mr_grumble2003

Today was the third time I have taken my new tinnie out. The first and second times I ran the motor on muffs, the prop wasn't spinning at all, today for some reason, it wants to spin, only slow, approx 10 revs a second, enough to be able to stop with your foot, but as soon as you take your foot off it beginns spinning again. Any ideas anybody ?

Pogo covered it all, no more to say.

It is a personal decision, one that I have made recently. There was ALOT of hype over the ETEC's, all of which I was not convinced was first hand ! For my situation, carrying the wife and kid in the boat, quietness and smoke free were two big factors, so out went the conventional 2 stroke as an option. I spoke to a few guys down at the local ramp who actually had ETEC's and while they were happy with them, a couple still preferred their other 4 strokes, one even regreted getting rid of his yammy 2 stroke for the ETEC, not too sure about the amount of alcohol consumption the nite before with this particular guy The 'no service for 300hrs' I don't particularly like, I know its a money saver (and it ought to be after the initial purchase price) but I'd preffer a more schedulede maintenance plan than that. Sh1t happens with all engines, ETEC or not and the thought of running with no maintence just sends shivvers up my spine. I ended up going for a new Merc 50HP 4 stroke. Its super quiet, can comfortably have a convo with the wife at 3500 rpm and smoke, what smoke ! Its no rocket ship, it is heavy (110kg from memory) but goes like the preverbial on my 4.35 runnabout and uses bugger all fuel in doing so. All in all, Im very happy with my purchase, I wouldn't say Don't go for an ETEC, just not convinced the're the best thing sinced sliced bread

The Blue...The Blue..... I Got the Blue I agree, too many white boats out there, not that there's anything wrong with that of course, just not for me. Im picking it up in hopefully 3-4 weeksw then the'll be pics

Well after some research into this, Im not so sure Geoff. Consider 2 and 4 stroke in the Yamaha range, between them there is a 3.5L/h consumption difference. Over a 100hr service period, that comes out to around a $400 saving in fuel. And from what I've been able to gather from our local Service agents, 4 stroke servicing is at the most an additional $90-$100 over the 2 stroke. Taking into account my usage, it'll break even in 3 years, and still with the benefits of the 4 stroke.

Just got back from the Boat show in Sydney, $18,000 worse off ! Nah, only kiddin.... am over the moon. Am still to finalise the minor task of choosing the colour of the aluminium hull. I'm leaning towards a Blue hull, Grey stripe down the side and grey canopy. The missus is leaning towards the white hull, grey strip down the side and grey canopy. She's using the excuse of a white hull having a better resale figure than the blue. If I can shoot this theory down, I'll get my way and have the blue hull.

Hey guys, Im narrowing it down SLOOOOOWLY For the same $$ what would be the more favourable and why ? Johnson 40HP, 4-stroke fuel injected or Yamaha 40HP, 3-Carby Seems a little one sided to me but I'm being quoted more for the Yamaha than the Johnson and was not sure whether there was in fact a reason for this.

Thanks also Bisso. I too WAS considering a Tohatsu and now have scrubbed them from my short list, not so much because of the engine itself, as I have heard quite positive things about them, but mainly because of the pathetic customer service (and I use that term very lightly) that you have been confrunted with. Hope things go your way Bisso ............... ARE YOU READING THIS TOHATSU / DISTRIBUTER !

I'm confrunted now with a decision to either go with a 2 stroke or a 4 stroke engine to power a 4.3m foward steer tinnie. Am looking towards either - Yamaha (for 2 & 4 stroke) - Honda (for 4 stroke) - Tohatsu (for 2 and 4 stroke) I have only ever operated 2 strokes and am not sure what advantages (or even disadvantages) there are to using a 4 stroke engine. I only want it to push me around fishing and the occasionally tow and am not sure whether the extra $$ for the 4 stroke can be justified in my situation. Im looking at a 40HP capacity.

Thats about what I expected. In particular purchasing just prior to end of financial year. I know with various vehicles this has been the case, dealerships wanting to squeeze in as many sales as they can before the financial year runs out. In particular, I have found a Brooker 435 getabout runabout , trailer and 40HP 2 strk Tohatsu package for $15,400 I don't know much about Tohatsu, so I would be swapping that for something else I recognise a little more, obviously pushing the price up another $1 - $2K or so. With my budget being stretched to $15K, I don't want to just settle for what I can afford when I may be able to put off the purchase to the winter months and potentially save some. Might make the diff between what I can afford and what I would really like I'll put it to you all, does the above package sound competitive ? I'll be doing some ringing around later in the week to find some more prices but me being me...... I'm too impatient

Hey guys, I'm looking at a 420 Stacer with 40HP at one of our local outlets here on the Central Coast and I am wondering whether buying a boat is similar to buying a new car from a dealer, in the fact that they may be open to bargaining ? I've not yet tried and hoped that some of you who possibly have all ready been through the processes of purchasing a new boat may be able to give me some idea of what to expect as a result of bargaining. I'm also consideriing lookiing for the same boat on the 2nd hand market, hoping to pick up a 1-2 yr old for substancially less (may even be able to afford a 440 even ) One of the options was the 40HP over the standard 30HP, Is the 30HP under sized for this boat ? They seem to be wanting to steer me towards either a Johnson or a Mariner engine....... any good ?

Cheers for that, some good advice there. Hopefully I'll tap into some of the other expertise within this forum as well.

Hey guys, I’ve little outboard experience although not completely void of mechanical know-how and would like to get some tips on what inspections to carry out on that of a second hand 15-30HP outboard. Obviously an inspection on a running engine is much much better, but if that’s not at all possible what areas should I be looking at ? Initially thought of having an inspection carried out but if I am to view numerous engines it will obviously become an expensive exercise, and I wouldn’t mind knowing anyway. Cheers.........

Didn't quite get the photo Can you give me some more info on the condition and history ? Cheers

Apart from the obvious difference in having more room, what differences would you expect in handling and stability when comparing say a 3.5m and a 4.1m ?