a boat

Humesy, a very tidy boat for under $10K, you should be very pleased with yourself. I hope you get lots of hours of enjoyment out of her. Regards, Huey.

Hi Smothaz, welcome to Fishraider. I think your budget will stretch to about a 1990 or newer 4.8M roughly size aluminium. The three main brands of Stacer, Quintrex, Savage are the most popular and up there with the best. Just make sure that you give the boat to someone who knows what they are doing to give it a good check over before you buy it otherwise it can become and expensive toy. As with anything if it is too cheap there will be a reason for that and when you say you want to go outside and take the kids inshore I do not think money should be the most important factor-just be patient and you will find the right boat in your price range and you will have many safe days on the water. If you find something on say Ebay or the trading post, I am more than happy to give you my opinion of it and wether it is the right price if you post it on the forum or PM me. Regards, Huey.

Hi Fishyfingers, I have a soft spot for the Cruisecraft Stinger becasue we used to own one when I was a little kid and spent many hours on it down on the Hawkesbury. I think for a river and close inshore boat you do not get much better, perhaps the only other boat that can compare to it is the Haines Hunter 16R, which is a classic boat and still get good money today. We also used to run the bigger brother to the 16R, which was the 17R with a 175HP Johnson and as a teenager I sure had some fun in that boat with my mates. As with all older boats make sure the transom is solid and the floor has no rot and that hull should last for many more years. Most I see run a V4 Johnson or Evinrude which make a good match performance wise and I also would want to get that checked out B4 I paid any of your hard earned for it. Post here or PM me with the the price and more details if you like and I can let you know if I think it would be worth pursuing further. Fishrod, well done on having or getting a hold of the old brochure, I have not seen one of those for a while. That is what is good about fishraider compared to the other sites I visit and that is the willingness of other boaters to help out. I also like the picture of your old boat running under the road bridge on the Hawkesbury-you really do have it trimmed right and running sweetly. Just my 2 cents worth, Huey.

Hi Tony, I have never bashed any outboard-I have said that everyone is entitled to an opnion and all outboards made today are fine and if you want a 4-Stroke then that is your right. What I have done is tried to correct false statements and point out the differences in the technologies used in the DFI side of things and I think you are confused when I say it has two injectors per cylinder. The OPTI range DOES not have two fuel injectors per cylinder, they have ONE fuel injector or direct injector and the other is an air injector that sits on the fuel rail and without both operating the outboard will not run. It has nothing to do with high performance as you claim, but it is the way MERC see fit to get good fuel economy and emissions, but as of 2007 model year the large OPTI are only 2 star emission rating, but I am not sure why they have done that. I personally would rather not have to rely on a belt, a compressor and more components on my engine if I did not need them, but that is just me. As I said in my previous post and Sam has said this is way off the topic and I will bow out of this discussion now because it is getting nowhere and there will always be the mine is better than yours argument and I wish every boater many years of trouble free boating no matter what brand or technology they run. Huey.

Hi Kelvin. Firstly why would not a DFI 2-Stroke last as long as a 30 year old plus carby 2-Strokes? The extremely tiny amount of oil that is run thru the fuel system to keep the injectors clean is counted for in the emission rating and the oil for the lubrication of the crank and bearings is not burnt in the combustion process and because unlike a carby 2-Stroke there is not fuel around the crankshaft etc the oil is not washed away, but I would like to know why you think that using oil in the fuel will cause en engine to fail prematurely. Do not believe that a 4-Stroke does not use oil either or worse they can make oil if the rings do not seat properly or the engine runs cold. Also the 4-Stroke guys are very lucky that they do not have to prove to the EPA that the used crankcase oil is disposed of correctly and not just poured down the sink or whatever-I am sure worldwide they are many pople doing thir own oil changes and are not do the right thing when they dispose that oil. The E-TEC range of outboards have the oil accounted for in the EPA rating which is still 3 star and EU compliant. They DO NOT smell, and I have probably driven more of them than most people as well as my share of 4-Stroke outboards. Please remember that if you troll alot an old fashion carby outboard 2-Stroke might smell, but a 4-Stroke will pump out Carbon Monoxide which you can not smell but it kills people, there have been cases in the states and here where on boats with the clears all up the fumes get sucked back into the elkele;';'pit/cabin like the "station wagon" effect and people have suffered the results of that. The E-TEC range of outboard is the CLEANEST outboard made because it meets the US EPA THREE star rating like your Honda, PLUS meets the EU rating that measure Carbon Monoxide and regulate it. A 4-Stroke outboard without a catalyic converter will pump out alot of Carbon monoxide and the 4-Stroke guys are lucky the US EPA does not regulate that. BRP DO NOT sell 4-Stroke outboards anymore where they have an E-TEC in the range, they used Suzuki outboards rebadged as Johnson for a few years until they had E-TEC across the whole range, so they belive the E-TEC technology is the way to go and so do we, until someone can show me a 30 year old 4-Stroke outboard still running happily. You can choice to believe what you want but I think we have experience on our side. To say BRP is in anyway associated to OMC shows your bias also, in our over 40 years of dealing with OMC and let me tell you until the late 1990's they were an excellent company to deal with and until then OMC produced thousands of excellent outboard engines- alot more outboards engines than Honda has ever produced. When BRP bought Evinrude and Johnson in 2000 it was the best thing that could of happened and having seen the factory and HQ a couple of months ago, they have some very exciting products coming and I believe we are going to see the resurgance of Evinrude to where it was from the beginning in 1913 to the early 1990's as a premium product. In the US and here they are increasing their market share while most of the other brands are seeing there share drop. Honda do make good products and yes they have been making small(below 15HP) 4-Stroke outboards since the early 70's but I have not seen any still running, have you? Yes a 150HP is quiet at idle but at 5000 RPM they are no quieter than an E-TEC at the same speed because being a 2-Stroke with its power advantage an E-TEC will only need to be doing 4000 RPM to do that same speed as your engine at 5000RPM. Yes all cars run 4-Strokes, but remember a car engine is a lot less stressed than an outboard engine because it spends most of its life at below 3000 RPM and gets rests at lights, downhill and they run on tyres, not pushing a heavy load thru fricton the whole time like an outboard. Also a car engine is cooled by a coolant, not salt water and as far as I can understand it the block for your 150HP is a car engine just turned on its head.An outboard NEVER gets a rest when the boat is on the plane and spends most of its life at 4000RPM or more when pushing the boat thru the water on the plane. I say to people all the time that out of the THREE main players, being Merc / Yamaha and Evinrude if they thought that a 4-Stroke powerhead was the best thing for an outboard then why were they not making them back in 1990? All big engines were 2-Strokes because they do a better job as an outboard powerhead. The only reason 4-Strokes have come about is because of the EPA regulations and E-TEC meet the toughest of those without sacrificing anything. The new rating system I guess you talk about is the Australia rating system which came into affect this year-all that is an agrement between the outboard manufactures that import engines from overseas to have an Austrlaian rating system that is the same as the US one and based on the star system. An engine that is THREE star in the states we and any other dealer fit the corresponding Austrlaian sticker once we fit the outboard to a customers boat. Honda in Japan have nothing to do with fitting the OEDA sticker. Your comment about old fashion carby engines also is a bit inncorect, there are many places in the world that allow the use of 2-Strokes, still most of the US and Europe allow you to use them, the only thing is that you can not sell a new carby engine there. If they do not stop making carby 2-Strokes for sale here in OZ it will be a shame because instead of buying a $2500 30HP Carby to use once a month for an hour or so to get where you want to fish you will be forced to buy a $5000 4-Stroke and there is alot of people that do not want to do that becasue they will never use the engine enough to save that amount in fuel-FACT. But as I said in my eariler posts, people have got to stop comparing a 4-Stroke to a Carby because it is not apples to apples, a FAIR comparsion is to compare an E-TEC and 4-Stroke and when you do the E-TEC is the cleanest and the only outboard to have ever won the EPA clean air award, and that includes 4-Strokes outboards. Have you even run a 150HP E-TEC? You mention all the 2-Strokes you have owned and do not list an E-TEC, did you even go for a run in one B4 you bought your Honda? I am happy you like your outboard and I hope in 15-20 years that your 150HP Honda is still going for you. I think this is best left here because we can go back and forth forever. It is fine that you like your 4-Strokes, but I just had to pick you up on some of your comments, which are correct when related to an old fasion Carby engine but not a modern DFI outboard like E-TEC. Cheers, Huey.

HI Kelvin, thank-you for your input and I am glad you like your 4-Stroke, but to say that it will give you long life is a bit hard at the moment because 4-Stroke outboards have only really been available for about 10 years. No one can show you a 30 year old 4-Stroke outboard still running, where I can show you heaps of 30 year old 2-Strokes still running. In fact last wekk we serviced a 1963 model 9.5HP Evinrude that ran like a champ. I could be wrong and in 30 years time your outboard might still be going, but it can not be proved yet. Also your point about fouling plugs and oil smell relates to carby 2-Strokes and it is bit unfair to compare a 4-Stroke to a Carby 2-Stroke, not really apples to apples is it? This is what the 4-Strokes makers want you to do, but it is not a fair comparsion. What BRP do is say "lets compare an E-TEC to a 4-Stroke", they do not worry about old fashion carby 2-Strokes-they really are history and I think in about 5 years you will not be able to buy them new anymore because it is not cost effective for the outboard manufacturers just to produce a limited number of carby outboards for places where they can be sold new without EPA restrictions, like Australia. Also any "old fashion" carby 2-Stroke with the thermostat operating correctly and using the right heat range plus and good oil DO NOT foul plugs anymore than your 4-Stroke would if the thermostat was not working or had the wrong plugs in it, so that is just marketting again by the 4-Stroke guys and you would want to hope that a 2007 4-Stroke or DFI 2-Stroke model engine will perform better than an engine that was produce say in 1980. A DFI 2-Stroke runs excellently at low trolling speeds and DOES NOT smoke like a carby 2-Stroke can. What people have to do is stop comparing a 4-Stroke to an old fashion carby 2-Stroke, yes the 4-Stroke is better, but when compared to the latest 2-Strokes like E-TEC and OPTIMAX the 4-Stroke outboard does nothing better than a DFI 2-Stroke-that is FACT, they are both quiet, clean and fuel efficient outboard designs but the DFI 2-Stroke will outperform the 4-Stroke, be lighter, cost less to maintain, especially the E-TEC range and if out of warranty you are unlucky enough to have a powerhead failure they are cost effective to repair, where any brand of 4-Stroke can cost way too much to repair. Anybody that owns a 4-Stroke should ring their dealer and find out how much a cylinder head and block would cost if you have a mechanical failure or a corrosion problem, let me tell you they are expensive peices of machinery to repair as unfortunately a few of our customers have found out. Just my 2 cents worth and again I am glad you like your engine and I wish you all the best with it. It is good to see that you use you engine as much as you do because when it is all said and done time on the water is great no matter what outboard you are running, Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Jim, wlecome to fishraider. We have never had any great sucess at repairing transducer leads. If you lead is not fully broken and the wire seath is only split, then clean-up the wire as best you can and reseal the cut with heat shrink. It is worth trying, but if that does not work you can purchase a new transducer for your X25 online at www.lowrance.com.au for $94. Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Marcel, if your boat is swaying or "fishtailing" then you do not have enough weight on the towbar. Move your axle backwards to allow more weight on the towball, about 10% of the weight of the rig is a good weight to have on your coupling. Also make sure that the boat is all the way forward on the trailer and the transom of the boat is supported by the rear rollers. I am seen many boats where the boat overhangs the trailer which therefore means that the weight of the outboard is not being supported. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Macka, thanks for your input. The OPTIMAX range of outboards are good outboards, they are also DI engines. Even though we sell OPTIMAX engines also I personally prefer the E-TEC range of outboard, mainly becasue of its simplicity compared to the OPTI. One word of advice about your OPTI, pay particular attention to the condition of your compressor belt, becasue if that fails, which we have seen, you are dead in the water, do not worry about limping home-you will not be going anywhere. Your OPTI also we go into limp home mode, called "guardian" mode, if the ECU detects a problem that will cause major engine damage, like overheat etc. I again should be pushing OPTIMAX though because we would make more in servicing them and yes I think the OPTIMAX range of outboard is the most fuel efficient outboard made and that includes the E-TEC and 4-Strokes, but the extra cost of oil and in particular servicing where spark plugs cost about $40 each will cancel any little fuel consumption advantage the OPTI has over the E-TEC. I just do not like that single cylinder compressor sitting on the side of an OPTIMAX, it is basically a single cylinder engine with a piston, conrod and crank that can fail. The OPTI require 2 injectors per cylinder, again more to fail and that belt is a real weak link and for the cost of one, about $60 I would be replaceing every 100 hours if I owned an OPTI, even though Merc do not require you to. I am glad you like your outboard and I hope it gives you many years of trouble free boating, Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Tony, I do not understand where you are coming from? The E-TEC and 4-Stroke outboard DO cost more than a carby 2-Stroke and YES they are a much better engine-that is not a sales pitch as you called it. To give you an idea a 50HP ETEC costs $800 more than a carby 50HP Mercury, but you get a SST prop and three year service intervals, not to mention the fuel and oil savings and a much better running engine. The ETEC would pay for itself in about 2 years of operation with the savings in fuel and oil. That is without taking into account the SST prop benefit and the fact that you do not have to pay anyone to service the thing for 3 years, if you so choose. An E-TEC uses upto 50% less fuel because it is a Direct Injected engine with the fuel being injected into the combustion chamber after the piston has closed the exhaust port, therefore you waste NO fuel which makes the fuel economy and emissions much better than a carby 2-Stroke. When I said IF you own an ETEC I was relating to the fact that it is upto the individual if they want to service the outboard yearly or every three years-nothing about weather you are able to have an opinion on them. I think if you did get a chance to own or even run an E-TEC you would see that the E-TEC is worth every bit of the $800 more and do not forget we sell carby engines / E-TEC and 4-Strokes and If I was doing a "sales pitch" than I would talk someone OUT of an E-TEC because we make more money on servicing a 4-Stroke or carby 2-Stroke-that is FACT. Regards, Huey.

Hi Gary, the battery charging kit is an order in part, takes about 3-4 days. The two wires you talk about, if they are the yellow and white ones from under the flywheel then they are from the stator and is what the battery charging kit plugs into to to allow you to connect your battery. Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Gary, Ken is right, if you have an electric start tiller handle Mariner it will be charging your battery when the outboard is running. If it is only a manual start outboard than Merc have a battery charging kit that is inexpensive and easy to fit to your outboard that will charge you battery. We have fitted many of these kits and they work well at keeping your battery topped up. It does not have enough juice to charge a fully flat battery, but with the battery charging kit installed you should never see that. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Vision, thank-you for your post BUT when I mentioned apples to apples I was talking price. The E-TEC has SST prop and three year service intervals so that needs to be added to the price of any carby engine. This can be upwards of $1500 so the E-TEC and a carby can cost the same and if you read my next sentence I list the benefits of an E-TEC compared to a carby and yes you can not compare the two. You are entitled to your opinion and IF you owned an E-TEC you could drain the gear oil as much as you like, what BRP are doing is saying with the the high performance gear oil they run in the E-TEC it can last for 3 years or 300 hours and we have seen many E-TEC now that have done those hours or are older than 3 years and the gear oil is fine-we drain the old stuff and fill with new HPF oil and the customer is good to go for another 3 years if they so choice. All we say to our customers is to remove the prop occansionally and make sure that there is no fishing line caught around the propshaft causing the seal to fail-this should be done with any outboard-it is just commonsense. BRP are backing the E-TEC with a 3 year warranty, but if you want to replace the oil yearly or every 6 months, no problem-it is upto the owner. We have some E-TEC owners that are getting their E-TEC serviced every year, but please realise that not many outboards are going to do 300 hours in 3 years, the average an otuboard does in one year is 40 hours so at 120 hours that gear oil will be fine. The Orbitial engine company in WA was only one of the pioneers of DFI 2-Stroke, and early on OMC had engines running with their technology even before Merc, BUT they discovered a better, simpler system made by a German family called Ficht, so they purchased the rights to that technology and what we see today in the E-TEC is the second generation of that technology, but just much better at doing what it is supposed to do- that is produce more HP with better emissions and fuel economy than the earlier design. The E-TEC system in our opinion, is a much better system than the Optimax / HPDI or TLDI system becasue it does not require a compressor, belt to drive that compressor(which do break) or high pressure fuel pump to atomize the fuel. All those parts plus many more parts in the other systems can cause the outboard to fail and you will never see the other brands go down to the HP that Arif asked about in the first place. BRP have had 9.9HP E-TEC engines running and it is my guess that by this time next year we will be selling 25HP and 30HP E-TEC outboards that will be excellent for the 3.9-4.5M tinny market which is so popular here. I personally can not wait to try one instead of being forced to run a gutless and heavy 30HP 4-Stroke which is all that is avaiable to us today if you want a clean outboard. Have a nice day, Huey.

Good Morning Peahead, I agree with the others and we have seen good results with solar panels. We have fitted alot of GME solar panels to commuters and regular trailerboats and they work well at keeping your battery charged while not in use. They will not be able to recharge a fully discharged battery, but with one fitted you should never have that problem. Cheers, Huey.

Hi James, for what I understand of boat building design the portofino transom is the way the stern of the boat will swoop down. If you look at some designs of boat the transom is finished off square while other boats have the "portofino design" A good example of a portofino design would be a Coxcraft Reefrunner while say the Seafarer Viking has the more squre (90 degree) design of transom. Donna is also correct some run a trandom door and I was unaware that portofino was Italian for door-you learn something new every day. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Rod, no problem mate. Yes we can fit the recitifer kit to your engine and it will help to maintain your battery charge, but at only 5 amps output it will not recharge your battery from flat in your normal usage. It will offer a top-up charge when the outboard is running and it might help the battery get thru a whole day of electric outboard use and sounder use. Cheers, Craig.

Good Morning Arif, good question you ask and you are correct. Every brand of outboard have families of engines, which run the same powerhead but have different carbies, or with the newer EMM controlled engines have a different fuel map/program. When comparing brands of outboard engines the cubic capacity of the engine is most important when it comes to the performance and the stress levels on the outboard to produce the quoted HP. The two engines you are considering are both good outboards but the Mercury 50/60HP is a much more powerful engine because it 967cc engine compared to only 698cc for the 50HP Yamaha and 849cc for the 60HP Yamaha. Also having three year warranty vs two year warranty is a benefit that the Merc has. Depending on your boat I think the 50HP Mercury offers the best performing outboard out of the two you mentioned. What I would look at also is a 50HP E-TEC Evinrude, it will cost you more but offers better value for money considering you get a SST prop standard and 3 year service intervals which can add about $2000 to the cost of a carby 2-Stroke when you compare "apples to apples"-that is SST prop for the Merc or Yamaha and the service costs. The E-TEC will outperform both the Mercury and Yamaha, use about 50% less fuel and be a much nicer engine to own and operate with a lot less noise and without any smoke or cold start issues. Also we hardly sell any more carby 2-Strokes, nobody really wants them-even though on "face value" they are cheaper. What I see in the future is the re-sale value of these engines are not going to be great compared to an E-TEc, so the extra money you have to spend on an E-TEC will easily repay you come time to upgrade, and for the life of the outboard you have a MUCH better engine. I hope this helps, Huey.

Good Morning Rod, a excellent engine you were given. These little engines just go and go. I guess you are discribing the lighting coil outlet which is used to run nav lights etc as you were told. If you have a rectifier fitted, whihc transfer the current from AC to DC, you will be able to charge a battery also. Where the yellow wires come from the stator under the flywheel see if they connect to a small round part which is your recitifer, if so you are right to go. If you do not have a rectifier and everything is operational to add one you would be looking at approx $120 installed. If you have any questions please ask, Hope this helps, Huey.

Good Morning Bigslick, you are paying way too much, and I would therefore assume the package will probably be costing you too much, especially with the fishradier discount we offer members. PM me and I will be able to help you out. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Adam, good to hear, I am glad you got the ride sorted. As you said it really should of been sorted by the builder. I have also heard go things about the Solas foil. Yes I was on the Harbour yesterday for Mothers Day and it was an enjoyable day and we are very lucky to have such a great waterway to enjoy any time we like. Huey.

Good Monring Scout, the permatrim will definately help with your performance out of the hole and also allow you to stay on the plane at a slower RPM. As for the stability once on the plane, in my experince the hull shape and weight distribution is much more critial for that, but in my opinion it would be worth the money to fit one to your particular boat. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Fillet-O-Fish, it looks like the stick that goes onto the devise that allow you to reverse your car onto the trailer by yourself. Mercury were selling them about 6 months ago and it flicks over to say stop when the car get over the coupling of the trailer. I forget what it was called, but I am sure if you do a bit of a search or call Mercury in Sydney on 9822-6300 and speak to Shane he will know what it was called and if you can get the other half to make it work for you. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Scout, please remember that foils can also cause the boat to handle worse. What they are good at are getting the boat onto the plane quicker and keeping the boat on the plane at a slower RPM. We sell most brands but recommend the PERMATRIM range of alumiunim foils because they extend beyond the outboard and act like a big trim tab when you trim the outboard. Depending on the year model of your outboard the cost of a permatrim to suit your 40HP would be $210 with the fishraider discount. I know you can get plastic ones for less than that, but I think they do not work any where near as well as a permatrim. I hope this is of help and if you have any questions please ask, Huey.

Hi Tiger, no problems mate. I am glad we were able to help and your day was not ruined. I hope you had a good day on the water and got onto some nice fish. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Mike, Mercury owns 50% of Tohatsu Motor Comapany (TMC) so yes some of the smaller Mercs are rebadged black Tohatsus. Ever since the mid 1980 all outboards have been rated at the prop. A more important aspect is the cubic capacity of the outboard in relation to performance. Manufacturers are allowed to be within 10% plus or minus of the HP indicated on the cowl. This is why some brands of specific HP outperform another brand of the same HP. A great example is the V4 Johnson/Evinrude (1726cc) which produces more than 90HP but can be still called a 90HP, where say a 3 cylinder 90HP Merc(1386cc) or Yamaha(1140cc) would be below the HP rating on the cowl but not less than 10%. The old saying "there is no replacement for displacement" is very tru when it comes to outboards. As for the question, all else being equal I would rather the 20HP Yamaha, unless there was about $500 difference between the two, which I doubt. Hope this helps, Huey.