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Choice of motor

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the_beard

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"Er, hello. I must apologise i

"Er, hello. I must apologise in advance, but this could be the first of a number of threads that will contain questions that many on here will find really banal, but here goes with the first. I keep changing my mind about what kind of boat I want to buy, but if new, then it's going to have to be on the low priced side of things. For general purpose use, is there much difference in the performance of 2 and 4 stroke motors. Not planning on doing much water ski-ing fishing or diving. Am thinking in the range of 50 to 90 hp depending on the weight of boat."
 
"so just crusing around ,stayi

"so just crusing around ,staying at a constant
speed for long periods,go with a 4 stroke"
 
"Thanks for that Charles. One

"Thanks for that Charles. One comment that's been made to me is that 4 strokes are generally heavier than 2 strokes and that with a small boat
maybe 15' length, that weight could be important.
My memories of 2 strokes are from the'70s when I had a series of Kawasaki triples which had a habit of fouling the plugs. Do you know if the latest generation of Evinrudes and Mariners have any such problems or have they been addressed?"
 
"Yes, 4 strokes are generally

"Yes, 4 strokes are generally heavier than their 2 stroke counterpart, but for some hp ranges, that gap is quickly closing. I've considered replacing my '98 90hp which weighs 319lbs. A new Suzuki 4 stroke 90 weighs 20lbs more and the Honda 27lbs - hardly a large enough difference to worry about ( even on my 16' flats boat).

I don't think you'll have plug problems w/ an ETEC. They run at 100:1 and I believe that's only at some RPM's (wide open, maybe cruising), but I believe even less oil is used at idle / trolling. I know my motor is 50:1 at full, but only 80-100:1 in the slow ranges. Old motors from the 60s were 24:1 - almost 4 times the oil!!! (although your 70s motors were most likely 50:1)"
 
"Sometimes I think I live in t

"Sometimes I think I live in the backyard of technology here in Malaysia.Before the colapse of OMC it was Johnson all over. Now the main on the market is Yamaha. The funny part is that seems to go for 2-strokes only. Among the 4-strokes it seems to be a split between Suzuki and Mercury. However there are some interesting things to notice, and that is most of 'governmental' boats like Navy, water police etc uses either Evinrude E-Tech or Optimax! I have quite some friends in the Navy and their answer is: 4-strokes does not hold up for the hard use! They may have breakdowns on the 2-strokes as well, but normally both quicker and cheaper to fix! The price level for second hand navy 4-strokes are close to 'give away', the 2-strokes so far not on the marked, but the very few turning up are expensive.
I think the question 2 or 4-strokes may never be completely answered. The main difference today is in general the head and cam system that comes with the 4-strokes. Electronics and injection systems are more or less the same. On the other hand what seems to 'break' on the 4-strokes are the valve system and heads. One may not compare the rather rough use of the Navy and Water Police to the week-end angler, but it gives an indication. The 4-strokes on the market are in general 'vertical' car engines, the 2-strokes are designed from bottom and up. That even includes pistons and cylinder liners. E-tech with its 5 hours warranty of 'no-oil running' tells the most.
It is a beauty to listen to an idling 4-stroke that hardly whispers. However full throttle and You have a beast. It is a lot to think abot, I'll think I keep on with my old Yamaha 40 Enduro for some more time! I don't even have electric start, and still use the tiller! I run it on 1-1,5%, and it has done some 250 hours last year!! Changed impeller and thermostat a year ago, and plugs a couple of times. Perhaps I'll even give it some new gear oil when the rainy season stops. Why all this running hours last year? Well a lot of people with broken down Mercury 4 strokes 'cheap' from the navy borrows it a couple of times every week. Cheaper than repairing the Merc! And who makes the Merc 4-strokes?"
 
"I prefer the 2 strokes myself

"I prefer the 2 strokes myself, less components to go wrong plus the weight to hp factor."
 
"Thanks guys that helps me put

"Thanks guys that helps me put things in persective. One thing that was confusing me was that many manufacturers either own boat makers, like Brunswick and Yamaha (Yamarin)or like Suzuki
seem to have a tie-in, or "preferred" deal with the boat makers over in Europe. Yet a few small British boat makers who specialise in recreational type fishing boats that may spend a lot of time idling recommend Evinrude E-Tecs."
 
In Australia Yamaha are provin

In Australia Yamaha are proving to be an excellent engine even running in salt water all there life...pro fisherman and tour operators are getting very similar life out of the 4 stk compared to their old 2 stk.

Maybe its a combination of good fuel supply in Australia and trained mechanics looking after them that has something to do with it.
 
"yep.........first yami i saw,

"yep.........first yami i saw,in my shop,in the early 80's,was a spittin image of a 115 evin,except,for a few minor ,of course,changes,for 'patent' reasons,i would assume.....i believe in USA made products...and yamahas,are everywhere,on the tex coast,r they good eng's,evidently....would i hang one on my boat..........helllllllllll nooooo"
 
Well don't buy German Cars

Well don't buy German Cars or oil from Irak or Italian leather etc etc..life goes on and things change.
 
Hey guys im an omc guy but my

Hey guys im an omc guy but my brother is a Yamaha dealer here in Perth Western Australia and to be honest the Yam 4stk goes really well.

They are designed as a marine engine and didnt start off as a converted auto engine like one manufacture i can think of. I was out in a 7mtr cat with two 150hp 4stk's on it and on the gps we were doing 44knots which isnt bad.
 
"i do believe,they are good en

"i do believe,they are good engines....
i just dont believe in ..them...!
and i dont buy german cars,..i am just a john/rude guy thru and thru..."
 
"I've got to admit, althou

"I've got to admit, although I have nothing against the former Axis powers, tempus fugit and all that,I am tending towards trying to do my little bit for the Special Relationship. I'm hoping to get a British boat with a US engine. That may not sound very logical, but, hey what the hell. Thanks once again to all of you, your experience is invaluable, please keep your comments coming. I feel a bit like a 13 year old at school asking the big kids what it's like to go with a girl. Er, what is it like by the way?"
 
"I seem to be developing an un

"I seem to be developing an unhealthy obsession with Evinrude at the moment. There is a dealer near where I live that is offering Evinrude 75hp motors that have come from the RNLI (Lifeboats) in the UK. They are listed as being 2001-2005 with 150-500 hrs. They will have been well maintained and come with a new stainless steel prop, new impeller and 6 month warranty. Are these part of the Ficht family that seem to have a bad reputation or are they good motors?"
 
"Believe these would be Ficht

"Believe these would be Ficht models (FFI's).

Some of the Ficht models did have issues, but given these are now 4-9 years old and have no doubt been well used by their current (owners) any bugs would have showed up by now.

What do they want for them compared to other used engines in your local market or compared to new?

Even at 500 hours, I would consider that "low hours" even on a 4 or 5 year old motor."
 
"Mat,
Both of those motors lo

"Mat,
Both of those motors look like a standard old Carburetor motor. This model would have VRO, so no oil mixing would necessary.

Historically, these motors don't make a lot of power in the low RPM range, but once they get wound up (3500 RPM +) they run great. Another nice feature is these are very reliable engines.

Either of these wouldn't be powerful, performance engines but they'll get you there every time.

Kj"
 
Mat this model 70 is great the

Mat this model 70 is great they look like they are in good condition. They perform well and you would be very happy with their performance.
 
"Thanks Jamie and Kevin. I had

"Thanks Jamie and Kevin. I hadn't thought about the service aspect, but if I buy one from Higham's I should be alright. The place is like an old time motorcycle workshop. The whole place smells of oil and engines. They seem to be as used to re-building a motor as they would be fitting a new prop. Purely by chance I bumped into a retired lifeboatman and asked him about maintenance, and although he wasn't a mechanic, he said they maintained them ".....to the nth degree....." As they have come off inshore rescue boats they really can't afford for a motor
to fail in the middle of a cliff rescue in a gail
Apparently this goes from flushing them after every use to using the best quality oils. Mind you, I've just found d dealer selling new 75hp e-tecs at £5000 with control box etc. D'oh!!"
 
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