"Bob La Londe" wrote in message SNIP

Oops. I see you are looking at a 40. I missed that the first time.
Should be right on the money comparson wise with the 50. For the 2
stroke a lot of parts or the same between the Merc 50 and the Merc
40.

Speed may not be important to you, but look at the speed tables on
Tracker's outboard options spec page for the boat you are looking
at.

My litttle boat sees a big difference between my 50HP Merc 2 Stroke
and my 50HP Force 2 Stroke (The Force puts out about 40 HP). With the
Force I get about 28 -31 top speed. With the Merc I have tipped the
40 mark a couple times, and can routinely run 38. 8 - 10 MPH
difference is not a lot on a small lake, but it makes a difference
when running 16 miles up river to your spot.

Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com

Not only would a larger motor offer a little more speed, it will offer more
fuel economy as when you do need to make a run, instead of running at WOT,
you can back off the throttle a little bit, still maintain the same speed as
a smaller outboard at WOT, but be running more efficient at reduced rpms.

I used to guide from a 17' boat with a 75 hp outboard. When I moved up to a
19' boat with a 175 EFI, I not only used LESS fuel, but my travel times were
reduced.

Plus, many people underestimate how they're going to load the boat. Once
you get anchors, a full load of fuel, water in the livewell, all tackle, a
cooler with iced soft drinks and your beer-drinking fishing buddy, you'll
soon find out that a 40 hp boat might be VERY underpowered.

Charles, want to buy my Triton TR-21? I'll make you one heck of a deal and
I'll even deliver it! Of course, we'll have to go out and I'll teach you
how to run it, and we'll do some fishing.....
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service
http://www.herefishyfishy.com