Boats And Things

[Aussieraider]

Presently looking at getting a boat to take outside off Sydney - maybe to the shelf

Really would appreciate views on reliability issues around one engine or two.

Separately whether four strokes are any more reliable today than two strokes?

Any input much appreciated as these questions will drive boat selection and price too.

Wouldn't want to be stuck out there with no way home

[Flightmanager]

Good Morning, I hope no-one has been washed away. This week I would like to highlight a good second hand boat that has to find a home. It is a Seafarer Vagabond powered by twin 115HP Direct Injected Evinrudes. This boat has everything and gives a fishraider the best 6.2M outside boat made with fuel efficient and powerful outboards.

Please PM me or call if you would like more details on this excellent boat,

Thanks for taking the time to view this post,

Huey.

This might be what you are looking for !!

Ross

[Red]

Mate, pretty much all modern outboards are reliable these days. You'd have to be unlucky to buy a lemon.

I've been fishing outside in my own boats for 17 years and broke down only once. A 2nd motor would've been a godsend at the time.

If you plan on fishing wide on a regular basis then twin motors are the go. I've spent a lot of time on a Seafarer Vagabond with twins and they are an awesome trailerboat. However if you just want to duck out for some inshore fishing around the Peak etc with just the occasional shelf trip, a single outboard is fine. Most pro's use 4 strokes these days so i guess they can't be a bad option.

Cheers

Red

[Aussieraider]

Mate, pretty much all modern outboards are reliable these days. You'd have to be unlucky to buy a lemon.

I've been fishing outside in my own boats for 17 years and broke down only once. A 2nd motor would've been a godsend at the time.

If you plan on fishing wide on a regular basis then twin motors are the go. I've spent a lot of time on a Seafarer Vagabond with twins and they are an awesome trailerboat. However if you just want to duck out for some inshore fishing around the Peak etc with just the occasional shelf trip, a single outboard is fine. Most pro's use 4 strokes these days so i guess they can't be a bad option.

Cheers

Red

Red

I guess pretty clear that two engines going to be better - as you nsaid - when you needed it you needed it - so if offshore I guess two motors or amin plus auxiliary is whats needed.

I remain interested in the two versus four stroke battlle

I've always been a Honda four stroke person - had lots of their gear and NEVER let down once in over 20 years

But ETec seems popular and two strokes offerring more perfomance and lighter weight - and claiming equal reliability

But I really dont know hence the request fo forum memebers

Red - appreciate your interest

[Geoff]

Ausieraider I run a 2S & happy with the overall performance & in particular the running cost as I normally do not travel too far.

If considering frequent long distances , Peak , Browns etc then fuel cost becoms more important so 4s or E-Tec should be considered.

Shop around & compare purchase price & ongoing running cost , in particular fuel usage & service cost for 2S / 4S / E-Tec. This should narrow down the field.

In respect to 2 V's 1 motor , 2 provides a comfort factor if one motor fails but keep in mind the weight factor on the transom , in particular when at rest & a couple of guy standing down the back.

The other aspect , twin motors are a bit useless if all the running gear ,eg , electrics , fuel etc is single.

To go to the extream (some may suggest over the top) , if running twins then there should be seperate fuel tanks which are filled at different servo's .

I think the chances these days of getting a load of dirty fuel is remote so seperate fuel filters , ie one for each motor should suffice.

I guess the question is , how far should the twin set up go beyond the actual motor to cover a possible problem when 20 miles off the coast

Geoff

[choad]

silly question to come so be gentle...

if you have twin engine setup eg. 2x90hp, for regular usage, do you use only one and save the second as a spare or do you run both equally every time?

[Reel Addiction]

silly question to come so be gentle...

if you have twin engine setup eg. 2x90hp, for regular usage, do you use only one and save the second as a spare or do you run both equally every time?

Normally mate for game fishing you would travel on both motors and then when trolling just use one motor but alternate between the two every couple of hours

Edited June 17, 2007 by Reel Addiction

[The Iceman]

I cant see any reason to go with twin motors anymore due to there reliability and limp home mode they have now Dirty fuel can be a problem so get the best recommended fuel filter you can get

I wont enter the 2 vs 4 stroke debate as I know nothing about the latest 2 stroke technology

[Flightmanager]

I think it is now quite well proven that the latest 2 and 4 stroke engines are very quiet , and very clean. Gone are the days of obscuring the dock in dense clouds of blue smoke , I think any modern 2 or 4 stroke engine would be a good choice.

There are pro's and cons in both camps , but the gap is narrowing with each model release , 4's tend to be a bit heavy , 2's still require oil to burn. Then there is power to weight to consider , whether you intend to do a lot of trolling , or more constant mid to high speed travelling. 4's have a lot of moving parts , 2's not so many.

Once you decide on 2 or 4 stroke , thats only half the battle. You then have to choose which brand.........

Ross

[Red]

Aussieraider, i'm not a fan of auxiliaries for offshore fishing. They are next to useless out there. They are often neglected and poorly maintained motors that are likely to fail when needed. Just ask my father

Twin motors are the best option if you can afford them. I'd probably choose Etec as they are lighter and use less moving parts. This can only be a good thing, especially with twin setups. Realistically you won't go wrong with either. I believe Etecs are going for good prices at the moment so there's even more incentive. Good luck with it all.

Regards

Red

[Aussieraider]

Red and Flightmanager

Appreciate your advice

Two engines it is - and four stroke I'm doing for no reason other than I like them

So to the question of Flightmanager - which brand?

I have always liked Hondas

Aussieraider, i'm not a fan of auxiliaries for offshore fishing. They are next to useless out there. They are often neglected and poorly maintained motors that are likely to fail when needed. Just ask my father

Twin motors are the best option if you can afford them. I'd probably choose Etec as they are lighter and use less moving parts. This can only be a good thing, especially with twin setups. Realistically you won't go wrong with either. I believe Etecs are going for good prices at the moment so there's even more incentive. Good luck with it all.

Regards

Red

[Flightmanager]

OK , if 4 strokes are your choice , you are going to need a pretty good sized boat to hold 'em up! What sized engines (HP ) are you looking at buying?

Ross

[warnie]

Aussie raider

Regards the issue of one versus two let me just say if you intend to do offshore work lets say the shelf and beyond there is nothing more reassuring than to know that if you were to drop a motor for whatever the reason that you have another one to get you back home and for that reason alone this installs alot of confidence about venturing outwide...........For the twin motors to be truly effective they both need to be set up with individual means of delivery by that i mean........seperate filters,fuel tanks lines.duel battery set up etc...........Providing the means to isolate the problem if it was to arise to one motor or the means to switch between motors to fault find and or confine the problem to one motor for whatever the reason.is sobering.................HOWEVER! while in most cases this allows you to get over most problems you are likey to come across from a mechanical or electrical aspect nothing is foolproof i have been in the situation a few

times on both sides............. The last one involving a 64 nautical tow back to port although not life threatning it could of very well of been i learnt from that experiance and now have a 3rd yes 3rd means of battery source that would require another topic to explain fully that eventfull day.................................

I am running twin yamaha 115 4 strokes approaching 2,000 hrs and are both doing to expectation

all the latested model motors are good its just that some are better than others ..............a common problem

encountered with 4 stroke twin set up being the hull was never designed to carry that weight on the transom in the first place and you hear quite often the same problem with some of the big 4 stroke singles also........................

so maybe the e-tec or the better of the 2 strokes would come to mind if weight distribution was a factor just my opinion

i hope it helps cheers Steve

[Mark L]

Hello, I agree with the last post, Mate if you can afford set your boat up with twin 4strokes if you intend doing long hours, keep them well and they will look after you. Its important to know if your transoms buit strong enough as I dont know what hull you are after. Twin 2 strokes are good also but a bit thirsty when using one for trawling speed. The Etec are great these days though.

At the end of the day if you can afford it mate go twins if you want to trawl out at the banks.

Hope this serves you well. All the best with it.

Mark

[a boat]

Hi Guys, let me throw my 2 cents worth in. If somebody said I HAD to buy a 4-Stroke outboard I would be buying a Suzuki. We have had good experience with these being that the Johnson range of 4-Strokes were just rebadged Suzuki and at present we have Suzuki wanting us to sell their range of outboards, and I am considering this quite seriously becasue they are the best 4-Strokes I believe for 2 main reasons. Firstly they are big cc engines that give them good low down torque and the abiltiy to swing large diameter props-this will help on a large twin rigged boat when you have to get anywhere on only a single outboard.

Secondly they are the only 4-Stroke that run a timing chain instead of a belt like the others. In my opinion, a chain is superior to a belt.

Also offer 5 year top to bottom warranty at present which is hard to beat. I have heard the other company offering this warranty has some exclusions as to what is warranty.

As a few have mentioned though is to make sure you go enough HP to do the job, especially pn one engine. Also be aware that the transom can carry the extra weight and not upset the way the hull rides thru the water. We have seen many boats that do not perform well with the extra weight non the stern-they will struggle onto the plane, have to run at high RPM to keep it on the plane and in the worse case, "porpoise" badly when the outboard is trimmed out.

But I would still prefer an E-TEC personally, but that is what is good about a free market, you can spend your own money anyway you like, sorry I could not help myself.

Cheers,

Huey.