Heavier outboard: Pros and Cons?

[vipereater]

I am considering placing a 2007 15hp Mercury 4-stroke on my 14' aluminum Lowe with bench seats. The boat currently has a 1991 9.9hp Gamefisher mounted. The Gamefisher weights 65 lbs and the Mercury weights 111 lbs. Is this weight difference something to be concerned about and what changes will I notice? Too heavy in the rear? My body weight is 180 and at 111 I am nowhere near the max rating of the boat. Pros and Cons with this weight change? Thanks.

 

[JB]

Re: Heavier outboard: Pros and Cons?

The weight difference is less than a full 6 gallon fuel tank or a big battery. What do you think?

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Heavier outboard: Pros and Cons?

There's no positive to a heavier outboard. I personally don't care for the 15 mercury 4-stroke and have "owned" one for a short time. However, I think it will be a definite step up from your gamefisher 9.9. I think you might like it. I don't think the weight is that big of a dealbreaker on that particular motor. The reason I didn't like the one I had was not just the weight, but the weak torque. I didn't think it had nearly the speed that the 2-stroke johnson 15hps that I've ran in the past. I also didn't like the wimpy "force-like" lower unit they had on the motor I ran. It may have been a couple of years older than yours, though. I am also biased against the four-strokes so keep that in mind. The motor was very smooth running and started easy.
Later,
JBJ