Merc I/O question

[schaaed1]

Should be an easy question for most of you guys ... is the 3.0L Merc a 4 or 6 cylinder?? I'm guessing a small 6, but I'm not sure.

Also, any opinions on the reliability & performance of this engine?

There are actually a couple of Lund Tyees that I am thinking of looking at, both with this set up. Just have to convince the wife and daughter that we need to have one!!!!

Thanks,
Ed

[beachrat9]

Im not 100 pecent, but I believe thats a four-banger.

[FishTales]

Mercruiser 3.0 Ltr 4 Cylinder (http://www.perfprotech.com/portal2/store/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=2291)
This link will take you to see the Mercruiser 3.0 Ltr, it is a 4 cylinder.

[Bambi]

I have a 1994 18 ft. tyee with the 3.0
really like the boat ,the motor runs great & trolls good.
I wouldn't buy another one with IO you lose to much
room with the motor cover.It really gets in the way
when you are using down riggers. my 02 cents

[schaaed1]

Thanks for the clarification guys.

Bambi - Is the Tyee any worse on room than any other similar sized I/O?? I like the thought of not having a kicker out back (course I probably won't be happy if/when I have motor probs!). I also like the thought of not smelling the 2-stroke all day when trolling ... don't think a 4-stroke would be in the budget.

Ed

[Sixshooter]

Ed I/O's aren't that bad. The worst part of an I/O that I have experienced is you have to winterize them much more diligently than an outboard.

But I have two boats so I'm not worried about it. When I winterize the big boat in October I can use the little boat all fall and winter into April/May when I get the big boat out again.

What size Tyee are you looking at?

DonP I think has a 18 or a 19' Fisherman with an I/O. Ask him what he thinks.
I currently only run two downriggers off of my big boat. One off of each back corner. The rest of hte lines are stackers, dipsies, and cores.

You are welcome to fish in my boat sometime if you would like. But I'm guessing that you are looking to buy before I get that boat out of the barn.

Good LUCK!!!!!

[Bambi]

I had a 22ft starcraft islander with IO had alot of room,dropped down to the tyee sure seems small.When you are trolling there is only room for two the driver & one seat for a guest.There is room to sit in the front but if its rough
i like to keep the bow cover on.I haven't been in any other boats with IO.

[schaaed1]

Six - Thanks for the offer, new boat or not, I'll go with you anytime you need a partner ... I'm quite certian I could learn something.

Thinking about a couple of older 18' Tyees that I have seen for sale. Both had the 3.0L I/O. I'm pretty much open to anything at this point, as long as it is 17-18' and aluminum. I need to watch my towing weight (I've got two 6 banger SUVs). Know of anything out there for sale??? Most everything I have seen for sale so far has been on the other side of the state.

As far as your big boat ... I'm kind of in the same situation that you were last summer (I followed your posts). My in-laws have an older Larson 21.5' that has been sitting in their barn (in Petoskey) for at least 3 years now. Nice boat ... great shape, all the room you could want, cuddy cabin w/head. Only problem with it is that it needs the bellows/boots replaced (as did yours if I remember correctly). I could have it if I wanted it (I think). But, I'd have to dock it at a marina and I don't really want to be stuck fishing one lake/port. It has a V8 with plenty of power ... but as I remember, it likes to drink petro at a pretty good rate.

All this boat talk and I'm actually kinda getting fired up for the soft water. :dizzy:

Ed

[Sixshooter]

Your memory serves you well.

My garndpa use to tow the 21' Cruisers with a 6cyl Dodge pickup. HOwever, the kicker there was he only towed about 1/4 mile.

I have to admit the bigger boat is really nice to fish on the big pond.

My big boat has a 305 ci in it. It eats some gas but it isn't that bad.
The truck pulling the boat ot the lake sucks up a whole lot more gas than the boat does out fishing. hehe...

If you are going to go with a 16-18' boat I personally would probably look for something with an Outboard...Because they are a little more cramped for space. My big boat has an 8 foot beam so there is plenty of room back there.

-jim

[Marcellus Bodi]

Hi,
Have a 18 1/2 ft Reiken with a 120 hp I/O and tow it with a Astro 6 cilinder.The I/O is a lot cheaper on gas than a O/B.

[schaaed1]

Thanks for the info guys. Gives me a little more to think about.

Anyone have any ideas on convincing a 10 yr old daughter and wife that WE need a boat instead of a horse??? :banghead3

Ed

[Wishin_Fish]

Horse or Boat, that would be an easy choice.

Horse-Smells funny, probaly keep ya awake a night, have to feed it, have to clean it(to keep it from smellin funny i guess), have to clean up after it, and cant go on vacation without worrying if its gonna be ok.

The boat on the other hand could be fun for the whole family.

Boat-skiing, tubing, fishing of course, doesnt smell funny, wont keep them up at night when your fishing walleye, boats dont make weird noises when ya walk past them, can TAKE the boat on vacation, and lastly they wouldnt have to take care of it.

Anyway if I was looking into a smaller boat(18-19 feet or less) I would get an outboard or a 2 stroke outboard with a kicker even. From what I have heard the newer 2 strokes have alot less fumes then the older models. Having the doghouse cramping things up isnt too fun with more then a couple people on board. Thats just my opinion of course.

Bill

[TONGA]

schaaed1 wrote
Anyone have any ideas on convincing a 10 yr old daughter and wife that WE need a boat instead of a horse???

That's easy!,,,,,,,,A horse is only one horse power but a new Merc is lots of horses

[DonP]

Ed...

As Six has mentioned... I have a model year 2000 Lund 1800 Fisherman (18.5 feet) with a 4.3 Litre 6 cylinder that I bought new. I talked to quite a few guys before buying my boat and they recommended that I go with the bigger motor so that I didn't have any regrets. (I don't!! - that baby scoots across the water pretty good with 220 horses!!) Yeah... the doghouse is there... but it really doesn't bother me that much. I very rarely have the 2 pedestal back seats installed because of whenever I am out on the lake I am FISHING!! :lol: I also have taken out the boards at the very back that are for seats too to make for more room. The back seat cushions on each side of the doghouse double very nicely as cushions to put your knees up against when fighting fish. I am routinely taking 2 other people out on the water fishing (besides myself) and it really isn't that crowded at all. As a matter of fact, on the doghouse is usually where the 3rd person sits. On the doghouse is also a VERY comfy spot to sit while perch fishing too!! I did get a swim platform installed on the back so I could save some room by putting my fish cooler on that. I do have 4 downriggers on a track system across the back of the boat... but I rarely use all of them at one time. It is somewhat of a chore reaching the one over the fish cooler on the swim platform... but like I said... I very rarely use it as a downrigger. I mostly use that 4th downrigger as a rodholder (VERY EXPENSIVE rod holder!! :lol: ) ... but it is also nice to have an extra downrigger should one of the other ones take a crapper. You can easily get away with only 2 riggers though as I would say that it is 10%/45%/45% that I am using 4/3/2 downriggers respectively while fishing.

One important thing you might want to consider is... is that the model year 2000 Fisherman is 8 inches wider than the 1999 model which makes for ALOT of room in that size of boat. I actually waited a couple of months to purchase my boat when I found that out. I am not sure if it is the same in the Tyees... but I think it might be. It is something that you definitely want to keep in mind when looking.

I know whenever I get some extra cash I am going to put a kicker on it because it already has the transom notched out for it along with all the hookups necessary ready to go. It does have a separate ignition and throttle all ready to go for the kicker too.

All in all I would say that I am very satisfied with it. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me or post it here and I will help you in any way I can!!

[schaaed1]

Don, thanks for jumping in and sharing your thoughts!! I was going to send you a p.m. as Six suggested ..... but had not gotten around to it yet.

I think you hit the nail on the head about watching beam width ... no matter what the boat length.

I guess there are trade offs no matter what the rig is. Now if the weather would only break, so people would start putting them up for sale (I can't believe this 'ice fishin fool' just said that).

Ed

[TimT]

I believe the beam width change in the Tyee was 1999. I say this because I bought a new 98 in 99 and the big reason it was still on the lot was because 99 introduced the wider beam, as well as the ITS (Integrated Trolling System), with the integrated mounting location for a kicker.

I'm used to I/O's, as the two boats that I've owned and used for 14 years now have been I/O's. I looked at O/B's at fishing shows (I shopped around '97, '98 and '99) and I just couldn't see how to configure a boat to my style of fishing with a motor or 2 hanging off of the back of it. As the story goes, I was all set to buy/order a Crestliner Sportfish I/O from Freeway marine in early '99, when we discovered that all I/O's came with a big sundeck in the back. That's no good for trolling, and there weren't any 98's around (had the manufacturer rep check) and ended up with a Lund. The outboard model was laid out for fishing, but I just couldn't see fishing without being able to walk all the way to the back of the boat.