a boat

Good Morning Tiger Shark, depending on the year model the "CHECK ENGINE" light indicates a fuel restriction. This can be a kinked fuel hose or a blockage somewhere in the fuel supply. The engine has a vacuum switch that will alert the operator to a restricition which can cause a lean fuel condition which can lead to detention causing engine damage. Check the fuel system carefully and make sure you are running 3/8 fuel hose. It is a bit starnge to be sounding on the flusher because the engine is not under any load, but do those checks and then take it for a hard run in the water and see what happens. Hope this helps, Huey.

Good Morning Ray, we can supply a new service manual for $55 with the fishradier discount. The only problem will be that they are are Back Order and might take a while to come in. Let me know if you would like me to order one, Regards, Craig.

Hi fellow fishraiders, thank-you for your kind welcome. I have been a long time member of fishraider and have watched it grow to where it is today and I am exicited to be associated with fishraider now as a site sponsor. I would like any fishraider member or friend of a member to feel free to ask me any questions that you may have relating to boats or engines and I will try my best to answer them. Huett Marine Centre would also like to offer any fishraider members a 20% discount on spare parts when you get your boat serviced with us. This offer will also apply to any chandlery item that you may need for your boat, the only exception will be electronics like fishfinders-sorry. Again thank-you for the welcome and I look forward to meeting as many members as possible and please do not hesitate to ask for help. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Soapie, we used to sell the Sea-Hunter range of boats and they were well made and we had no warranty issues with them at all. One of our mechanics in fact has a 4.3M Sea-Hunter Kakadu and he loves it. Rides well, nice and dry and with the 35HP on the back it will perform well. About the 35HP Johnson, I do not think it will be a 2003 model becasue they only had a 2 cylinder 30HP then. Get the model number and I will be able to tell you the age. If the engine is the 35HP 3 Cylinder Johnson or Evinrude, they are excellent engines and the only problem we have see is that to make sure the fuel system does not have any leaks causing the oil mixing unit to suck air and therefore over oil, which leads to plug fouling and rough running. Other than that they are great and it is a shame BRP do not make that engine anymore because they are smotth and powerful engine for a 35HP and work well on Kakadu, in fact we sold a Kakadu abotu 3 months ago that had and elctric start/power trim 3 cylinder 35HP Evinrude and that was a top boat. Hope this helps, Huey.

A better question would be Do you prefer Carby 2-Stroke, 4-Stroke or Direct Injected 2-Stroke? If you asked me that I personally would prefer a DI 2-Stroke (like the E-TEC / OPTIMAX or HPDI) because it gives you the best of both worlds without any real disadvantages. As mentioned though, it is like the proverbial Ford vs Holden arguement and there will be different strokes for different folks, and that is what is good about a free market like us, it is upto you to decide which is best for your situation. Just my 2 cents worth, Huey.

Hi Deepblue, sorry to hear about your dramas with your Coxcraft. We have been selling them for about 5 years and have not had any real drams with them, and we have been in operation for over 45 years and in our experience the Reefrunner is a safe and comfotable boat when driven to the conditions. You have to ask yourself why your dealer is no longer in operation and I would be more than happy to have a look at your problems and see if we can resolve them. Also I would not have a problem with showing you how to drive the boat correctly considering you say you never went for a run before purchasing th boat. Please PM myself or contact me directly so that we can book you in and have a look at your dramas, Cheers, Huey.

Hi, I was at the dealer conference and spent a fair bit of time in the Haines 650 Classic that had the E-TEC and Yamaha on it. For what it is worth boat engines were propped correctly, in that with both engines running they both reached 6000 RPM, in fact the Yamaha was hitting the rev limiter. With the E-TEC trimmed up there was no way the boat was going to plane with 5 guys in it, but when we ran the boat only with the E-TEC the boat got on the plane, it did take about 200 metres, but once it got it on the plane it did a comfortable cruise speed. Why BRP did not use there own Johnson/Suzuki 4-Stroke was because Yamaha claim to be the market leader and so they went after them. I personally think no bodies 4-Stroke would of got that boat on the plane by itself and we also sell 4-Strokes and I have run hundreds of them. Also at low speed the E-TEC was just as quiet as the 4-Stoke and in fact with only the 4-Stroke running the boat with its SST rod rack and outriggers had an annoying vibration, this could of only been an issue with this particular boat, but I can only comment on what we experienced. As to comments about proven technology, to say a 4-Stroke outboard, that really has only been out for about 10 years has proven itself over 2-Stroke outboards that have been around since 1913 is a bit wrong. Also the direct injection technology in outboards has been out for about as long as 4-Stroke outboards have been made in any great numbers, so I think it is fair to say that both technologies have proven themselves. Also the comment about 2-Strokes burning oil, yes they do BUT it is accounted for in the 3 star emission rating that the E-TEC has, that can not be said for the 4-Stroke side of the fence. Where does the used 4-Stroke oil go.The 4-Strokes outboards are lucky that they do not have to prove that it is dispose of in a environmently sound way. Also please do not think that 4-Strokes do not burn oil, they do, espescially in an situation where they spend alot of time at high RPM like on the back of a boat. I personally prefer an E-TEC and we recomend them to all of our customers and the facts are that we could also sell them a 4-Stroke and in truth make more money from that customer in servicing. So every E-TEC we recomend and sell we do ourselves out of about $1200, but we just do not like 4-Stroke outboards, that being said, I am sure there is many people that will disagree with me, but we have over 45 years of expericne in the marine game and have driven more boats with 4-Strokes and E-TEC on the back than I have had roast dinners. Just my 2 cents worth, Cheers, Huey.

Hi Bisso, sorry to hear of your continual dramas, unfortunately you are not the only one with troubles with Tohatsu warranties. As I mentioned in your earlier post, from what I have learnt the importer here into Australia buy the engines cheap from the Tohatsu factory without any factory backed warranty and then cover the warranty themselves, but they try to fight any and every claim. I have heard some incredible reasons why they have not paid warranty, which is a shame because most of the Tohatsu range are OK outboards. Harold, you are part right, Brunswick owns 49% of TMC so they do not have a controlling right and we have never had any issues with warranties on Mercury badged Tohatsus. In fact Mercury go to the trouble to get the Mercury outboards made with their own XK360 alloy which is very good for salt water corrosion. Best of luck and I hope it works out for you, Huey.

Hi Angler, yes it sounds like you have done your homework, but unfortunately some things you mentioned are still incorrect-although I do not want to get into an arguement because I am happy you are happy with your outboard and as I say to customers if I had to buy a four stroke the Johnson/Suzuki would be my choice. I agree with your statements about the timing chain and the head design, but the other brands do not have this. I also agree that a chain is superior to a belt but a chain can and do break because they are a moving part and the cylinder head of a 4-Stroke is a more complicated piece of equipment than a 2-Stroke, with more moving parts to fail. Do not forget I have seen cylinders heads corrode as well as have a mechanical failure-either way an expensive propostition. The Japanese outboards do not have the greatest reputation for salt water corrosion-that is why some brands actually fit anodes inside the engine block as well as the outside. The fact is you do not see alot of old Jap engines compared to US made ones-go to a ramp on a busy Sunday and see for yourself. Your prices on parts and inital buy price are good, but did you get a SST prop for the price-if not we are not really comparing apples to apples. On your ETEC claims, I have heard about this radio interference with 27 meg, BUT we have fitted about 50 ETEC engines now and most have had a radio and no one has complained-I guess we are just lucky. Anyway fit a VHF, which works much better than a 27 meg and you do not have a problem. The exhaust valve statement is partially correct also-it is only the 60HP ETEC that has this feature and trust me it does give that engine great mid range punch. In my experiences of selling both ETEC and Johnson 4-Strokes a 50HP ETEC will outperform a 50HP 4-Stroke Johnson when both on the same boat and both set-up correctly. I think I will leave it at this as I am sure anyone would be happy with a Johnzuki 4-Stroke, but me personally I would not buy one over an ETEC. Regards, Huey.

Hi Guys, very interesting facts put up by some on this post. Straight up I am a fan of ETEC and I have the opportunity to sell both ETEC and 4-Strokes, so I think I can give an educated opinion on a few things. -As for the BRP and Suzuki agreement, it was actually BRP who has chosen to not extend the 4-Stroke agreement. They are focussing on ETEC solely. I personally would prefer the option of being able to sell both but it is a decision that they have made and time will tell. -BRP are NOT up for sale, in the not too distant future, they are going to be listed as a public company in the states and that can only mean good things as more moeny for development of products in all the categories that they have product and they will be answerable to the stockholders. -To claim a 4-Stroke is less lower on maitanence-I just do not understand and is plain wrong. Over the warranty years there will 4 oil and filter changes by the book as well as water pump impeller inspections. Further down the track you will need to check value clearances and replace timing belts etc. -This leads to the so called marketting hype about 3 year or 300 hour service intervals. Let me educate few of you, what BRP are claiming is that in normal operation an ETEC is quite happy to go three years or 300 hours without a dealer needing to look a the engine. That said, the people we sell them to, we inform that it is a good idea to remove props every 6 months and check for fishing line (should be done on a 4-Stroke also), flush the engine after use(again should be done on 4-Stroke) and visually check the engine from time to time (again a good idea on any outboard). Trust me we make more money in servicing a 4-Stroke we may sell than an ETEC, but we still favour the ETEC. If you are worried, than no one is saying you can not get the engine serviced every year. -Weight of say the 50HP ETEC and 50HP Johnson/Suzuki is in fact in favour of the 4-Stroke by 1KG but that can be put down to the size and strength of the gearbox. The ETC run the commercail grade 70HP G/box while the Johnson has a tiny G/box when compared to the ETEC. I know which one I would prefer. -Another point made was that at 1000-2000 the piston pin will dislodge from a two stock. What a load of BS, what about all the 30 year old two strokes still running around happily. Is it that at somewhere between these hours, which is a huge gap, all 2-Strokes are going to fail-I do not think so and I have been around outboards for over 30 years. -The cost of the ETEC injector is $530- that is what we would sell them for if the injector failed out of warranty. Yes an injector of a 4-Stroke is cheaper at $200, but I personally would much rather have the repair bill on a 10 year old ETEC that say leaned out on one cylinder than the cost of replaceing a cylinder head and block on a 4-Stroke that happened to break a timing belt at 5000RPM. Anybody with mechanical experience would know the mess that would make and trust me the cost of doing this repair would cost more than a complete new engine. -The example of the 90HP ETEC and Yamaha is one I have heard B4 and I actually convinced the guy that to get better performance he would have to switch to the 90HP Johnson, because that is the only 90HP that is a V4 and has the cubic capacity of 1800cc vs the ETEC at 1300cc. Again anyone with mechanical expericence will know that a 1800cc engine will perform better than a 1300cc 3 cylinder- this is a silly comparision and not valid. -As many people have said and I am sure many more who do not come on these forums would say, that they are happy with their 4-Stroke and yes I think they are good engines, but as I have calimed before I personaly know that they do not perform as well as ETEC when comparing the same HP to HP and at the same boat speed, they give very similar fuel economy and emissions-both 3 star, BUT this is the clincher for me and it is starting to happen, the repair bills on an ETEC vs a 4-Stroke that has a major failure out of warranty is much, much less. Sorry for the long post and I am sure not everyone here will agree with me, but that is what is great about Australia, everyone has an opinion and if you want to buy a 4-Stroke, go ahead and buy one, but I hope you never have to replace cylinder heads or other expensive replacements out of warranty. Cheers, Huey.

Speaking from personal experience I have run many OPTIMAX and they are great engines as I am sure the Tohatsu is also-I have not experienced any of these. Comparing the ETEC to OPTIMAX I would still prefer the ETEC than the OPTIMAX mainly for the quietness of the ETEC when compared to the OPTI-especially in the V6 range. The OPTI are really not that quiet when compared to ETEC & 4-Stroke, but Mercury are working on that. I know some of you might say the V6 ETEC are not out here yet (good stock numbers due the end of this month), but I have driven boats with both the V4 and V6 ETEC and trust me they are special engines-they make the other ETEC seem noisey. Comparing the 3 cylinder OPTI and ETEC is a much harder descision but still slightly in the ETEC favour due to physical size of the OPTI and the THREE year service intervals that the ETEC have-this will save approx $1200 over 3 years. The OPTI is a little better of fuel and depending on the hull, performs slightly better than an ETEC and both are quiet engines-tough choice. The ETEC when programmed for XD100 will use less oil and at present they are cheaper to buy than the OPTI, but the OPTI does get a better gauge package with the smartcraft gauges-very cool. As with all engines brands the most important factor should be the confidence you have in the dealers abillity to fit up and maintain your outboard engine, because the best engines in the world can give you headaches if the dealer or mechanics do not know what they are doing and unfortunately in this industry that is common. Hope this helps, Huey.

Hi Guys, this is a very hot topic and I get asked it alot at work. Everyone has an opinion, so he is mine, which has many years of experience behind it and personal use with both ETEC and 4-Strokes because we sell both. Straight up the article that is listed in this topic has been around a while and it the best written, unbiased report so far I have read and I say to anybody thinking about this decision that both technologies are good and you would be pleased with any 4-Stroke on the market, but I personally favour ETEC for the following reasons:- -ETEC gives you all the economy / quiteness and emissions of a 4-Stroke without any of the "baggage" of a 4-Stroke. By baggage I mean the extra weight / complexity / and relative lack of performance when compared to an ETEC of the same HP. Also check out www.e-tecinfonet.org which is a great site dedicated to ETEC fact and rumor. Goto the links and read the articles by BRPs own Paul Dawson-they are very informative. One thing I would do if I was undecided about which way to go would be to price up a complete cylinder head for the 4-Stroke you are looking at. If the engine has a failure out of warranty,which is only THREE years for most 4-Strokes, and if the cylinder head needs to be replaced than it can cost more than what the engine is worth. We are starting to see this with engines in our workshop (and trust me it is not only us) where a 4-Stroke for what ever reason (corrosion to mechanical failure) is needing such a cylinder head replacement to get going again and as I type this the workshop is replacing a cylinder head on a 115HP 4-Stroke that has a cost of approx $7000 plus labour and the engine is only 4 years old. To the manufacturers credit,even though it is technically out of warranty they are going to help him out with some of the cost, BUT trust me if this happened a few more years down the track he would be on his own. As I said earlier it is not as if I do not sell or have experienced 4-Strokes because I do both, BUT there is no way I personally would put a 4-Stroke on my boat if an ETEC of the same HP was an option. Sorry for the long post, but these are my thoughts for what it is worth. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Guys, this is an interesting post and unfortunately it is not the first one I have heard of. I will let you in on a rumor about Tohatsu outboards which I have been told many times from credible sources, but I am sure Tohatsu will deny. The problem with Tohatsu is that the importer buys the engine very cheap from Japan WITHOUT any factory warranty and then they cover the warranty here in Australia themselves. Problems arise because they will fight tooth and nail any warranty claims and I have heard of some unbelievable reasons for not paying up on warranty-too many to go into here. As I said earlier this may be just a rumor, but I personally have heard this many times and I am just glad I do not sell Tohatsu outboards, even though I sell Mercury and most of the small Mercury engines (below 40HP) are made by TMC due to the fact that Mercury owns half of TMC (makers of Tohatsu outboards). The good thing about the Mercury is that Mercury covers their engines warranty and pays any warranty claims we may have. Hope it gets worked out. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Mark, find out if the "shop" has a DDT machine for Mercury Optimax engines. When plugged into the engine the DDT will tell the technician the history of the outboard including warning horn occurances and causes. If the horn has been sounding than a code will be stored in the ECU of the engine and should be pretty easy to diagonise. Hope it works out. Huey.

Hi Jocool, OMC engines of the late 70's and early 80's used electric shift gearboxes. They were a good design that get a bad rap. Main problem with them is dirty oil or glogged oil filter in gearbox. Also the solinoids in the gearbox can go on you and you will be stuck in gear. Problem with all engine brands of that age is that they are not really worth anything and to repair them cost more than the engine is worth. Also new parts are becoming dearer and less readily available My suggestion to you is buy the boat for the value of boat and trailer only, put no value on the engine. Regards, Huey.