2005 Merc Optimax 225hp..Thoughts?

[burnsy22]

Have a friend looking to purchase a boat with this engine on it. Engine has 400 hours, anyone have any thoughts on this motor or experiences with it good or bad?

Just want to try and give him some sound advice.

Thanks

 

[profisher]

The best guy to ask would be Gord from Foghorn Fishing as he has run 225 Opti's for a long time. He has enough hrs on them to know of any quirks or problems. I know he gets many years out of them but has had breakdowns along the way.

 

[Rockfish]

I have a 2001 225 Opti. and like it. They are light weight for their power and better than most when it comes down to corrosion resistance, especially if it will sit in a marina a lot and not get a flush for long intervals. Use the high end Merc Opti two stroke oil which is pricey but on the other hand you don’t need to be changing motor oil and filters. Mine has about 850 hours on it and I did spend $2600. on repairs and servicing not long ago after coming in on the kicker once, but over all it has been very reliable. They do take a lot of battery amps to start them so you will want to go big on the batteries and replace them every two or three years so they are strong, to avoid starting issues, especially if you use a lot of amps on the boat, - high speed riggers, window defoggers, power pot puller etc. Local Whale Watching Boats use them, kick the **** out of them and put a huge amount of hours on them so that is a vote of confidence. For a two stroke they are direct injected, don't smoke and get great fuel economy, close to the new 4 strokes and you don’t have a valve train to worry about should you ever over rev it. Hopefully that one comes with the smart gauge which is very useful.

 

[myknoo]

I have same as rockfish & also recommend them.no major repairs but have also got a good repair bill few yr.s ago but that's boating.run from sooke to renny once a yr,about 100 $ one way