[MRM]

There is little demand for two strokes like you have. They are old technology and finicky. We had a 2000 Jojnson on our pontoon and after a year or two it was so unreliable it made going to the cabin unpleasant. The startup ritual involved setting the choke precisely, set the throttle just so, say a little prayer, crank three times, push the throttle all the way forward, turn off the choke, say another prayer, crank it hard, say more prayers as it turns over, curse loudly as ihe engine catches but dies.

Three years ago we switched to a new Evinrude 2 stroke with ETech direct injection. It fits into the Johnson engine harness and is cutting edge technology. At the time it was the only two stroke that met current EPA standards and can go on Lake Tahoe if we wanted. It has an ECU so you just turn the key, it starts, you go. Every time. It was the price of a first class cruise for the entire family, but when you turn the key and hear it pop off the first crank, every time, it's worth it. Our gas consumption was cut about in half. We get almost a year out of a couple of quarts of oil. We used to hand mix and that was a drag.

Everything is a compromise. Four strokes are more reliable than the old two strokes but are heavy and expensive. New two strokes are just plain expensive. I think you'll be happiest with a new two stroke but it might be more than you'd like to spend.