I bought a 16' x 52" tunnel hull Alwed with welded in floor & sides, 480 lbs dry weight.

I'll be running in shallow water marshes with matted vegetation.

I'm looking @ Mercury, Suzuki, or Tohatsu

I would go with a Yamaha. I have a F75 and SHO 250 and have never had an issue with either.

Of the 3 you listed, I would go Mercury. I don't know enough about the new Suzuki to have an opinion and have have never heard anything good about Tohatsu.

I believe Tohatsu makes the small Mercury motors

According to Wikipedia Tohatsu makes the under 30hp motors for Merc.

According to Wikipedia Tohatsu makes the under 30hp motors for Merc.

I could be wrong but I think they make the power head only.

Almost everyone around our parts runs Tohatsu on their limited HP lake boats. We have many 9.9 and 20 HP lakes here. Of the 3 listed.......I wouldn't pick any. I'd go with Honda or Yamaha.

I don't think you could go wrong with any of the mentioned motors. Finding a zuki mechanic around these parts is next to impossible with Honda coming in a close second. Do you have a shop you can trust? I would go with the brand they are authorized on strictly for warranty repairs.

We have really good Zuki mechanics around here, the Zuki has DOHC & oil-bathed timing chain.

We have a Merc dealer that has a world class race team.

Tohatsu is the same dealer as the Zuki

We have really good Zuki mechanics around here, the Zuki has DOHC & oil-bathed timing chain.

We have a Merc dealer that has a world class race team.

Tohatsu is the same dealer as the Zuki

 

With that kind of service nearby just buy the best price. You could ask the service guys at the Zuki/Tohatsu dealer which is the better motor in their opinion.

Go with the Merc! I am an employee of Mercury, so help support a fellow forum member!

Besides, Mercury service dealers are almost everywhere.

my boat is at the dealer right now getn a rebuilt 40, but its a 2 stroke, was there a reason you want the 4 vs the 2? Fuel injection?

I don't want a used 2 stroke & good used 2 strokes around here are impossible to find.

The only new 2 strokes are Tohatsu & Etec, both suck in shallow marshes & will not run in shallow grass.

Going with Tohatsu's new MFS40 hp 4-stroke, will

post pics when rigged.