Yamaha continues to simultaneously ûbuild DFI and four-stroke lines.

With the introduction of its 250-hp HPDI (high pressure direct injection) engine, Yamaha becomes only the second outboard maker to offer a cleaner-burning, more fuel-efficient two-stroke in this horsepower. The market offers only one other option—Bombardier’s Evinrude Ficht. (Mercury’s OptiMax tops out at 225 hp).

The mechanical failures of the Ficht engines under the now-defunct Outboard Marine Corp. (OMC) from 1997 to 2000 led to hundreds of lost hours on the water for many owners. While OMC struggled to fix its Ficht in the late ’90s, Yamaha introduced its HPDI. Since 1999 when the 200-hp HPDI hit the market, we’ve heard of no major complaints (150-, and 175-hp models followed).…