Hello everyone,
Looking for some opinions and value those on BBC. Current motor is an 88 Mariner Mag II 150, boat new to me in April, still runs decent, gets my Gambler 183 out the hole in about 3 secs and pushes it to about 60 but I want a reliable motor that I can feel as confident as one can be in an outboard to feel good about taking some trips and hitting bigger lakes.
So I’m scheduled to take it into my local Mercury guy next week to see what all it needs but I’m also cautious about sinking a chunk of money into a 25 year old motor. Came across an 08 Optimax 150 in great shape for $3500 + my current motor. So my question is if you were me would you freshen up the old motor or put that money towards the Optimax? If I did switch what would I gain or sacrifice performance wise? And what are the hidden costs if I made that switch? New controls or is there an adapter? Do I need Smartcraft or is it just nice to have?
Thanks!
William