Mariner 150 v/s mercury 225

Anybody got a quarter, lol! Thanks for all the opinions guys. And ridgerunner, thanks for the welcome. But it's really a welcome back. I was a god (still hate using thT term) here years ago. So I know a lot of you guys, y'all just don't know me! Muhahaha
 
I agree the weight I have forward helps me out a lot even still I get some proposing at certain speeds and conditions could just be me still getting used to my set up though... Wasn't really thinking about it but without all the nose weight from the cuddy it would probably porpoise a lot more... I have trim tabs on the boat now but I haven't got around to hooking them up so in all reality they may as well not be there.

Yeah docking is a pita for sure I've hit the dock with this boat almost every time I've took it out since I installed the bracket... Getting pretty good at wet sanding and buffing... But I will be adopting the gel coat cost money skin will grow back motto on my outings with others in the boat now!!!

In the end you have to be the one to make a decision and be happy with it! I'm glad I put the bracket on mine since I wanted a outboard. But my boat was I/o and if it had of been outboard when I got it I wouldn't have went through the trouble of adding the bracket. There are pro's and cons to everything it's all in what you want..
 
For me the biggest benefit of the bracket would be the extra room in the boat. Planing faster is good too. But those are things that I can work around. Can't work around a motor digging in when you need to get into shallow water. Even the 150 on tbe bracket would prob too much of a trade off. May or may not end up throwing the 225 on there without the bracket, don't think the extra 140 pounds would be too bad. But if I like the 150 well enough I probably won't. If it's reliable and fuel consumption is decent (only 60 gallon tank on these boats) I'll just go fishing. The biggest reason for considering the swap to start with is I know my merc is a good motor, don't know jack bout a mariner. Broke down on a boat sucks! Ask me how I know
 
For me the biggest benefit of the bracket would be the extra room in the boat. Planing faster is good too. But those are things that I can work around. Can't work around a motor digging in when you need to get into shallow water. Even the 150 on tbe bracket would prob too much of a trade off. May or may not end up throwing the 225 on there without the bracket, don't think the extra 140 pounds would be too bad. But if I like the 150 well enough I probably won't. If it's reliable and fuel consumption is decent (only 60 gallon tank on these boats) I'll just go fishing. The biggest reason for considering the swap to start with is I know my merc is a good motor, don't know jack bout a mariner. Broke down on a boat sucks! Ask me how I know

Don't forget that Mariner and Mercury are really the same engine. In fact (and I could be wrong on this) I seem to recall that in it's first couple of years, the Mariner was called a "Mercury Mariner" engine.
 
At the dealership we always said that a Mariner was a Mercury with a bad paint job. The powerheads are all black under that Gray cowl IIRC..

I did have a old 2.4Liter 200 (389 lbs and approx 175 prop hp) on the bracket at one point. Balance was spot on, I think it ran 48 MPH.
The 550 lb motor, is a drawback in the weight department. But I like to ride out. 45 is a good cruise with the Opti getting real good mileage. 50 is a fast cruise and well, not bragging about top end because 61.7 MPH has not been seen in a very long while. BUT It will run 58 any day, on the rev limiter. It is more fun to have the power and not need it than to not have the power at all. Just saying... LOL! The hull behaves absolutely normal at speed even though it has been said they weren't designed to be fast.
 
45 is a good cruise with the Opti getting real good mileage. 50 is a fast cruise

That sounds great to me, love my 150, but just a little more top end would be my only change.
 
Thanks for all the great replies guys. I mean that sincerely. But at the end of the day there was no deal to be made. I knocked about 7grand off of the price of the truck that the boat was suppose to be partial trade for simply because I don't need the truck and I'm tired of watching it set there. But, I can buy tbe boat for cash at a price that is a bit less than what was wanted for it in the trade! Smh. I sure would rather be fishing right now but my chappy is more than I feel like dealing with and is too big to get to the fish this time of the year. And too dn cold for wade fishing!!
 
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