That‘s good advice from Jack! Hearing about delays on some motors v others from many people. All those motors are solid (although not sure what the 150 PR is…?). I am partial to Mercuries over the Yamahas, but most around here like their Yammy’s.
Another TOP consideration: I’d go with whichever of the two (Yamaha or Mercury) your nearest dealership service department is certified in for convenience down the road should you ever need to get it worked on (or if you will be having them do the annual upkeep on it). Both are very good, so go with what you can get most easily serviced!!!
General banter on the options: I think with the 150, you will see some fairly consistent performance, so getting the cheapest model can help with your overall purchase.
However, you never get HP cheaper than when you buy the boat.
If you can bump up into that 10k range, either the 175 or the 150 VMAX will deliver a litter nicer performance. Not quite up to the 200 level performance, but closer. However, for overall use, and certainly for basic cruising outside of watersports, I don’t think you’d notice too much difference in any of them. Thus, I probably would not jump up over $2k for those sorts of modest gains. It’d be hard to justify.
Now in watersports, you should get better hole shot with the VMAX (and the normal 175). Also, the VMAX has a much nicer looking cowl (As does Mercury…ha, ha). With the 175, you should maintain slightly better performance numbers when you have a lot of people and gear on board.
However again, nothing too monumental, so just a matter of weighing cost, the slight gains you get, the type of boating you want to do, and overall cost of the boat. The price differential of over $2k seems like a fair amount for the modest increases you’ll get in performance (particularly if you dial in the prop once you have it!!!).
The 150’s perform pretty dang good for those that have them. Don’t really ever hear people complain about them. For me, unless jumping up to a 200HP+ motor, the 150’s are the way to go.
