I've only had a few experiences with Mercs:
1. I worked at a marina & we specialized in Evinrude/Johnson. The mechanics absoluted HATED working on Mercs. They said they were built different & were kind of a pain in the butt. That was 13 years ago, so things may be different.
2. My friend had a 90hp Merc, I think it was mid 1990's, on a 17' Lund Fisherman. It took forever to start & it was very slow. He sold the boat after a year because of that. He had bought it used, so it could have been ruined from the previous owner.
3. My brother-in-law has a mid 1990's 50hp Merc on a 16' Smokercraft tiller. He loves it. It starts good, runs excellent, & is very fast.
Sorry for the length of this, just my 2 cents worth. I think both make good motors. If you're buying new, I'd talk to dealers for each & get the details, features, etc. Ask them why there's is better.
Good luck & have fun!
