Mercury inflatables and outboards

[Edo Kazumichi]

Anybody have anything to say about Mercury inflatables and outboards? In particular I'm looking at an Air Deck 240 Hypalon and a 5hp 2-stroke. Are these high quality products?

[CBinRI]

Originally Posted by Edo Kazumichi

Anybody have anything to say about Mercury inflatables and outboards? In particular I'm looking at an Air Deck 240 Hypalon and a 5hp 2-stroke. Are these high quality products?

I have owned a 5hp 2 stroke Merc for last 4 years and have been very happy with it. Always starts, runs well, etc. No problems yet.

[SailorMitch]

I've owned a Quicksilver 270 with inflatable floor (PVC) for about 4 years and have had good luck with it. Mercury made the Quicksilver line and later changed the name to Mercury to take advantage of the brand name. I really like the inflatable. For an engine, I bought a Yamaha 3hp 2 stroke after doing my research -- much better reputation than the small Mercury outboards. Only real competition in my mind was a Honda. The Yamaha has been very reliable.

[BeneteauMark]

I have no experience with Mercury inflatables, but have owned two of their outboards. They were both 5hp four strokes, used on my 23 foot sailboat. The first was a bonafide lemon (failures to start, fuel leaking out of the carb air intake, and fussy to start when it did work), and getting either the retailer or Mercury to own up to the situation was like pulling teeth. They put more effort into pointing fingers at each other and claiming "bad gas" than solving my situation. Eventually, I contacted the retailer's corporate HQ, and got them to replace the outboard, but it took three failures in the first season of ownership.

The second Mercury 5hp four stroke was better. Usually starts on second or third pull and not nearly as fussy. I use it as a dingy outboard now, having upgraded my sailboat outboard to a 9.9 Yamaha high thrust.

Bottom line is that I probably would not consider Mercury for future purchases. I can understand a few problems, IF they are taken care of promptly and diligently. Unfortunately, I felt that Mercury put almost no effort into correcting my problems, and almost all their effort into shifting the blame.

FWIW,
Mark

[TrueBlue]

We've had a Quicksilver inflatable for 8 years, skin replaced by mercury under warranty, just before the 5-year expiration - due to UV degradation. It' a great boat for the money, but my advice is to only purchase the hypalon model.

Several dockmates at my marina have either the 5hp 2 cycle, or 4-stroke and have had few problems with them. We have had our 3.3hp 2 -cycle outboard on our tender also for 8 years and aside from two issues I am generally pleased with it. The original brass shear pins were a joke - we replaced them regularly before Mercury upgraded the spec to a SS pin - no problem since. The combo fuel **** and filter deteriorates after 3 years, so keep a spare on board - cost about $10.

Additionally, I cannot understand why Tohatsu (maker of these engines for Mercury) uses some mild steel componets in their outboards. The fuel hose clamps, tilt pivot pin, some bushings and other fasteners will rust out in a few months on salt water. Poor value-engineering decision on their part, to save money with these critical components.

[Faster]

As TB mentions, Tohatsu makes the Merc 5 hp, as well as the Nissan, Mariner and possibly Yamaha models.

We had several Nissan 5 hp 2 stokes over several years, and were very pleased with them all. The only reason we had more than one was the first was removed from our transom by an over-eager racer, and its replacement was stolen at the marina.

Interestingly, though they sell for similar prices, Nissan offers twice the warranty of the rest (2 years) on the same basic package.

[Edo Kazumichi]

Great info, guys. Many thanks.

So one company - Tohatsu - makes engines fo Mercury, Nissan, Mariner and (possibly) Yamaha. So....that tells me that there's no point in comparing these brands as they are all the same thing. Right?

[Atlantic Bryan]

I've had a Mercury 5 hp 2-stroke for a couple of years now. I bought it because of its light weight compared to other 5 hp engines - apparently there are few others with only one cylinder. I've had very good luck with it and no sign of the corrosion that one of the other posters mentioned.

[pmoyer]

So, do people rinse down their tender outboards with fresh water after hauling it aboard? Just curious (never sailed a big boat).

Cheers,
Phil

[capt'njoey]

I purchased a 2002 mercury valiant rigid inflatable earlier this summer. I only have one problem with it, the seat does not fit well, keeps falling out. this is not as bad as it seems, the floor is concave as it makes up the hull as well, and is very comfortable to sit down inside while alone. when two or more are in the boat it is easier to sit on the tube. the bottom has a deeper vee and is more comfortable in chop than other rigid inflatables. the inflatible is very light, 88lbs empty. it is rated for a 10.5hp outboard and handles a mid 80's 15hp johnson well. with about 500lbs in the boat the 15hp gets the boat onto a slow plane, roughly 12mph and with 160lbs will cruise at 25mph.

hope this helps

Joey