 44cu
Mark 75- Merc 1500
OMC 3 cly 49.cu

[Jo Boone]

Here is mine in no particular order. These are the only ones I have experienced personally...except the Merc- I only seen them from behind
1) OMC 3cyl 50cid (I had a 70 and a 75 Stinger) both still running, can't kill them.
2) OMC 90deg V4 same reason as above...even when ran hot.
3) OMC 60deg "Eagle" great dependable, torquey, and responsive.
4) OMC V8 - Its a V8 "Beast"
5) Merc Racing 2.5 - pretty much all of the them primarily the "DRAG"

[lckytrbl]

i thought about this one for awhile now and think i can compose a list based on first hand operation.2.4 liter bridgeport offshore,first engine i ever saw with a manufactured low water pick-up,i saw a brand new one on a hydrostream v-king in 1988 or 89 and havent ever been able to get over it and own an identical v-king bruiser with an offshore engine.2.5 high output engines an engineering marvel for me,absolutely incredible power and high rpm capability that me never be surpassed,im obsessed!mercury inline-6,specifically a 1979 115 on a hydrostream viper i owned that was my first boat,a dream come true at an early age,incredibly reliable and great all round perfomance.omc v-8 ive never owned one,but i was so impressed by the site of those on the f1 mids and the sound of them with open exhaust,that its no wonder an omc v-8 holds the speed record.im ashamed to admit that a non-american company may have perfected the two-stroke outboard shortly before manufacturing them becomes illegal,im referring to any yamaha.i owned and worked on tons of these and am ashamed that the american manufacturers havent been able to meet their quality and reliabilty standards.lastly pushing my list beyond five is the 1973 25 hp johnson sea horse on my grandfathers 15 foot aluminum starcraft,he bought it just before i was born and the story goes that they if they took me in the boat for a ride id easily fall asleep.and to this day i find a certain peace and pleasent frame of mind after a ride in anything 2-stroke outboard powered.

[max200]

In order of importance (at least to me)

1. Number 1 by a HUGE margin: 1500XS

2. T2X Merc

3. T3 Merc

4. 260 Merc (maybe the greatest all around outboard of all times) prefer SS

5. S-3000 Merc

6. Merc Mark 75 (world's first 6 cyl outboard)

7. Merc 1000 (first black Merc & first 100 HP outboard)

8. OMC F1 V8 (short injected version)

9. OMC Super Strangler/Stinger GP

10. CCC Evinrude/RS Johnson

gotta go with racemans selection + my 1968 40 HP johnson I could not kill that motor and of course my 200 promax!!!!

[Bruster]

Any Merc high performance V-6 with an offshore mid.

1500XS
Good lookin power.

'06 johnson 70 4 stroke
Instant starting, smooth, quiet and powerful. Perfect for the 'toon boat & beers.

'57 35 HP Evinrude Lark
Art decco

'56 Johnson 5-1/2
Smooth & quiet for fishing

[Mark75H]

I think that is the pic the inline 6 guys are looking for ... I knew it would come from you

[Bruster]

Go! Didn't I show you that?

I think that is the pic the inline 6 guys are looking for ... I knew it would come from you

[hebstang]

1991: Yamaha 200Hp (Had Two)
1991: Yamaha 175HP
Have had 3 of these 2 strokes, started every time, ran great not one issue in four years.

[warren]

3.6gtv-8 ported/260/ 280/280 260 elec and ov course 300 drag/red rocket out

[ridgerunner]

#1
50hp Inline 4 Mercury
Four years plus 22 more and still going for my old 84 model. The brown stripes matched the fishin boat. I wish I had a dollar for every hour that motor was ran tach buried. My first with power trim and tilt. I bet 2000 hours runtime is conservative and I never had it apart while I had it. Gave it to a buddy in 1998 who took it to SC and rigged it on a pontoon boat. I thought it was wore out but apparently not.
#2 Johnrude v-4 (crossflows too, tough as they come IMO)
#3 Any outboard that sounds like a 60 degree V-6 wound up tight. Preferably in all Black but Mariner gray works too.
#4 Any outboard that sound like an inline six wound up tight. I don't think anyone but Merc tried that.
#5 My 2000 Mercury Optimax 225. Despite being a "consumer test model" it has run without any issues at all. It was cheaper, more efficient and more powerful for the rated hp than any of the direct injected outboards the Japs were making at the time. I will probably regret bragging on it next week.

[paul folks]

T3 merc
2.4 200ss
2.5 260ss
2.5 280ss
2.5 300drag

[JWS]

Merc H 10, W/ Quicksilver
Merc H 20

Couldnt keep either running very long and at 12 years old wasnt too good at fixin em either,,, but,, when they did run on a 10' skip jack, what fun!!!

[Mark75H]

Mark15 with Quickie

[baldad45]

5.5 Johnson and 25 johnson ,my dad's first motors they looked like father and son ran forever,all the omc twins the bread and butter of this line. 40-44 cu.in. mercs and early I6 with same bore and stroke ,just went faster than our OMC twins. OMC v4 from the 1st 50 hp [ rode across Lac La Ronge in a plywood stripe 18' fishing boat tiller equiped ] to the later 140's,they all had that tough sound . All the later inline 6's from the 1250 to the 1500 and it's racing spinoffs 1250BP,Twisters and T2-T2x