-> The room fell silent as Brian Glapa whispered to All... 
 BG> What I was wanting to know--- which is better --- Johnson/evinrude or 
 BG> something else.  My dad is an avid merc fan and he has told me quite a 
 BG> bit about them--- Higher revs, smoother running due to more cylinders, 
 BG> etc..
Hi Brian. Trying to find out which is better is like asking whether Ford is
better than GM. Each has it lemons, each has good ones. Contrary to a lot of
old wives tales, neither revs higher (most outboards run between 5 and 6000
RPM).
As an example, Merc's Classic 50 (now rated at 40hp) *is* a nice running
engine (and has four cylinders). Johnson/Evinrude's earlier 50 hp's shook a
bit at idle and had some reliability problems until about 1979 when
redesigned pistons cured them. The newer OMC 40/50hp is just as smooth on two
cylinders as Merc's is with four....
 BG> I am handcuffed into the older versions because of my old cable 
 BG> steer system, which I am thinking puts a slight twist on things.
New motors can be hooked to this steering system but it is not recommended
over 40hp.
 BG> Any 
 BG> of the OMC people I talk to want to put all the mercs at the bottom of 
 BG> the nearest lake/pond/cesspool etc... I was looking for a rebuttal 
 BG> from the mercury crowd I guess.  Any Ideas??? 
I'll tell you this, Merc's are physically harder to work on -- period. By the
time you get a Merc hood off (especially on the older models) you can have
the plugs replaced on an OMC. ;-)
 BG> I have looked at a few of the late 60's to early 70's johnsons and 
 BG> they seem to me to be quite bulky and heavy.  I know the 4cyl. mercs 
 BG> were quite a bit lighter and smaller.
Nope. As a general rule, Merc's and OMC's weigh close to the same for a given
horsepower. As always, there are exceptions.
Regards,
          Dave
 
... (A)bort (R)etry (I)nfluence with large hammer.
--- Blue Wave v2.12
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