They are both good motors. Go with what your trusted dealer sells.

 

well your all ready wired for a merc. I like yamaha over merc .years back they were hard to start cold.

 

I have owned Honda , Suzuki, Mercury and Yamaha, I would choose Yamaha over the others and not because I have had trouble with the others it was because I was just more comfortable with the Yamahas they are very quite and I found very little problems that people had with them when researching them online. Just my opinion.

 

I have a 50 hp 4stroke mercury it’s a 2002 Ive had for many years no issues! But I certainly like Yamaha as well!!!

 

I put a Yamaha 150 on my bass boat and when it time to put a new motor on my pontoon boat it will be a Yamaha can’t say enough good things

 

As already stated,go with a local place who will also service the motor.

 

Love my Yamaha! Quiet, dependable and smooth power.

 

Huge Honda fan, boats main motor is a 225hp with a 9.9 kicker. Quiet, great on fuel!!

 

I have never seen a commercial fishing boat with a mercury on it.

 

Most commercial fishing boats have diesel engines.

 

I sure like my Hondas (15 & 225) but my older 225 Mercury 2 stroke EFI has always been flawless, so it gets a special mention. I selected a 3.4L 200 HP Mercury for the Fire Department's rescue boat. I recommended a 25 Yamaha tiller for our Zodiac at the FD. My next new OB for myself will probably be a 90 or 115 Mercury on a 17 or 18' tunnel jon boat for river use. Mike

 

like everyone has posted above… They're both good motors in my opinion… I would definitely buy the one with a dealer that offers maintenance and service and isn't a long drive to the dealer. ANY motor can be a headache if you don't do the proper yearly maintenance.

 

I used to commercial fish for a living, there are a lot of commercial fishing boats that run outboards.

 

I would definitely recommend buying from the local dealer where you can get service. As someone else said, since you're already set up for a Merc, I'd stay with Merc. I was faced with this same dilemma 7-8 years ago. The dealer advised me to stay with Merc for that reason. I went from a 40HP 2 stroke to a 60 hp 4 stroke, the shifter/throttle control was the same and it only required a pigtail to hook up the all the electrical. If I went with a Yamaha, everything would need to be replaced and (per the dealer) would probably cost about a thousand dollars more.
I've had Merc's forever, I can't say enough good things about them.
Good luck with you decision.

 

Had em all, My Yamaha is the best of them.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Tohatsu. More affordable plus they build all the smaller mercs anyways. Or atleast built them for many years for them.