Merc is pitching the 4.5 250 v6 as an alternative to their 5.0 260 V8. With the weight savings on the v6 I bet the overall performance of the 2 are very similar but definitely better gas mileage on the 4.5. Whether or not either of those are suitable for up to a 23' boat I would agree with you that for 23' that's not enough power especially for 6 people + water sports/towing. You can probably squeeze by with that set up on a 21' but anything bigger definitely opt for more power if that's your intended use case for the boat. If you are really struggling with the decision and are worried that a simple test drive won't give you the answers you need, it may be worth it to rent a boat from one of the marinas on the lake with similar specs to what you are looking for. Load the boat with people and gear for the day and see how she performs.
|