Outboard motors

[paladin]

Other than my little Seagull and a couple of the Evilrude 2 hp thingies I have no outboard motor experience.....Who has the most fuel efficient/lightweight outboard engine available......I'll listen to everyone...
Thanks

[spirit]

Honda 4-stroke 20 HP.

[paladin]

That one was on top of my list and I have the brochure and manuals for it. I need something in the 35-40 hp range and 70 hp range......

[JimConlin]

Chuck,
A couple of years ago, I looked for a 6HP motor for the tri. The principal criterion was light weight. I ended up with a 6HP Tohatsu. It weighs 59 lbs. It's been lightly used, and i think i've burned less than 6 gal. in two seasons. It's been reliable and drives the 29' tri at 7 kts. in flat water.
I think that the same motor is sold under the Nissan and Mercury brands.
I'd buy another.

[Woxbox]

I have a Mercury 9.9 4-stroke on my rubber dink. It's advertised as the lightest 4 stroke in that size, but it's been nothing but trouble from day one. Totally unreliable. Had it back twice under warranty to two different shops, but it never got straightened out.

I don't know if this is a Tohatsu model or not. This is a 2005, and Mercury was sourcing the motor itself from two different manufacturers -- that year, anyway. To get a part, they have to have the serial number of the unit so they know which motor you have.

Also, the warranty work sucks. They charged us for one visit on the grounds that the work done wasn't covered. I'll get a Honda next time. FYI -- our little Honda portable generator has been sitting in a locker on the boat for 8 years or so, neglected most of the time, and it always starts right up when we need it.

[openboater]

I love my Yamaha 8 hi thrust elec start power tilt. My Tohatsu 4 hp shakes and is much noisier.

both are 4 strokers and both sip gas and both start very easily.

[Dick Wynne]

Well I have nothing but praise for my Honda 2.3 air-cooled 4-stroke. It may be a little noiser for being air-cooled, but it weighs only 30 lbs so is easy to deploy and retrieve from the quarter bracket on my boat without slipping a disc. And as I was obliged to discover last week when exiting the River Deben a bit late on a strong spring flood, it will drive Constance (about 2 tons but slim with it) at 5kts through the water flat out for an hour or so without complaining. During which time we covered about 500yds over the ground...

http://www.eastcoastrivers.com/deben/index.html

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Well I have nothing but praise for my Honda 2.3 air-cooled 4-stroke. It may be a little noiser for being air-cooled, but it weighs only 30 lbs so is easy to deploy and retrieve from the quarter bracket on my boat without slipping a disc. And as I was obliged to discover last week when exiting the River Deben a bit late on a strong spring flood, it will drive Constance (about 2 tons but slim with it) at 5kts through the water flat out for an hour or so without complaining. During which time we covered about 500yds over the ground...

http://www.eastcoastrivers.com/deben/index.html

Been there, done that thing, got the T shirt...

(its even more fun getting back in, late, over a strong spring ebb...sea breeze + engine = 500 yards in an hour...;))

[katiedobe]

If you can I would get Honda. I have a 25 that is great.
They just revamped their 40-50 hp model to fuel injection and claim it is the lightest in their class.
Down here because of availability more than anything else everyone is using Yamaha's. There is a guy who is dealing in Mobile that I found on Craig's list who was offering great deals on all of the major brands. If I can find his website I will post it for you.

[paladin]

Thanks guys....I was looking into the 35 and 50 hp class, I have downloaded the Honda info, and if they are the lightest, I need the most popular after cost considerations. I assume the Honda's are more expensive than some others.

[spirit]

Penny wise, pound foolish...?

[Bill Huson]

Yamaha. Great engines! I have two - a 1986 115 two-stroke, and a 2006 250 four stroke.

If light is the goal, try an American Hot Rod 20cc.i. Rotary inducted, about 54 pounds (-2 if it has a Motoplat ignition), and cranks out somewhere near 38hp at around 8,600 rpm. If you want reliable, Yamaha, as the American Hot Rod's nickname is "American Hand Grenade." :D

[openboater]

as you decide which manufacturer to go with, research the accessories.

throttle quadrant, ignition switch, gauges. you may be happy with the motor, but you gotta like the controls too. and they are pricey things .

I love the quality of my Yamaha binacle and ignition switch and wiring harmess.

[cookie]

In Holland most people have a Yamaha fetish. Honda and Suzuki probably 2nd and 3rd choice. Then Mercury.

[john welsford]

About 2 years ago I had occasion to research and select an outboard motor for a power trimaran that was to have a 1200 mile range. Fuel consumption per horsepower hour at maximum torque was the criteria we were looking for, and it was noticeable that at that time Yamaha 4 strokes had a slight advantage in the size range that were were investigating. We had a choice of twin motors about 75 hp so if one went down there would be a reserve, or to run a big motor of about 140 hp and have a small one not running but available as its reserve. The single big motor had enough of an advantage that it could carry the 15 hp reserve and still have an advantage over the twins in terms of economy.

18 knots cruise at "takeoff" with full tanks, and 22 knots empty at the same throttle opening by the way.

JohnWelsford




Other than my little Seagull and a couple of the Evilrude 2 hp thingies I have no outboard motor experience.....Who has the most fuel efficient/lightweight outboard engine available......I'll listen to everyone...
Thanks

[Spokaloo]

Chuck I have two Yamaha F50TLRC's (2001, 2004), on two separate boats.

One is attached to my 16' Hewescraft work boat, affectionately referred to as the s**t boat. She runs at about 4mpg cruising 22mph. It is a pudgy little garvey hull with the seating less than 4 feet from the anchor roller.

The other F50 is hanging in my 22' Nina from Mr Mertens. Here are her fuel economy statistics:

RPM| Mph | GPH | MPG
idle | 2.2 | .3 | 9.6
1000 | 3.5 | .3 | 11.6
1500 | 5.0 | .6 | 8.3
2000 | 6.5 | .9 | 7.2
2500 | 8.6 | 1.2 | 7.1
3000 | 11.1 | 1.7 | 6.5
3500 | 13.8 | 2.0 | 6.9
4000 | 17.3 | 2.3 | 7.5
4500 | 20.1 | 3.0 | 6.7
5000 | 22.8 | 3.6 | 6.3
5500 | 23.1 | 4.6 | 5.0
6000 | 27.8 | 4.9 | 5.7

And this for a 1600lb boat with 300lbs of live load and a full tank of fuel.

I have been more than pleased with these motors, they put up with our somewhat harsh weather in Spokane. I run the s**t boat 12 months a year here, so that means it gets run from 105F in the summer to 12F last winter. It gets used in salt water and fresh, in turbid water, as a shorefront work vessel, salvage vessel (towing and recovery work in a shallow area of the lake), and general purpose fish killer. The motor starts and runs every time I ask it to. As long as you keep tidy on your oil changes, they are bulletproof.

When you let an oil change go a little long, they tend to start a little hard, but once you change the oil they fire up instantly.

E

[Wayne Jeffers]

Bump.

I’ve been watching this thread with interest. I was hoping for more input than it has received.

Like Chuck, my only outboards to this point are of the very small 2-stroke variety. I’m in the market for a 9.8/9.9 HP outboard for the new fishing boat I’m going to build this winter.

The only dealers really close are for 1) Johnson/Evinrude and 2) Mercury. I would have to drive a good way to reach a dealer for Yamaha, Honda, or Suzuki, though I’m almost certain that the local motorcycle dealer could provide service on these brands.

Looking on-line, the best price seems to be on Nissan/Tohatsu (same motor, different decals.) I’m receptive to the idea because I have a little Sears Gamefisher 3 HP made by Tohatsu that has been absolutely trouble-free for 20 years.

I also wonder about maybe buying a used 2-stroke of recent vintage. I’m considering this mostly from the perspective of weight; I would expect a 2-stroke to be much lighter than a 4-stroke. From a pollution standpoint, are the latest 2-stroke motors very much worse than the 4-strokes?

Wayne

[RodB]

I am quite certain, the Yamaha 70hp two stroke is the lightest motor in this size and the quality is unquestionable. I have a 90hp Yamaha and have seen Yamaha is certainly one of the best motors on the market.

I realize that they are getting to the point that they will not offer any two stroke motors any more...but you certainly can find a late model 70hp with a little effort... this motor is hard to beat compared to anything on the market when you look at cost versus performance.

I know guys buying new high dollar flats boats are still trying to find Yamaha 70 and 90 hp engines in lieu of buying new heavier 4 strokes.

RodB

[CundysHarbor]

I just faced the outboard decision for a 50 hp. The dealer makes a huge difference. Only one would let me install the engine myself (they did insist on actually starting the engine the first time). The E-tec was out because the dealer not only insisted on installing but also insisted on annual check-up to "install the latest program changes on the computer". So, my new motor is a Yamaha, I am very happy with it.

[paladin]

Thanks, Guys....

[tomlarkin]

I'm in the same boat, so to speak. I'm looking for a motor to push my 25' displacement motor boat, so the criteria are similar to what you'd want on a displacement sailboat. I compared 4 60 HP motors. I'm leaning toward the Suzuki, although the new Honda 60 looks very interesting.

http://boatbuild.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/60-hp-high-thrust-outboard-motor-comparison/

I'm amazed at how little unbiased information there is out there on outboard motors.

[Richard Jones]

I have a Merc 15 , 4 stroke. It's nice, but still noisier than I thought it would be. It's on a vacation boat that gets used only a few times a year. I've learned that in between long periods of non use, it's best to run the carb dry. Letting it sit with gas in the carb leads to clogging of the ports, etc.