Used Boat Decision

[JACQUART21]

You're an idiot! see, two can play that game..... I've owned several optics and so have my team partners....in all it's 6 opti's over the last 20 years. 5 of those 6 have had issues, multiple power heads and air compressors replaced.. not to mention fuel rails, alternator, reeds, coils and on and on and on.. Personally, I got 1000 hours on both of mine before I finally cut my loses but it cost a lot in repairs and a huge hassle with downtime and issues. Problems started between 350 - 600 hrs. At almost 200 hours a year lately, 1000 comes way too fast for me. For info, all were well taken care of motors and professionally maintained so I don't buy the claim that optis are fine if cared for. Too much personal experience tells me otherwise. Yes I’m biased against optis, because they’ve cost me too much $ over the years. Ask a mechanic about lubrication design of the compressor; compressor should not be considered routine maintenance. $1200 for a compressor here, $5000 for a powerhead there..... lot's of lost money. DFI's are just not made to be reliable... it's that simple. I'd own an efi or carb 2 stroke long before any brand dfi again Nothing against Merc, I have a Merc 4 stroke now and love it.

BTW, if you don't think the engine is more important than the hull on an older rig you should take a long hard look in the mirror at the dumb ass staring back at you

if you’ve had that many major issues with such a high percentage of Opti’s over the years, I would be very concerned about your usage habits and the “professional” service you are getting! You are wayyy above major failure rates vs the number of opti’s I’ve been around. That’s numerous (like 20+) pro xs and first gen opti’s between myself, family and friends. Never seen or heard of an experience like you’ve described!

[Bassin Bob71]

Neither, BassCat or Pheonix

LOL....what took you so long??? To the OP, congrats on the new to you bug! Now go fill it with fish!!!!

[emeryrob3]

Ranger! If for no other reason resale value alone.

[bass.man65]

1 thing I see in the picture is the lower unit is a Gen1 this did not come on a 13. 13 was the 1st year for the Gen2 much better lower unit. I would have to run your serial number to see what it left factory with.

[PowerFish]

Good job on buying the Skeeter! Congrats, enjoy it.

[dukhntr]

You're an idiot! see, two can play that game..... I've owned several optics and so have my team partners....in all it's 6 opti's over the last 20 years. 5 of those 6 have had issues, multiple power heads and air compressors replaced.. not to mention fuel rails, alternator, reeds, coils and on and on and on.. Personally, I got 1000 hours on both of mine before I finally cut my loses but it cost a lot in repairs and a huge hassle with downtime and issues. Problems started between 350 - 600 hrs. At almost 200 hours a year lately, 1000 comes way too fast for me. For info, all were well taken care of motors and professionally maintained so I don't buy the claim that optis are fine if cared for. Too much personal experience tells me otherwise. Yes I’m biased against optis, because they’ve cost me too much $ over the years. Ask a mechanic about lubrication design of the compressor; compressor should not be considered routine maintenance. $1200 for a compressor here, $5000 for a powerhead there..... lot's of lost money. DFI's are just not made to be reliable... it's that simple. I'd own an efi or carb 2 stroke long before any brand dfi again Nothing against Merc, I have a Merc 4 stroke now and love it.

BTW, if you don't think the engine is more important than the hull on an older rig you should take a long hard look in the mirror at the dumb ass staring back at you

If they are so bad, why did you end up owning 6 of them? Seems comical to me. I've ran 2 over the last 15 years and one had a compressor failure. That's it.....

[Gsmith223]

Good choice, Several certified Yamaha shops have told they had to get certified in Mercury just to get any repair work. The SHO is a damn fine motor. Change the oil often and you will be good to go.

[BDBR]

If they are so bad, why did you end up owning 6 of them? Seems comical to me. I've ran 2 over the last 15 years and one had a compressor failure. That's it.....

I owned two, a 2000 and a 2010...as stated "both of mine"... the other four were my team partners that I included since I had a lot of personal experience with them and how they were cared for. One is still running a 200 opti w 600 hrs and so far he’s only replaced 1 compressor but he knows he’s on borrowed time at this point. Lots of other guys I've known on Delta circuits have had bad luck with compressors and power heads too using more than one mechanic so it's not an issue of one bad shop. I've had conversations with a number of guys over the years who tell me how great their optis are and I must have had bad luck etc.... right upon until the point they're asking about the replacement cost of a blown powerhead. Look, everyone has opinions and I have mine. I was already very skeptical of buying the second one after the first debacle but was convinced the earlier model bugs had been worked out... The second one was better but eventually had issues too.. I hate all DFI's but my personal DFI experience was with Opti's. I never had the same issues with my carb or EFI motors (nor 2 stroke or 4 stroke dirt bikes) and so far not a single issue with my 4-Stroke. The simplicity of the 2-stroke combined with high power to weight ratio is why they were so popular for so long with both dirt bikes and outboards. Carb/EFI 2 strokes would occasional blow when guys didn't take the time to warm them properly but other than that they were pretty rock solid as long as the oil mixture was right. When DFI technology came out the goal was all about emissions and fuel eficiency but that DFI technology corrupted the simplicity of the basic 2 stroke design. It required additional components and precise timing and tuning to achieve that low emission goal and the end result was a more delicate motor that ran great so long as everything was tuned perfect but as soon as something was a little off they started having all all sorts of issues. I tell everyone who ask's to run the other way when it comes to Opti's. Interesting how many used optis say new powerhead or X number of hours on powerhead...... There's your sign