Boating outboard.

haventrader, Feb 20, 7:39pm
If you were to choose between a 15hp Johnson or a 15HP Mariner, which is the better motor, or are they all much of a muchness!
m16d, Feb 20, 7:48pm
The 15hp Yamaha is the better motor.
gadgit3, Feb 20, 7:50pm
Johnnie, Merc, Mariner all are OMC and build Q is the same. What year are ya looking at
rob_man, Feb 20, 7:51pm
Some Mariners are Yamaha rebadged. They are excellent.
johnf_456, Feb 20, 7:55pm
They are all pretty good, are you looking at a brand new outboard! If getting a used one its service history is a must.
dr.doolittle, Feb 20, 7:56pm
New or 2nd hand!
hi-ling, Feb 20, 7:56pm
johnson and evinrude were made by OMC, Mariner and mercury were made by mercury marine
haventrader, Feb 20, 7:59pm
Both are second hand. The Mariner is newer (2001) and the Johnson has a good service record (1995). Both immaculate though. Cheers guys.
gadgit3, Feb 20, 8:06pm
Who owns Merc!
Chrisler was also OMC and Force until Merc came along
dr.doolittle, Feb 20, 8:12pm
I'd say much of a muchness.
But I'd go for the one thats been the best maintained. IE: check the plugs, compression, cleanliness, strongest tell tale, & finally.best price.

I read somewhere recently on another forum that an older, well maintained outboard can often be a better buy than something newer thats not been looked after or un-used for some time.
haventrader, Feb 20, 8:30pm
Yeah, thought as much. Thanks for the comments. Well, made an offer so let's see what comes back! Cheers
rsr72, Feb 20, 8:34pm
And some Johnsons are Suzukis.
mm12345, Feb 20, 9:45pm
And some Mariners were Yamahas.
edit - I see that was already pointed out above.

Oh well, given the choice of a new 10-15 hp outboard for other than a dinghy, I'd buy a Tohatsu 4 stroke.For a short shaft on a dinghy, I'd get a Yamaha 2 stroke.
hi-ling, Feb 20, 11:00pm
Mercury Marine, founded in 1939, is a division of Brunswick of Lake Forest, Illinois, in the United States.
hi-ling, Feb 20, 11:12pm
Mercury was around way before Chrysler and Force, and none of them is tied up with OMC. Chrysler motors were made by, wait for it, Chrysler Corp,
Chrysler Corp purchased West Bend's outboard manufacturing in January,1965. Chrysler stern drives were sold to Bayliner Boats in 1983 and the outboard division was sold to the Force Outboards division of U.S. Marine - an affiliate of Bayliner - in 1984
icemans1, Feb 20, 11:16pm
small mercs are re badged tohatsus, forces are re badged chryslers
gadgit3, Feb 21, 6:13am
Oh thats why my 1990 85hp force has OMC Force printed all over the remotes and I have a Chrisler that I use for parts.identical engine. My mate has a 1997 Force 25 has OMC Force printed on the remotes and powered by Mercury Marine on the covers.no tie up at all.
There all part of the same group. the build quailty is the same.
hi-ling, Feb 21, 11:35am
Maybe u should read this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outboard_Marine_Corporation.
There is and never has been a tie up between OMC and Mercury marine, 2 completely different corporations, and only 1 still exists and its not OMC
gadgit3, Feb 21, 12:24pm
Link goes to a no info page.
Owners manual for the 25hp force beggs to differ your opinion
bwg11, Feb 21, 5:31pm
Back to the OP's question, both were good motors with no inherent issues, I would be guided by history, condition and price.
xs1100, Feb 21, 6:18pm
why would you go 4 stroke on such a small motor
pdc1, Feb 21, 8:04pm
you need to tell us more about the mariner. It could be either a mercury or tohatsu. If tohatsu it will be the same as the mercury super or what ever its called. I think they are something like 18 hp. The normal 15hp mercury is made by mercury in USA. I've got three of these and they aren't bad motors for a mercury, however I hate the stupid tilt control where it is a fiddle to find the bit it stays up on, and you can't put the motor back down until you lift it all the way to the top. It's also got the forward / reverse and throttle all in one on the tiller. Suits some people I suppose, but I actually prefer separately gearlevel because it makes it harder to accidently change gear, ie slowing up to fast and accidently crunching reverse which is pretty hard on the dog clutch.
Haven't got the tohatsu but have a 6hp 4 stroke one. It goes all right and they are a hugh world manufacturer of small outboards - maybe largest in the world! So if it a Tohatsu, I think you will find it pretty good. Alot of commercial fishermen use these up in the northern hemisphere.
The 15 johnston I don't know about for that year. They used to be the best in that 15hp market, but sort of lost the plot after the mid 80's. I think the basic design remained pretty similar, but they lost the compact design that they had once they put the overhead starter on.
I'd probably go for the Mariner as it will probably resell better, but check out the things you need to use like throttle, gear shift, tilt, weight, size, price, and then make your decision. Whatever way you go, won't be terribly wrong.
haventrader, Feb 21, 8:15pm
Thanks guys for the good advice. I ended up buying the Johnson (with a 12ft tinny and trailer.). Has a brilliant service record with a massive service completed last year. Motor honestly looks new, starts first pop and runs well. Whole rig is immaculate, whereas the other one was in a good condition, but well used. Keep the discussion going, maybe we'll get our Boating category one day. Cheers HT
dr.doolittle, Feb 21, 8:29pm
Yep, if it looks like a Johnson, sounds like a Johnson, has Johnson written on it, then it probably is a Johnson, made by Johnson.
Good choice either way & there are heaps of them about so pars needn't be an issue.
Good luck.