Outboard Motor Questions

[chester ver2.0]

Hi guys as i have moved back to the lake a boat is fast rocketing up the wish list

I want something just to belt over to the sand islands and have a fish and as the missus works some weekends small enough to manage myself. I have narrowed it down to the Quintrext 430 fishabout. Now i have the boat sorted my questions was around motors.

1. With the boat i am interested in it is rated as a min HP of 30 and a max of 50 most of the packages i have seen have a 40HP as standard being middle of the road. As a general rule is this suitable from the myswaggers wealth of experience or do you spring for the max HP motor

2. Most of the packages are either a Mercury 4 stroke or Evinrude Etec 2 stroke. No i am lead to believe 4 stroke is better than the older 2 stroke but with these new Etec 2 stroke it is much of a muchness would anyone have any real world experience that would differentiate these enough to help with the descision. Most packages seem to give you a motor with an extra 10HP if you go the evinrude 2 stroke option

[SEADOO]

Yep, been down this path myself.

Always, ALWAYS, go the biggest motor available. Don't settle for the 40 and think, yea, that's all I need, she'll be right. You'll kick yourself not paying the extra $500.

Evenrude is made by BRP (Seasoo), fuel injected 2 stroke that doesn't require its first service till 300 hours (or seem thing like that) . 2 strokes and outboards just seem to be the perfect match. Also much lighter too than the equivalent 4 stroke.

[Pete79]

Always go max HP.
Then when the warranty finishes on the hull get even more horses on there....


I can say from experience the Hornet hulls can easily handle double the number of KW that they have written on that little sticker.....

[sparksy]

Go for electric start as well.
I bought the stacer equivalent Renegade 2 years ago but i limited my spend to 10k. For that I got the boat trailer and 30hp yamaha 3 cylinder 2 stroke. pull starts first time everytime but electric start would be more practical. To go electric start at the time would have added 2k to the cost, probably cheaper now though.
Just had 3rd shoulder reconstruction 3 weeks ago so will be a while before boat hit the water again.

[Beachman]

Also agree to go for the max HP, but I was also under the impression 2 strokes are being phased out due to emission laws??

Years ago Mercury outboards were only good as anchors, but I have a mate in the boating industry who says they have lifted there game and are now on the way to becoming market leaders. 

[Bigfish]

Also agree to go for the max HP, but I was also under the impression 2 strokes are being phased out due to emission laws??

Years ago Mercury outboards were only good as anchors, but I have a mate in the boating industry who says they have lifted there game and are now on the way to becoming market leaders.

Yep..bought a two stroke yammie 15 for my tinny.    Evinrude e-tec the only one.    I,d go 4 stroke any day. I,ve had 200 yammie 4 strokes, 130 optimax 2 strokes and many other various 2 and 4 strokes.  4 stroke is the future.  I bought a yammie 15 2 stroke as it is only for a runabout and lighter to handle with the camper trailer.

Gardening equipment, outboard motors and generators capable of emitting more pollution than a car are being phased out in Australia from this weekend.

QUOTE...

Gardening equipment, outboard motors and generators capable of emitting more pollution than a car are being phased out in Australia.

As of July 1, companies will be banned from importing high-emission lawn mowers, mulchers, leaf blowers, generators, chainsaws, outboard boat motors and other hand-held equipment that doesn't comply with new standards.

Businesses still selling non-compliant equipment have 12 months to offload their stock.
Key points

    From July 1, 2018, only products that meet emissions standards or have an exemption will be allowed into Australia.
    From July 1, 2019, only products that meet emissions standards or have an exemption will be allowed to be supplied in Australia.
    New emissions standards apply to new products. They do not apply to engines and equipment people already own or to second-hand engines and equipment.

Source: Department of Environment and Energy

Gary Fooks, chair of the Blue Sky Alliance, worked for more than a decade with the federal government and industry to bring Australia in line with Europe, the United States and China.

He said research released by the government in the late 1990s revealed some Australian lawn mowers could emit up to 40 times the emissions of a car.

"Lawn mowers and brush cutters, they're used half a metre from your nose," he told ABC Radio Brisbane's Loretta Ryan.

[GBC]

If you aren’t trolling and are happy to mix a bit of oil I’d have a look at an old school 2 stroke before they are off the market. You’ll never get the pay back on the initial spend just zotting around the lakes. Resale is a different matter, but if you can get max hp, key start, trim and tilt in the budget I’d go that way every time on a little boat. Big motors are different and my thoughts are different. We have an etec on the 680 and apart from corrosion on the leg it has been great for 1000 hrs.

[1302toby]

Etecs are like modern diesels, old tech motor trying to be clean and meet emissions by being saddled with lots of high tech systems that rely on computers and sensors etc. I am sure many people are happy with theirs, I used to have one on my current boat and that’s being changed for a new mercury four stroke. I have also used Honda and Yamahas with no issues.

[glenm64]

As long as it doesnt exceed the hull rating, Id go as big as you can.
Id go 4 stroke if not being removed for transporting like a roof topper set up.
2 strokes are lighter and service costs are cheaper, but you dont have to worry about oil for the 4 stroke. 4 strokes dont care about extended low revs.
I picked a reasonably cheap low hour used 4 stroke on my last trail boat, changing from a 2 stroke. Best thing I did. 

[rockrat]

I have both 115hp Etecs and Yammy 4 strokes. Both were reliable but I did have to replace the injectors on the Etec (cost almost $2k) at 385hrs, most likely beceause I hadn’t used it much over the past 2 years before I sold it.

The etec was pretty quick out of the hole but the Yammie was much smoother and very noticeable quieter. 4 strokes are also significantly more fuel efficient and you don’t need to worry about the cost and hassle of 2 stroke oil.

However, like many others have mentioned, go for the biggest motor you can.

And if you have the coin, seriously consider an electric trolling motor with GPS as well. They are worth it just for the anchor function alone IMHO.

[Craig Tomkinson]

Hi Chester, Depending on what sort of money you want to spend, If it was me I would buy a new 50hp  4/ Yamaha, I am on my third 60hp 4/ Yamaha the first two I did 1200 hard hours on them, then sold one to a mate its done another 200 hours has not missed a beat. and sold the other to my brother inlaw it has around another 300 more hours on it still going strong, Thrid 60hp 4/ its done around 750 hours only ever changed the oil in the motor and gear box and a couple of new water pumps for trips up north, You could not give me an Etec got mates with them always giving trouble, Any of the modern 4/ would be good, This BS about being dear to service is just that, I service my own the 60hp 4/ takes 2,2lts of oil and a filter, and 800ml of gear box oil so for less than $50 they are done, still on original spark plugs, at 750 hours, pulled them out a few times still look brand new, I have a new set as spare in the boat, Craig   

[garryc]

I seem to be the only one that says bigger is not necessarily better.
I have this vague idea that the 40 and 50 and 60 hp mercs are the same motor check out the specs of each
Did a quick google and the 4 cyc 40 hp has the same displacement as the 50 and 60 hp. all are 995 cc motors.
Is it better to consider the least stressed motor if this is a long term purchase?

[Pete79]

I seem to be the only one that says bigger is not necessarily better.
I have this vague idea that the 40 and 50 and 60 hp mercs are the same motor check out the specs of each
Did a quick google and the 4 cyc 40 hp has the same displacement as the 50 and 60 hp. all are 995 cc motors.
Is it better to consider the least stressed motor if this is a long term purchase?

As I understand it my 2006 model 50hp 4 stroke Merc is just a “detuned” 60hp.
Pretty much everything is the same except the KW. I haven’t looked into the 40hp specs, but I’m guessing you could be right.
This model Merc also came out with the “Bigfoot” option with a beefed up gearbox designed for houseboats. So they can handle working much harder then me and my tinny could ever push them.

I say you’re right with the “less stressed” theory, but it is all about bigger is better.

My boat was a complete dog with the 30hp that came on it from the dealer. Could hardly plane with 2 people and normal bit of fishing gear. Cop a little shower of rain while out on the water and it couldn’t plane at all.
It had to be WOT to stay on the plane and we had to take 2 jerry cans of fuel everywhere we went, only just made it home from offshore trips several times.

After about 12 months we ditched the 30, chucked on the 50 and never had a problem since.
Can do the same offshore trips and use 1/8 of the fuel.
And I now sit on 1/2 throttle to do the same top speed as it did before.

So more HP is exactly the “less stressed” option.





Oh and apparently my model Merc is a black anchor, everyone keeps telling me how rubbish they are.
But in the almost 12 years it’s been on the back of my boat it’s only ever let me down once, it kept going into limp mode and I thought I was going to be spending the night out on the reef.
As it turned out the problem was a partially blocked pickup in the old jerry can, the motor just didn’t like the low fuel pressure....

[DrewXT]

I run a low pressure oil injected two stroke 70HP that's had an ECU and injector upgrade to turn it into a hybrid 90HP.  Best thing I ever did was upgrading from the 70HP carbie model I had before.

I've of my best mates is a marine dealer, and he was telling me last weekend that 2-stroke engines won't be available in the next couple of years, and parts less available as well.

Some of the new 4 strokes are amazing, got a mate with a supercharged V8 4 stroke on a race boat, and it hauls some serious ass, heaps faster than the 2 stroke he upgraded from.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[avotrol]

ALWAYS go as big as you can as the bigger motor uses way less fuel for the same speed as a smaller motor does having to rev higher. Smaller motors look good on paper, but when you have a full load on board you will be very happy you have those extra ponies. The rest of the time? Fuel savings.

4 or 2 stroke? Once you've had 4, you'll never want 2 again! Quiet, economical, no smoke, no stink, no mess and long life. My 2003, 130hp Honda's have over 3100 hrs on them, have not had any rebuilds and still have perfect compression. Have seen a Honda on a pro fishers boat with over 12500hrs (not a typo) that has never had anything done to it other than servicing strictly every 100hrs. Yes it was VERY loose, but still going!

My boat mechanic, who did his apprenticeship on hire houseboats that all ran Honda's, said that around 7 - 8000 hrs they would do up the heads and then get another 2 - 3000 hrs. If looked after, they are a fantastic motor with a very long life.

Having said that, there are some Honda models that are not the best in their size. 30hp is one of them, and possibly the 40hp as well. My mechanics recommendation in that size is Tohatsu. That's what they run on their work boats that live on the Hawksbury river and they cant kill them. The electric start model is the one to go for.

Happy buying and boating.

Cheers, Avo

[kizza1]

I used to work in the industry and have tested plenty of small quintrex estuary anglers, escapes and coast runners(maybe 50 or so)
Do not consider the 30hp on that size boat definately underpowered. If its mostly going to be one or 2 people a 40hp will be fine. If 3 or more consider the 50hp.
The reason you mainly see mercurys and evinrudes is because telwater/quintrex used to rig them in the factory for free saving the dealers $600-800. Not sure if this is still the case.
Personally im not a fan of etecs. One catch is they run a special oil that generally was only available at evenrude dealers. Which made it difficult to get when you run out at 6pm on a friday.
Sometimes manufacturers have discounted engines available or you might find a last years model for 500-750 cheaper.
Also try ring around a few dealers as some work on bigger markups and others work on volume.
Hope this helps.