I purchased a 24 foot bow rider in 2015 with the 4.5L and have been very happy with it. It is quiet and smooth with a quick hole shot that gets me on plane fast. Wide open throttle gets me to 48 MPH. I did a little research and found that this is the 1st engine by Merc built exclusively for marine use (rather than a repurposed automotive block). Everything you need to get to is right up front (oil dipstick, oil and fuel filter, all drains, etc.). Additionally the throttle is in the back which cuts down on whine. It has a "season saver" so that you can empty the engine of water by pushing a button to keep it from freezing later in the year. I watched a video on line with two Sea Ray 220 sundecks. One had the older Merc 5.0 and the other the new 4.5. Out of the hole the 5.0 could not keep up. That being said, I have no experience pulling skiers so I can't say weather one would be satisfied with the engine for that purpose. I am very happy so far and it uses less fuel!
