Motor Question

I have a question on Motor's. I am putting together a new Pro Staff boat at this time. I am looking at putting a Mercury Verdo 300 hp on it (hard to pass up). I have all ways ran Yamaha Four stokes and it's hard to make a decision to change. They are great motors. I also here the Mercury's are great motors. I have ran some of the older 2 stokes but never the four stokes. Gas consumption is a concern. I would love to here some of ya'll's Pro and cons about the Mercury Verdo's.
Thanks for your response.

I bought my boat new in 2008 with a 275 Verado. I was a bit skeptical since the motor was so technically innovative. I've had (2) issues with the motor since I've owned it. 1 - the fuel pump had a float hang up - did not leave me stranded as the motor still ran - just not above idle. 2 - power steering fuse blew - due to corrosion.

If I were to repower my boat now I would not hesitate to purchase another Verado - smoothest motor I have ever owned and have owned them all.

You will not match the power or torque of this motor.

The fuel consumption is equivalent to any four stroke, but if you run it hard (high RPMS) you should expect it to consume fuel. Run it at a good cruise speed and it has great consumption per hour.

Only fault - and I'm not sure if this has been corrected - but the throttle control does not have a safety catch. The throttle can easily be pushed into gear. Also, if anyone is new to the operation of the throttle controls of the Verdo they should be well cautioned as to the sensitivity of the motor. When you push it - it goes!

Hope this info helps you with your decision.

I have experience with both motors and Yamaha does it for me.
The Verado's have a ton of awesome features. The power steering and the torque of the motor are my favorites. Here is my problem with them and some of this is the service center's fault. In 2009 my company (at that time) bought 4 new Shearwater 25 LTZ's with the 300 Verado's. Over the next 2 years, we went through 15 lower units. Now my boat only went through one but still I can't see the other guys tearing them up that bad. Now this is before they came out with the new 5.44 gearcases, which they use on offshore boats.
The other minor issues with the motor were:
-the supercharger making a rattling noise
-the consumption of oil (at 50 hours would be 3 quarts low)
-the sensitivity of the motor
-the motor will drain your battery when being stored for only a few days without a on-off battery switch

The Yamaha 300 - Is a great motor and look at it this way, if it isn't broke, why fix it.
It is lighter and the reliability is there. The fuel consumption is about the same. Every motor will drink gas if you are into the throttle. I currently run a Yamaha 250 and I have 700 hours with only one problem with it. The o-rings for the trim ram leaked. I brought it in and it was covered by warranty and that was it. My dad and 5 other captains (who we work with) run the 300 Yamaha and they all have had 0 problems with them. My dad has 510 hours on his and he has the most hours out of them.

I used to be a Mercury man but after my experience with them and the crap that Mercury would try to feed me about the motors and not back them was ridiculous. Like I said before, the dealership, who repaired the motors, had a lot to do with the repetitive problems.

Another thing to look at is the amount of oil the motors take. The Yamaha 300 takes 6 quarts and the Verado takes 8 quarts. I see that you are a guide and since we run our motors more often than most these small things can add up.

I am sure I left plenty things out but if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Capt. Josh Ellender

I have a yamaha 150 sho I know it's along ways away from a 300 but I love it. You should look into the 250 shos. Basically the same as the regular 4-stroke yamaha just with the Tourqe and power you would be looking for. Great on gas but just like any motor when it's pinned down it's gonna drink a little more.

Capt. Josh Ellender

Thanks for your tough on the motor's. We are captain and the reliability means allot. I have always ran Yamaha motors but mercury is trying to make me a good deal to outfit my new boat. But if it will cost me in the long run its not worth it.
Sometimes it is hard to change what is good to you.
One more thing how does it run in shallow water.

As I said above that the Verado's are sensitive, I was referring to running in the shallows. We all know that the winter time here can call for some mud slinging from time to time and the Verado's will shut down on you directly in the middle of a flat you are running across. The motor senses less water pressure and immediately shuts the motor down and this results in sitting in very shallow water. The Yamaha's do not do this. Now I am not saying outboard motors are for running in the mud, I am just saying it is nice to know that you can trim up and keep going if you need to.

Sorry to hijack your post but Capt Josh, how was your Oklahoma deer hunt?
BTW - Capt Anthony, I'd listen to Josh. He won't steer you wrong.

I have an '04 Yamaha 4stroke w/ 570 hours on it. All I ever had to do was clean out the thermostat that was stuck open with trash making the engine idle @ 900 rpm instead of 700. The engine doesn't clog up easily. I go through plenty shallow water & mud during duck season, grass and lilies when I'm fishing and it is the hardest motor to clog up that I have ever seen. Imo they are the most reliable/dependable motor there is. I wouldn't own anything else.

Capt Anthony, after 23 years of using and abusing motors for guiding I would have to say that in the market right now the Yamaha and the Suzuki are King right now. I have owned Mercury 225 and 250's, Yamaha 225 and 300's, and Suzuki 250 and 300's. the one that cost me the most down time was the Mercs. I did have down time with the first batch of 4 stroke yamaha's that came out. Most of that was an incompatibility with the remote controls in the tower. With the Suzuki's I have had no issues with the power head and I have 3000 hours on the 300's.
there is some corrosion issues on some of the components surrounding the fueling systems. They have not failed though. I have slowly changed them as they look bad so as not to have an issue far offshore. I now have a Yamaha 300 on my Skeeter and it is totally awesome. One story about the power of the Yamaha 300's. I ran a trip for bull reds last fall and I should have had 200 gallons of fuel in the boat. Well come to find out my tank after 8 years running this boat is not 700 gallons but only 500 gallons and I ran out of fuel in the bay. Capt. Clark was with the same group as us and agreed to pull me in. His 2 brand new 300 Yamaha's got his 28' boat and my 39' boat up on plane and we cruised to the dock at 28 mph. That sold me on the power of these engines. I now have 100 hours on my 300 Yamaha and have had no issues at all. Hope this helps.

Had a fantastic time. Couldn't ask for better people and the hunting was great too. I saw two shooter bucks but they were out of range. This year I will get one.