Which Boat Dealer Near Lake Marburg?

Well, I'm finally about to purchase a 20 HP motor for my boat to fish the limited-horsepower lakes in PA. I've been to two dealers in the area of Lake Marburg:

Honda Motorsports (obviously they sell Honda motors) and F & S Marina (they sell Yamaha boat motors).

The Honda motor is in the $3000 range with a five year warranty. The Yamaha is a couple of hundred dollars less with a three year warranty. I'm also going to have them service my wheels when I purchase my motor.

Here's the question: all things being considered (NO I don't want to service my own wheels): which dealer/motor is the place to go?

Thanks - Tom

Bob S., who is a member of this forum, will be a person who can help you. Hopefully he will tune in today and give you some help. Muskie52 might be of some help as well.

My brother and I just made the same decision and went with the Yamaha from F&S. Wasnt so into the folks at the other place.
You can get an extra 2 year warranty instead of the 200$ discount or something like that.

I owned a 20 H.P. Honda four stroke on a Tracker. The motor was great, no problems at all. We now own a G3 with a Yamaha Jet 115/80 H.P. and a 8 H.P. Yamaha high thrust kicker. This rig was bought at Lakeside Marine near Harrisburg. Although I had no problems with the Honda I totally love these Yamahas. I know the people at F & S,Mr. Sell and he is a very good guy. Don't know anything about Honda Motorsports. Both motors served us very well, though I probally will always own a Yamaha. Just love them ! Hope this helps ! Good luck with your purchase.

Bob S.

I don't really have much to offer. I have no experience with the dealers you mentioned. I bought my boat from Maiden Creek Marine near Reading. I deal with them, or Lakeside Marine in Harrisburg. I'm located pretty much the same distance from both.
While I love my Yamaha, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Honda. I've heard nothing but good things about them.
As far as warranties go....my opinion is that as long as you do the regular maintenance, nothing should go wrong with either a Yamaha or a Honda within 5 years to where the warranty will matter.

Tony

I have a 1993 Honda 4-Stroke 15 hp Outboard that has been on two other boats I owned before putting in on my Tracker Targa 2000 back in 1999.I've used the Honda for trolling now for 15 hard years and it does not miss a beat.The only maintenance I've done is change the engine case oil & lower unit lube at the end of each year.Once every two years I adjust the exaust valve.I also put in a warmer thermostat for colder waters of November.
The 15 hp Honda will push my heavy Targa 2000 boat with Merc 250 XRS at 14.5 mph at max throttle and troll down to 1.2 mph.You will be very happy with a Honda.I purchased mine from Delongs Marine on Hunters Creek Road off NY 417 before Boliver,NY,he had the best prices in NY and all the Lake Erie walleye fishermen from Southtowns Walleye Assoc, purchase their kickers from Glen Delong as well.

Thanks - for all of the info. Obviously, you can not go wrong with either brand.

I went by the marina at the park today. Their boats have Hondas and Yamahas on them . One of the fellows there advised me he likes the Hondas, but likes the 20 HP Yamahas better and that the service at F & S is very good and knew very little about the other (Honda) dealer.

In this area, there are very few dealers that service the Honda motors while there are a ton of Yamaha dealers in close proximity to me. Presently, Yamaha dealers are also offering a choice of the extended warranty to five years (same as the Honda warranty) or a $150 credit. With this, both brands offer similar prices and warranties (the Honda was about $200 more), thus - price wasn't really a deciding factor. I found out a long time ago, that service means a lot more.

I went by both dealers (Honda motorsports and F & S) and felt that both places had very nice people. F & S is a third generation family business and I was very impressed with Bob Sell (the owner) when I talked with him over the phone about two weeks ago. His son, Andy, assisted me today and I was quite impressed , I decided to go with the 20 HP Yamaha at F & S.

I ended up purchasing a 20 HP tiller Yamaha. It's mounted on my Carolina Skiff 1655 DLX. Why this instead of the 20 Honda? Three generations of service at F & S Yamaha near Lake Marburg. Nice people and the service was excellent. I will go there again in the future.

Can someone tell me which musky lakes in PA have a 20 hp limit. My boat is a 20 hp. I'm assuming Pymatuning is one?

Kaz~

DCNR ANNOUNCES BOATING HORSEPOWER CHANGES AT SIX STATE PARK LAKES

HARRISBURG (August 1, 2003) — Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Michael DiBerardinis today announced a change to boating horsepower limits at six state park lakes, the culmination of a 17-month pilot program.

Effective today, outboard motor limits will increase from 18 horsepower to 20 horsepower at the state park lakes: Lake Marburg, Codorus State Park, York County; Lake Wilhelm, Maurice K. Goddard State Park, Mercer County; Lake Arthur, Moraine State Park, Butler County; Lake Nockamixon, Nockamixon State Park, Bucks County; Glendale Lake, Prince Gallitzin State Park, Cambria County; and Yellow Creek Lake, Yellow Creek State Park, Indiana County.

With the exception of Yellow Creek, all lakes involved in the pilot program are larger than 1,000 acres. Lake Pymatuning at Pymatuning State Park, Crawford County, is targeted for the 20-horsepower limit, but not before the needed approval in joint legislative action by Pennsylvania and neighboring Ohio.

Evaluation of the original 18-horsepower pilot program, completed by the Bureau of State Parks, clearly shows little or no adverse impacts noted by state park officials and very few objections from park boaters, anglers and other visitors, Secretary DiBerardinis said.

“While these observations are not likely to change with this 2-horsepower increase, the 20-horsepower limit will enable boaters to choose from a larger selection of outboard motors, as production of 18-horsepower models is limited,” Secretary DiBerardinis said.

“It must be noted, however, that protection of the resource is paramount, the 20-horsepower limit again will be monitored closely and strictly enforced, and violators will be prosecuted.”
Recently some lakes have been increased to 25 hp in 2009!

Does this mean Pymatuning is still a 10 horse power limit? Or is it now 20? The following link from last year 2008, says Pymatuning was changed to 20 hp -http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_167002734.html is this accurate?

Kaz~

Yep, it has a 20hp limit.