2023 R6 OB Engine Choices

[gstubbers]

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I just ordered a 2023 R6 OB with a Yamaha 300 outboard motor. I live in the pacific Northwest and will use the boat in the freshwater lakes as well as Puget Sound, which was my reasoning for getting the OB. My engine options were Mercury 250, 300, 350, Yamaha 250 and 300. My dealer said Yamaha had supply issues with the 350 OB and wasn't supplying that motor to Cobalt for the 2022 year. I built the boat with the current 2022 options. Does anyone know if Cobalt will have the Yamaha 350 motors available for model year 2023? Would a Yamaha 300 be better for my R6 than a 350? I'm going with the Yamaha brand vs Mercury due to the availability of more Yamaha certified mechanics in my area. Any other info on option changes for 2023 vs 2022 would be helpful. I need to solidify my choice with the dealer later this week.
Thanks for any input.

[Big Block Power]

I heard the yamaha 350 was removed from the line up due to reliability.
I'm a Merc OB guy as I live by the factory and my brother works for them. But Yam. Makes a good engine. Congrats.
I also Say buy the most HP you can afford. Never go small. Why settle.

[CobaltDeadHead]

Unless you really don't have a Merc mechanic nearby, the V8 Merc Verado would be my choice. Their new design is great and out performs the equivalent Yamaha in all aspects.

Plus it sounds bada$$

https://youtu.be/f173vuEJJKY

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[AsLan7]

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Hey gstubbers. So glad you found us.

Plus one on what the others mentioned above. Plus the Mercs look bad a$$ too.

Any pics?

And welcome aboard mate!

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[stifflkd]

Supply issue on the Yamaha 350? Complete BS. Reliability issue in the design. If a 350 will be available in 2023 it will be a complete redesign or they have resolved the issue of the flywheel becoming unglued. The R6 is a heavy boat. I think 300hp will be underpowered. If you are stuck on an OB I would go with the merc 350hp.

[gstubbers]

Thanks for all your responses. All literature I see on the R6 OB says the boat is approximately 5,300 lbs., which isn't too heavy.
Info I got from the dealer regarding outboard performance with the R6 states:

Make Top-Speed On-Plane
Merc 300 50.7 mph 5.70 sec
Merc 350 55.0 mph 4.08 sec
Yam 300 49.0 mph 5.90 sec

When asked, the dealer stated the Mercs are slightly quieter when running too.
I'm now leaning towards the Merc 350...

[stifflkd]

The 350 is the right choice. No one complains about having too much power.

[dustinm]

Unless your all about the speed all the time I would just stay with the 300. For the most part passengers dont like to go over 30 anyway.

[VTENGR]

Unless your all about the speed all the time I would just stay with the 300. For the most part passengers dont like to go over 30 anyway.

This is what I've found. Every once in awhile I'll try to kiss 50mph by the time I'm up there the wife and everyone else is ready to dial it back down to the 30mph / 3700rpm range.

[CobaltDeadHead]

Thanks for posting the performance numbers.

I wonder if Merc will eventually go V8 on the 350 or 400 vs the Inline 6. I've heard such great things about the new V8 300.

As far as speed goes, 30 feels slow in my boat. (To me). I typically cruise in the 35-38 range, but would rather be up around 40-45. It just feels like I'm working the engine a bit hard at that level. So, looking at those numbers, I'd probably go with the 350. Not because I want to go 55 all that often, but more for the higher cruise speed.

I'd love to give an R8 with twin V8 300 a spin someday.

[Big Block Power]

Unless your all about the speed all the time I would just stay with the 300. For the most part passengers dont like to go over 30 anyway.

What who are you? You are so fun of poooooo
This was coming from a guy that drag races
Also a guy that passed up a 240 for a 350 in his boat
Less is better
Slower is faster!

[dsthomas]

Unless your all about the speed all the time I would just stay with the 300. For the most part passengers dont like to go over 30 anyway.

This is what I've found. Every once in awhile I'll try to kiss 50mph by the time I'm up there the wife and everyone else is ready to dial it back down to the 30mph / 3700rpm range.

I can confirm this, 30 mph is our max and my wife even then thinks that's too fast, "It just so bad for her hair" Anyway we are typically in the 25-30 mph range rarley go above that other than just for minute or too to say that we did.

[dustinm]

Unless your all about the speed all the time I would just stay with the 300. For the most part passengers dont like to go over 30 anyway.

What who are you? You are so fun of poooooo
This was coming from a guy that drag races
Also a guy that passed up a 240 for a 350 in his boat
Less is better
Slower is faster!

I should have have stayed with the 280 V6 instead of getting the 300 V8. For some reason I just dont find going fast on water as thrilling as a good drag race. Oh BTW I bought another Chevelle

[gstubbers]

Thanks for posting the performance numbers.

I wonder if Merc will eventually go V8 on the 350 or 400 vs the Inline 6. I've heard such great things about the new V8 300.

As far as speed goes, 30 feels slow in my boat. (To me). I typically cruise in the 35-38 range, but would rather be up around 40-45. It just feels like I'm working the engine a bit hard at that level. So, looking at those numbers, I'd probably go with the 350. Not because I want to go 55 all that often, but more for the higher cruise speed.

I'd love to give an R8 with twin V8 300 a spin someday.

That makes good sense.

[ForeverCobalt]

We own a 2022 R6 OB with 300 merc and it is awesome!!