200 mercury optimax

That’s a lot of hp for an 18’ boat. Is that over the maximum rating?

I had a 19’ Trophy DC with a 150 optimax and it could do 40mph with a heavy load. Optis are economical compared to standard two strokes. Just use expensive oil.
 
I have 2 of them on my boat and agree with Nightlines, very economical but use the mere opt oil
 
Your fuel burn will be good with a high power to weight ratio. You will be able to run a higher pitch prop which will save you on fuel
 
http://www.vehiclecanada.net/used/malibu-182

Here is a Malibu 182 with a 115 hp Yami on it. A 200 hp Opti I suspect may be overkill and as Tightlines22 suggests, one suspects that it may be over the rated max power capacity of the 182. I have a 225 hp Opti on a larger heavier boat and understand the 200 to 250 hp, 6 cyl Opti’s all use the same block and weigh 500 lbs which is light for a motor of that hp range. Even so, I would think there is a possibility you could be stern heavy. Would you have the reserve flotation necessary to add a kicker for saltwater salmon fishing?

Not sure why you would need that kind of power to weight ratio unless you are racing or need to pull a lot of weight out of the water while water skiing. As for fuel economy, the Opti’s are high pressure direct injected and get surprisingly good fuel economy, especially for a two stroke.

Something to add. The big Opti's are power hogs and need big fresh batteries with high cranking amps to start them. If your are planning on fishing in the ocean, I would want duel batteries and that is also going to add weight in the stern.
 
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I had a 200 opti jet drive in a 14' jet sled, I don't think it's too much power unless you're over the max hp rating.
 
http://www.vehiclecanada.net/used/malibu-182

Here is a Malibu 182 with a 115 hp Yami on it. A 200 hp Opti I suspect may be overkill and as Tightlines22 suggests, one suspects that it may be over the rated max power capacity of the 182. I have a 225 hp Opti on a larger heavier boat and understand the 200 to 250 hp, 6 cyl Opti’s all use the same block and weigh 500 lbs which is light for a motor of that hp range. Even so, I would think there is a possibility you could be stern heavy. Would you have the reserve flotation necessary to add a kicker for saltwater salmon fishing?

Not sure why you would need that kind of power to weight ratio unless you are racing or need to pull a lot of weight out of the water while water skiing. As for fuel economy, the Opti’s are high pressure direct injected and get surprisingly good fuel economy, especially for a two stroke.

Something to add. The big Opti's are power hogs and need big fresh batteries with high cranking amps to start them. If your are planning on fishing in the ocean, I would want duel batteries and that is also going to add weight in the stern.

I have the 185 and a 200hp motor is too big for that boat. Especially with 182 splash well. WOT and then stop would be a little dangerous.
 
I had a 200 opti jet drive in a 14' jet sled, I don't think it's too much power unless you're over the max hp rating.
200 h.p. in an outboard jet gets reduced in h.p. by 30% due to the 360 degree rotation of water in the jet leg. So your actual h.p. is more like 140. Still a sh*tload of power for a 14 (or even a Malibu 185) A 200 Opti jet drive on a 14 must go like a bat outta Hell.
 
the ol man had 200 yam 2 stroke.on a 185 campion. ya it ripped, but when loaded and buds onboard it cruzed very economically. he eventually popped that motor and went to a 150 4 stroke
 
The Opti's are light. I don't think it's too much power for that boat.

I disagree. Again I have the boat. Your boat is 20 plus can't compare it. It's overpowered. A 182 is pretty small. A 185 with full pod maybe but not 182.
 
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There are a lot of 182's with 150 yamaha 4 strokes on them. Yamaha 226 kg. 200 Opti 229 kg. I don't think 13.2 lbs is going to make a whole lot of difference. 50 hp will however.

It was just an educated observation. I just noticed a lot of them for sale with 150 four strokes on them with out pod's. I don't know what the transom rating is for weight.

Carry on.....
 
There are a lot of 182's with 150 yamaha 4 strokes on them. Yamaha 226 kg. 200 Opti 229 kg. I don't think 13.2 lbs is going to make a whole lot of difference. 50 hp will however.

It was just an educated observation. I just noticed a lot of them for sale with 150 four strokes on them with out pod's. I don't know what the transom rating is for weight.

Carry on.....

Wow I can see why you bought one that is very light. Maybe I am thinking of 200hp four stroke. They generally are as you say 150hp are 150's on the malibus. Maybe I am wrong.

Here is kind of a derail. If you put too large of motor on back and ran full WOT, and say engine just cuts out to immediate stop. Could you effectively swamp the boat? Regardless of weight etc? Maybe I am not right on that one. I just never thought the splash well design was very good on the 182.
 
Thanks for the replies. The boat has been for sale for a while. 32 thousand. It has never sold. Those boats usually sell in a few days. I was wondering if the 200 hp motor was stopping the sale. Love the boat but not sure on the power.
 
I just did a quick search online for 182’s for sale and found a half dozen or so. The motors on them varied in hp from 90 to 135. The 135 was an Opti (light) and there was also a 130 Honda. The most common size motor of the ones I found was 115 hp. So no 150’s on this limited sample although I would not be surprised if there are some for sale. Still think a 200 Opti would be overkill on a 182 and a 150 hp motor would go like a bat out of hell assuming even that is not over the rated max.

Having a 200 hp motor on a smaller boat that may or may not be designed to take it may be scareing off some potential buyers but so would that price. What year is the hull and how many hours on the Opti?

Have a look at the console on the boat and you may find a plaque or decal that states things like the max power rating, max passenger/cargo weight etc.. I would also wonder about marine insurance/liability if it turns out you were overpowered. If you are really hot to buy it, why not phone Malibu and have a chat.
 
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