choosing a motor

[reese]

hi guys and gals

i currently own a 15ft swift craft with an OLD evinrude 60hp motor - still runs fine at this stage but will oneday die, and if it gets me through the summer ill be happy and look to upgrade.

currently i fish lakes and off shore mainly around the heads - (not far enough out land disapears)

i have a young child and another to come, so iam sure they will be towed in a doughnut of some sort (no adults skiing)

currently looking at at 80hp - 115hp, 80hp + new techknowlagy should be good upgrade and 115hp is max.

i hope the above info is what you need to help pass on some advice.

i have narrowed to Evinrude, Mercury and Yamah, but they have some many different models, 2stroke, 4, ect.

right now im not focusing on price as i am looking at what suits ect and will worry about that last.

i really want assistance on narrowing down a list of things i need to know to help make a decision,there is some much info out there, and can become confusing very quickly.

or in simple words how did you guys decide on your motor/ upgrade.

thanks

[Geoff]

I think the first thing to decide is a suitable HP. Once that is determined you could then focus on brand & 2S V's 4s

How does the boat handle , hole shot , speed wise with the current 60hp , say with 3 people on board , Ok or is it struggling

just a comment , I think 115hp would be overkill on your boat

Geoff

[Floating_Medic]

When I chose the motor for my 17 foot half cabin, I went on the boats own restrictions then had to do a little bit of math because the time the boat was made the weight and size of motors were very different to that of the motors that were available on the market at time of shopping.

I ended up choosing the Yamaha Salt Water Series because living in Sydney, the majority of water around us is salt water. They are built for the harshness of the salt water and as you probably know, its like natures acid!! It will eat away and kill almost anything and if something isnt built specifically for it, it wont last long at all.

At the time, my hull was built in the mid 80's and said the maximum was 250kg or 115hp. I checked out the weight of most motors in that year and went from there. I ended up looking at the 2 stroke 115hp but thought the extra $1500 for the extra 15hp to go up to the 130hp was well worth it cause I knew I would be one day pulling 2 skiers up from deep water starts and that motor did it with ease.

It was very easy to maitain, and the motors these days do not even need to be started to flush them out, you just connect the hose and turn the tap on and it does it all itself and at 1am in the morning its a fantastic feature.

The Yamaha was always 1 turn starts and never ever let me down out on the water, except for the time I lost a prop the first day I took it out after having it fitted and having to be rescued by maratime under a Pan Pan call as things were getting hairy and we were drifting ever so close to rocks, and the worst part about it is that no less than 3 bigger boats completely ignored my orange and black V emergency sheet being held up directly in their faces from less than 200m away. Each boat literally looked the other way and just kept going with atleast 4 people on each boat and not one of them came over to check on us. If it werent for me fitting the radio the night before we would have been in the drink for sure awaiting rescue whilst floating with jackets on. It turned out the apprentice mechanic was fitting the prop and was late for his Xmas party with the marine shop that fitted the prop and forgot to fit the split pin, and with me being a first real boat owner I didnt know to check it before we left botany bay through the heads on a fishing trip with another Doctor friend of mine. Anyway, we got home safe and they replaced the prop free of charge.

Back to motors, but yeah, apart from the Yamaha Salt Water series I really have no other experience and to deal with Yamaha Motor Finance throughout the initial purchase days was fantastic. They were really fast and easy to deal with, but if you are buying outright then you wont need to worry about it.

I loved that motor which gave me trouble free boating from 30klm off-shore trips to 8 hour days of straight wakeboarding and double/triple tubing all the way up to the 110hours at which I sold it.

[reese]

thanks guys -

Yamah is looking good - and evinrude, then gotto decide 2 stroke or 4 - as both have engines in the hp range in both 2 stroke and 4.

will be brand new set up and install.

my boat set up will take 280kgs, (boat is 15.9ft) and fibre glass - currently the 60hp sits about 35kph with me and wife n child and all our gear -

the real test will be end of jan as there will be 4 adults - registered for 6 but will never have that many even on a nice day - 4 adults on a nice day will be enough - so i guess ill get more of an idea if 60hp is enough -

for me an my familly - right now its the wife and me and young child, but every second trip my olds will come, which makes me lean to atleast the 80hp - 100hp - i would rather little extra kick to be shore.. am i thinking correctly?

an important note is i havent experienced anything bigger then a 60hp so i cant honestly say 60hp pulls fine or not, i do find the boat is fairly level and when i hit the throttle it stays fairly flat and cruises along..

[GoingFishing]

Hi mate I own a 2014 evinruds e-Tec 75hp. I can only offer advice based on my own experience but I'm sure others can add

Advantages, the E-tec engines are a dream on petrol, I have a 77 litre tank and when I'm fishing Botany Bay for a full day will consume only about 9-10 litres, iv also been on a couple of mates boats and pound for pound I think the e-tec has more power-torque than similar engines from other brands. I think the 90hp will do you fine

My engine starts first time every time but admittedly it is a new engine so really shouldn't expect any different.

Disadvantages, compared to other engines the e-tec is a little loud but still very quiet. I pulled up next to a mercury at the boat ramp on Monday and didn't even know his motor was on ! Couldn't see what model it was because he had a hood fitted on it. Was very impressed none the less.

[reese]

thanks goingfishing - i am leaning to the evinrude 90hp - is your 75hp 2 stroke or 4? i think the 90hp is a 4stroke -

hopefully in the coming weeks when everyon is back at work ill have a chat to someone from evinrude.

i have requested a quote form evinrude and yamaha and murcury so lets see.

Edited December 31, 2014 by reese

[Guest Aussie007]

i lost all my workshop manuals on my old computer but i think the old (depending on year model) 60hp evinrudes were around 800-1200cc, serisouly if a old technology 60hp is moving your boat now and your happy a brand new engine is going to haul ass in the same horse power range so if u up the ponies it's just going to put a bigger grin on your face

i think all new engines are pretty much equil in there own unique way some will suit certain boats better than others, if u put x motor on x boat and prop it right it'll perform well

speak to craig (huey) hes a evinrude dealer he should give u a good deal being summer

[reese]

thanks - and i am going to ty organise a test (some how) would like to go out on a boat similar on size and get a feel, plus in a fortnight or so ill have 4 adults in so will get to see how it goes then -

from what i have read the 2014 60hp will kill the 1977 60hp as you would think - in all areas -

for me the question is how much better ( which is proble impossible for anyone to know unless they have the same/ similar boat)

[Guest Aussie007]

reese i once had a little tinny i bought a new 18hp tohatsu for and i also had a vintage johnson 20hp on it, the new tohatsu probably doubled my top speed no joke plenty of up and go where as the johnson i could run it all day flat out, the tohatsu was scary riding in the tinny solo at wide open throttle hit a little bit of chop and crap ya pants

i dont think the bigger engines would have that much of a difference but your take off and getting up on a plane would be so much easier and top speed plus fuel economy would be much better over the old engine

[reese]

thanks Aussie007

[reese]

just an fyi - my engine has sh!t (approx 1977 60hp evinrude) it self sooner then i thought - few little fiddle issues which will cost enough to work out then repair cost - and wiht the engine not kicking back over after running fine, then wife said before we even got back to shore we are getting a new motor -

(sooner then i hoped but, if you engine craps it self you cant just pull over and wait for nrma, so after hours and days of reading and calls to multipul dealers for each brand i am going with Etec 90hp.

hopefully fitted in the next fortnight

Edited January 28, 2015 by reese

[a boat]

Ken will look after you with that new power and a big step up in performance and fuel economy over the old girl. Enjoy it.

[reese]

thanks mate who ever i spoke to yesterday was awesome thanks -

i spoke to a few dealers from every brand and they were all really good apart from one -

[a boat]

I am in Sydney and you should get it from Ken at Ken's Marine if you are in Canberra.

[Juggs]

another option is weigh up what you will get for your boat as it is running add the cost of a new engine and then see what you can get a few years old for the same money

you will suprise yourself and go from a 30 year old boat to a 10 year old boat for less money then the repower alone

just an option unless your sentimentally attached to that boat

[Marlin01]

Reece,

I have fished on several boats with both Etecs and Yamaha four strokes. I will get howled down for this but if seasickness is a factor I will say the Etecs were very fumey at low revs, also the newer motor (12 months old) suffered a fouling problem after trolling live baits for an hour.

On the other side of the equation the Yammie for strokes I have fished with have been faultless especially when slow trolling.

I am on my second Yammie four stroke but if my motors were rubbish I would not hesitate to bag them.

Just some feedback from someone who has fished on boats with both motor brands.

Cheers

Marlin01

[mike2153]

Mate I've got a yamaha 40hp 4 stroke 2005 model, the last of the carbis I believe and I cannot fault it, flick the key off it goes all day long, I can get to the shelf and troll lures around for 5-6 hours and come back in and use less than 25litres.

A day in the harbour for me I normally use about $8-$10 worth of fuel and I never turn the motor off.

Nice clean engine, no fumes at all and whisper quiet. I'm converted now and I wouldn't want anything else on my boats from

Now on.

[reese]

thanks for your replies - I am keeping the current motor so when it comes to sell I will put the other motor back on - I no the swiftcraft is an old boat (1990) but 3 years ago the inside was completely redone floors seats wiring everything - so for me and my young family we intend to keep it for many years to come, till the kids are to big then I will hopefully be able to afford a barcrusher or something but for now this boat suits us for the lake, off shore, towing the kids ect.

and the etec 90 is the best for us.

I would go to my local in Canberra but it come down to a financial benefit and I understand why prices are different.

Canberra marine center have been awesome to deal with - and they are a big part of helping me with my decision

Edited January 28, 2015 by reese

[a boat]

Reece,

I have fished on several boats with both Etecs and Yamaha four strokes. I will get howled down for this but if seasickness is a factor I will say the Etecs were very fumey at low revs, also the newer motor (12 months old) suffered a fouling problem after trolling live baits for an hour.

On the other side of the equation the Yammie for strokes I have fished with have been faultless especially when slow trolling.

I am on my second Yammie four stroke but if my motors were rubbish I would not hesitate to bag them.

Just some feedback from someone who has fished on boats with both motor brands.

Cheers

Marlin01

That is strange becuase according to the EPA, the E-TEC is cleaner to us and the environment than any other brand and if it fouled plugs it would of being running cold due to clogged thermo, just like any 4-Stroke will and also make oil if it runs cold. Best of luck with what you have and this is feedback from someone who has not only used all brands but works on them 6 days a week.

To the OP, enjoy your new engine and make sure she is propped to see around 5200RPM at WOT-alot of places will overprop outboards of any technology.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Huey @ Huett Marine

[Marlin01]

I am not an outboard mechanic and as such won't come up with reasons why these particular outboards did not perform to their expected standards, EPA or otherwise, only that they didn't in these cases? I guess every brand has lemons in their lineups I have been unfortunate to have chance exposure to several under performing examples.

My statement was factual and not influenced with allegiance or economic advantage with any manafacturers .

Cheers

[a boat]

My statements are factual too and proven by EPA awards. Yes I choose to stock and sell what I like, but have all brands talking to us and they are all good but with over 50 years of experience under our belt dealing with ALL brands I think I can talk from experience more than economic advantage-if that was the case I would make a heap more money selling another brand with service costs-again simple facts.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Huey @ Huett Marine