Outboard information

[Ozzie]

http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/outboard-on-board

I am considering a replacement OB for my boat, for no other reason that even with the mods I’ve made to the transom and mount the weight is becoming too much to manhandle with my deteriorating spinal problems.

Research turned up the above 2008 article from cruising helmsman. I’m posting it for anyone interested. Models mentioned may be about the vintage I’m looking at. My tinny Mercury 5 is 2008 and it’s excellent. I would probably go for a 3.3 Mercury bluesmoke except I don’t think they ever came in a long shaft. Not in Aus anyway. Ian B and Dr Peter had the small Honda 4 strokes air cooled at one point which I believe were adequate, so guys if either of you are viewing I’d appreciate a long term assessment. One thing I found was that due to the oil system the Honda’s are no good at over 32 degrees so are not useful in the tropics. With climate issues on the fore we are getting more and more hot weather even here so that may be an issue

Also the issue of motor sailing with a 4 stroke is mentioned. I think it was Ray or Andrew that raised that in an earlier post. I don’t motor sail often but my wife pointed out that in strong current with a smaller motor it may be necessary to get back to our mooring.

Decisions, decisions. Comments welcome

[Geoff]

Following with interest Ozzie.

I think I have the same ob as you currently - Mariner 5hp 2 stroke. Same age as the boat. Works good but I keep prowling fb marketplace and gumtree for a later model 4hp 4 stroke long shaft. I want a 4hp because I am in Qld and don't have to register the boat at that. Long shaft is the problem, they don't come up as often as the shorties.

Keen for others input.

[Ozzie]

As much as I would like the quietness of the newer 4 stroke 3.5 models the small 2.3 Honda is air cooled and reputedly loud but who cares . Unfortunately it is probably going to be too small for my needs. Despite being enclosed waters LM has quite strong currents owing to the narrow channel and because of the shallow water a short sharp chop in strong winds which needs a little bit of punch But I’m still open to suggestion.

Unfortunately I can’t locate a older model long shaft 3.3 on the net so I’m fairly certain they were never distributed in Australia at 13 kg they would be just light enough. The newest 4 stroke version comes in LS but goes back up to 18 kg standard, probably 19kg for the long shaft, so no better than the my current Mariner 5 LS 2 stroke. Getting old is starting to suck.

I could lock it on the back but I personally prefer not to. It comes home or if sailing regularly I have a system to flush it on the boat and chain it in the cabin. Nice and dry.

Found the thread on the 2.3 Honda, encouraging.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=552&p=4357&hilit=Honda#p4357

[Peter T]

Hi Ozzie, I agree with David in regards to 4 stroke, but they are heavier. And, like my trailer, heavier is stronger I reckon. I wonder if 2 or 3 HP is enough to push your boat ? I have not used mine yet, but it’s a 8 Hp 2 stroke Yamaha and I would rather a 4 stroke. The tidal flows here in Tas are very strong so it’s hard for me to know your conditions. Also, we get very strong wind here on the NW of Tas. I would think that wind and tide against you , then even a 8 Hp starts to sound very small. Personally, I have found that I have never been in trouble if I have had too much power, but I did have a lot of problems in the 24ft Roberts while I used a little single pot 8 hp Renault inboard. You would be coming into a warf or jetty, wind against tide, throw it into reverse at the crucial moment and it wouldn’t do a thing. Not even pull the skin off a rice pudding so I put a new Nanni 16 hp twin in it and it was a dream to use. You can never have too much power, but power costs money and it’s heavy, so Good luck with what you decide on. 2 or 3 hp might do the trick in ideal conditions, but we often don’t get ideal conditions.
Regards Peter T

[Raya]

I was impressed with the Tohasu Sailpro 6hp that Andrew sourced for "Teria". He wrote about here http://teria563.blogspot.com/2019/10/ne ... ro-6hp.html and also on this forum.

[Ozzie]

Hi guys. Thanks for the info, I think in an ideal world I would definitely buy a new Sailpro and just chain it on the back of the boat but scumbags being what they are, they would only remove it for me. I have already had 140 hp outboard stolen from my cruiser in the 90’s and they must have had a purpose-built boat with a crane to get it off according to the police. My mate has had his chained outboard stolen off the back of his yacht at Valentine, a much more crowded area than mine these guys have no fear . A sad aspect of the world we live in.

My fallback position is to construct a small crane to attach to the taffrail to hold the 5 hp up while then dropping the mount out from under it and then pivot to swing it into the cockpit where it is more easy to manhandle. I’m looking at it while scouting flea bay and gummy for alternatives. I think if a Honda 2.3 came up at the right price I’d buy it to try. They would I’d think be an easy resell if they turn out to be unsuitable

[Topaz Bill]

Yes, it's a sad aspect of our modern society that we even have to consider such things as having our outboards stolen. A friend of mine ran a pub, and he had to stop putting scent blocks in the urinal trough as every night they were stolen .

My Tohatsu Sail Pro has been great, a litre per hour at five knots in most conditions. The prop diameter does look small, but it seems to have plenty of thrust (unlike me).

It depends once again on our intended use, the Sail Pro is great because of really long shaft and charging capability, I do still get a bit of cavitation but on a reach in rough conditions I should be sailing anyway.

[Peter T]

Hi all, I note with interest that those long shaft 6 hP Tohatsu Sail Pro' s only weigh 27.2 kg. That's not too bad at all for a 4 stroke. It would be interesting to weigh my 8 hp 2 stroke Yamaha, I reckon it's quite a bit heavier than 27 kg. I might look at one of these for mine ?
Found the following , interesting
" The "best" 6 HP outboard is not a simple question. First, there is the two stroke vs 4 stroke decision. Two strokes are lighter (my 1986 8LJ weighs 62 pounds, a similar new 4 stroke weighs 85,) simpler, and have better acceleration. That 23 pounds will make a big difference in performance when placed on the back of a small dinghy. Four strokes are quieter, smoke less, and have better torque. Fuel economy is better with a four stroke, but a 6HP outboard only burns half a gallon an hour at wide open throttle so economy is less of a concern in small outboards. Smaller four strokes lose a lot of their advantages as the injectors are so small to maximize economy that they are easily clogged by bad fuel, and again who cares if you burn 0.3 gallons per hour or 0.4? Four strokes idle better and at idle their fuel economy is more pronounced over a two stroke, which is even more inefficient at idle. If you idle a lot and especially if you run too much oil in your gas a two stroke will need to have new plugs more often. Mixing gas and oil needs to be done correctly, but having oil in the gas means you are getting great lubrication.

Then there is the issue of cost. Four strokes are always more expensive than two strokes, and there aren't many old four strokes to purchase inexpensively on the used market. If you are in an area where theft is a problem, an old 2 stroke with a crappy paint job is less likely to be stolen.

Ease of starting is more dependent on maintenance than type or brand IMO. A well maintained older two stroke can be extremely reliable and easy to start- see the video below of my new to me a few days ago 1986 8LJ which was not maintained well but has perfect compression 120/120 and starts first pull after putting in new plugs. It sat for several years in someone's garage and had significant signs of neglect.

Recently I needed to add a small kicker to my 19 foot boat. I've been using a 1980's Honda 5 HP I picked up for $200. It runs well and is reliable but is fairly noisy and vibrates a lot due to being only a one cylinder engine. I like Yamahas, and I've been looking for an 8 HP, but a new high thrust, electric start model is $1200 used. A few days ago I found a 1986 Yamaha 8LJ (long shaft, manual start) for $300 on Craigslist. I didn't have my tools with me so I couldn't evaluate it but took a chance on it.

This is how to evaluate a used outboard:
-look at the prop and check for dings and excessive wear, spin it and see if the shaft is straight (it will have a wobble if there was a bad prop strike.)
-ask about the maintenance history, see if they have a shop manual.
-loosen the lower gear oil drain screw, let a little gear oil out and make sure the gear oil isn't milky (which means the seals will need to be replaced.)
-take the cowling off and look for excessive corrosion, or discolored paint (bronzed/lighter) around the cylinder area by the spark plugs which implies it overheated at some point.
-take the spark plugs out (13/16 socket or big adjustable wrench,) disconnect the kill switch and check the compression with a $35 guage from Autozone. You screw the guage in the spark plug hole and pull the starter a few times until the guage maxes out. 120 is typical and each cylinder should be within 10 psi of the other.
-get an $8 inline spark tester in case the engine won't start. If the compression is good and there is good spark, it is probably a fuel supply problem. In mine, just changing the fuel hose and primer bulb fixed an engine that wouldn't start. Compression plus spark plus fuel equals tiny explosion.
-bring "ear muffs" to hook to a water supply to run the engine, check to see if the impeller is pumping water out from under the cowling. The one I just bought had a clog from sand in the outlet that I fixed by poking it with a small drill bit. I'm still going to change the impeller.
-look at the spark plugs and make sure there is no metal bits on the plugs, metal would mean the bearings are tearing apart.
-make sure the fuel line primer bulb will get nice and hard when you pump it. Pump it with the flow area pointing skyward so the check valve will work. Put the fuel tank at a reasonable height. Have the motor down in operating position so the carburetor bowls will fill more easily.
-see if it will idle nice and slow. If it coughs and dies, the carbs need cleaning. There are YouTube videos on how to clean a Yamaha carb, which prevents poor performance and running lean which is bad for the engine. Or you can pay 1.5 hours of mechanic time at $85 per hour for the first carburetor and 0.5 hours for each successive carb.
-put it in gear after it is warm (prop warning applies) and run the throttle up to check for hesitation in the high speed jets. Best to water test it on a boat if possible, this problem may only show up when under a load.

Parts are easy to get for old Yamaha outboards. Check out Simyamaha.com. Get a shop manual for your specific outboard and learn how to take care of it, change the impeller etc. $75 well spent (proprietary Yamaha literature, don't get a cheap knock off like Seloc.)

Old two strokes hard to start? A myth based on poor maintenance, although they can sometimes be a little cold natured. Google "Yamaha 4 stroke hard to start" and you will find examples of brand new little four stroke outboard engines that are cantankerous. "
Peter T

[Ozzie]

Thanks Peter, a comprehensive list. I’m still checking gummy to see what comes up.

In regard to security my preference would be a chain, around the ss taffrail. Cutting 22mm SS tube can’t be done with bolt cutters so rules out teenagers with dads bolt cutters. Hardened steel security chain with square section would require portable angle grinder with a lot of noise and creating light. With any clamp I would be concerned an inventive scum bag might simply undo bolts on my folding mount or even take their time and undo the through transom bolts on the mount.

Once professional a$$holes get involved your sunk anyway. When my 140 hp was pinched, the mongrels cut my mooring line, towed the boat onto a sand bank well away from the populated shore area and removed the mount bolts and even folded up my OB cover and left it in the driver’s seat. True gentleman I hope they get crabs in their underwear...blue swimmers.

I created a lock for my new outboard that protected the transom bolts. But that relied on having a cruiser with a big thick solid transom. It worked in so far as my new OB was left unmolested for the remaining ten years I had the boat. I remember the insurance assessor mentioned he’d seen transoms cut out with a chainsaw. Go figure. That’s what you have insurance for I guess

Best to take reasonable precautions and just enjoy your boat . All of life is a gamble. If my back was not going east I’d just keep on with what I have. Maybe I’ll leave the mariner on the mount, paint the leg pink and take the prop off between use would deter the average crook.

[Franklin]

I have a mate who would buy a can of spray paint when he bought a new outboard. He’d cover his new outboard in graffiti.
Looked ugly. Still worked like a new outboard, but it’s value to thieves was minimal

Cheers
Franklin