All four-strokes are going to be heavier than a two stroke. And potentially more finicky. Two strokes haven’t disappeared because they’re less reliable, they have disappeared because of emissions requirements that have made them either outright illegal to sell or not economical to sell. They are still made and sold for most of the rest of the world.
Ultimately, a lot of these motors are pretty good. Unfortunately, I think it’s simply a truism that outboard motors, dealing with water, especiallysaltwater, and especially if there’s winter storage involved, the motors simply need regular maintenance to reliably keep them running. There’s nothing you can do to get around it, but if you do the regular maintenance, any of these motors are going to last and be reliable most of the time. Case in point, my little engine right now is a 1994 mariner 25 hp, paid $800 for it. This was the overseas-made version of a mercury at the time, and neither one was known for being reliable. This motor starts within a couple pulls every time I’ve tried, the entire time I’ve owned it, including in temperatures in the single digits and after many weeks of sitting unused. I’ve also owned a variety of Mercury and Yamaha motors, as well as some smaller johnson and Evinrude motors. They’ve all been good, but they all have their downsides, and they all have elements that I really liked about them, and they WILL all fail at some point. There’s a reason why offshore boats have more than one engine. 5-15 miles can be a long-ass way in a small boat on big water. Sometimes it goes by quick, but one little change in the weather and you’re awfully committed that far from home in a boat that small. I guess where I’m going is that you should understand the risk you are taking making a trip like that in any boat, regardless of how reliable it is supposedly going to be, and think really hard about the advice above regarding picking the engine based on the service that’s available locally. One of the reasons I’ve had Yamaha or Mercury for the past couple decades is simply because those are by far the easiest to get GOOD service for, including dealers with parts, longstanding company relationships to go to bat for you in any problem, experienced mechanics who know the quirks of your engine. I have three lousy dealers in my back yard but I do all my business and service with a dealer that’s over an hour away for that reason alone. Might be a different brand in your area that has a really good dealer.