I'm looking at possibly purchasing a new Stratos bass boat, with them you can order your choice of outboard.  Between the 2 boats of interest it would either be a 200 or 150/175 hp.  Any preference between Yamaha, Mercury or Evinrude and why do prefer one over the other?  Any specifics would be appreciated...

youre going to get a ton of different opinions on this one. Dont go with the Merc. I have an 01 225 and it always has a problem going on with it. As soon as I fix one problem shortly after another one creeps up. So far there has been both powerpacks, next was the stator, next was the oil injection pump then the tilt trim motor went bad,next was the ingnition coils and now it is having a low oil alarm go off and the dealer says its a low oil control module. All of these repairs total over $3,000. All which have been electrical. I have a lot of friends with Yamahas and yes things happen but I dont know of any who have had electrical problems like my merc. I wont buy another merc, I simply cant afford to own one.

its your choice. Everyone will have a bad story about all types of outboards. My ex tourney fishing partner always said mercury was the worst. He had a Johnson on his boat and every time we went out fishing we had to put the boat back on the trailor because of his engine problems. He  bought a new bassboat that came with a merc on it , and he said as soon as he could afford to he was getting a different brand. Anyway he hasnt had a problem with it and his new fav is merc. So it all depends on you.

I've had good luck with Merc over the last 23 years or so.  That's what I would go with.  Though I've heard many good things about Yamaha also, but I don't have any personal experience with them.  

Are you thinking about going with a four stroke or two stroke motor?  

I'm fishing a Yamaha,and I love it.I used an Evinrude before and found it quite dependable.

In reference to DigDug's question, I think it will probably be a two-stroke.  I had a 75hp Merc on a 17ft aluninum back in the late 90's and had no problems with it.  I can't say that I've heard anything bad about the Yamaha's.  Sorry to hear about you're troubles GamblerOH, sounds to me like maybe you just got a bad motor.  And as far as Evinrude goes, haven't really heard good or bad, except for the new E-Tec, hear it might be a good one.

Thanks for the input...