Hi,
First and foremost I will begin by saying I am not a pro outboard fan!! I come from a sterndrive heritage and have always beleived them to be the best comprimise.
But times are def changing with the advent of technologically advanced power plants like the Mercury Verado (4 Stroke Supercharged) and the Evinrude E-TEC. In fact its the E-TEC that has attracted my focus recently.... it's 2 stroke, and its quiet, but most of all its EXTREMELY fuel efficient.
Something that I can guarantee you, twin 5.7L V8 260HP Mercruisers are not!!! Before everyone jumps in, outboards have two other major advantages, weight saving and lower maintenance.
E-TECs are good for 3 yrs no real maintenance, they don't have risers that need changing every 6 yrs or expensive manifolds. With fuel economy beating 4 strokes and def better than stern drives, maybe its time for a change!
Question is......will they run happily at low (idle) rpm's for hours like a four stroke?
I have to second E-TEC's they rule ;D
They don't have the same kind of Smart Interface to instruments like Mercury have but maybe Evinrude will introduce this.
Later....
First Time I used my 90 hp etec I thought that there was something wrong with the fuel gauge as it barely moved with a trip from Msida to Gozo. My Previous carbed 115 would have guzzled halve a tank. The e-tecs now also have digital instrumentation available.
hey , i dont know much about boats . ure saying you had carbed version before. so the ETEC uses electronic fuel injection instead ?
Good to know about the Digi Instruments, fantastic :)
"Evinrude E-TEC uses up to 75% less than typical 2-stroke carbureted engines and up to 50% less oil than competitive direct injection engines (when run with Evinrude/Johnson XD 100T oil with optional dealer programming of the Engine Management Module, versus normal TCW3 oil). And you'll use 30% less oil compared to a 4-stroke with a typical maintenance schedule under normal operating conditions."
Wow, I must get one of these Etec's! I have a 9.9hp Johnson Bombardier on my Boat. I love the motor, but it I have to put in 10 litres of fuel everytime I use the boat.
unfortunatly they dont make small etec outboards yet
will have to wait and see
If I'm not mistaken the smallest they have is the 40hp model. Probably it still uses less fuel than my 9.9hp, so its only the initial investment really.
The smaller e-tec models should be out for the 2007 season. Read reports that they will even produce a 9.9 e-tec. Other direct injection outboards need a big battery to power their electronic engine management module but e-tec's have an in-built magneto system which generates ample power to run the engine management module, thus reducing the dependency on the battery.. Therfore unlike others, you wont be stranded if you have a poor battery. You can just rope start and leave, even in the 90hp models. This is not possible in other direct injections or 4-stroke EFI's.
Another plus point for E-TECs :)
do you know the price range of these motors?
Depend on what HP you're interested in. The 90 Hp would be something in the 3000 price range (More or less) . While the 75 Hp would be a few hundred less.
what about the 40hp
That would be something in the 2,000 (more or less) price range. But best to go have a look at them at RLR in Gzira. Advantages to consider for the 40 Hp e-tec is the weight issue, fuel economy and servicing.
It weighs less than 4-stroke, consumes less (at trolling speed it barely uses any fuel at all), more torque and acceleration compared to a similar HP 4 stroke, and no complicated servicing. My 90 hp also has a self winterising function whereby it self winterises with the touch of a button. I think this is also a standard feature in 40-50 Hp models.
I only had mine since the beginning of this Summer and so far I am satisfied with it. I never turned the key twice. Always fires up with the slightest touch of the ignitiion key. It is also a very quiet engine.
I was wondering whether someone could give me some technical advice about two stroke outboard motors.
Recently, after years of deliberation (and saving the pennies!), I acquired a new boat a Galeon Galia 560 cuddy cabin which is ready equipped with a 140hp Tohatsu 2 stroke outboard engine.
The engine, which has not been initialised yet, is equipped with an 'automixing with integral tank' facility. I thought that this facility would be very useful and would save the hassle of measuring and mixing oil with petrol manually beforehand. However, it seems that some boat owners I know have disconnected the oil-mixing device through fear that any malfunction could cause irreparable damage to the engine. I know some of the E-tec's works on a similar principle.... but how reliable is it?
Well done, that's quite a step up boat wise! Make sure you get a good canopy and you're sorted.
If the boat is brand new and engine under warranty do not disconnect the post-mix function unless instructed to do so by Mecca. Do some research on various online forums to see if its a specific problem affecting all, or just some serial numbers.
It should be reliable, far more than most people who didn't get it very right measuring the correct about of oil to petrol!!
When 2-stroke oil auto-mixing was introduced, there used to be problems with similar issues. I.e. if there was a malfunction in the oil mixing pump, you would have had serious damage in the engine. This was because those engines did not have alarms to indicate any malfunction in the oil pump. Due to this reason, some people disconnect the auto mixing function and pre-mix oil with the fuel. Nowadays however, all modern 2 stroke engines have an alarm which goes off in case of a problem. So hopefully, it should not be an issue anymore.
The Evinrude e-tec is different to your 120 Tohatsu. It is more comparable to the Tohatsu TLDI. Like the e-tec the tldi is a direct injection and would give you a 50 per cent saving in the fuel consumption over your current engine.
Thanks for the advice guys. Just checked the engine's technical specifications again and there seems to be an LCD oil pressure gauge and an electronic safety governor. So, if there is a malfunction, hopefully all sorts of bells and sirens will be emitted before the engine siezes.
The boat is not fitted with a canopy, but in this weather it's a must. Any suggestions where I can have one made locally?
Load of places make them Dave, I would say the biggest issue more than anything else if finding someone who has the time to do it right now. Most are either still busy or now taking a break to enjoy summer a bit. Check with Mecca, see who they use/can advise. There's a guy inside Technomarine Boat park 21 570250, Frans, who does good canopies but he tends to be very busy.
Skip
Thanks Skip will try both places. Still got a lot other things to do like anti-fowling, fitting GPS / fishfinder, rod holders etc. Guess I can afford to wait a little until the canopy guy is less busy.
If you're going to be waiting till next year to launch or later on, I would seriously advise trying to get a live baitwell made for your boat. Kodiak make some pretty good ones as a kit http://www.kodiakmarine.com/ and locally they could build a fiberglass enclosure and lid to blend and fit to your boat. This is essential if you want to troll live bait or even for deep bottom fishing.
One thing I would def. consider would be a down rigger. I believe Mister Fish has a basic manual model for around Lm40, and that would also let you slow troll 2-3 knots with live bait at depth. If I had to do it all again on a new boat I would also add telescopic outriggers http://www.tacomarine.com/cat--Outrigger-Kits--orkits.html letting you increase your rod spread and make sharper turns etc.
Last couple of things on my list would be the installation of a sea water wash down pump/shower so you can rinse your fish and gut them and then something like an insulated fish bag. These guys make excellent ones http://www.reliablefishing.com/kill_bags.html which aren't over-priced, I have one myself though I got it a tad too big!! 30" x 60" !!
Re making a canopy,I found a guy in Tarxien who bends all sorts of pipes. His name is George and mob no is 99473343.So I took the measurements of a canopy fitted on a boat like the one I have and he bended all the pipes for me.I have a small 13ft boat so and opted for alumilium pipe which he supplied. The total cost came to Lm20 including the pipes and another Lm3 for the hinges etc. If you opt for stainless steel you need to supply the pipes and he charges Lm2 per bend. A shop at Marsa ( Menqa area just before going up to the power station hill ,forgot the name) has all the items required but the cost would increase considerably.
Thanks for the details Gabaj, seems very good value for money - I'll check him out for a quote as well. I'll probably end up doing the canopy in stainless steel, so it would probably pay to get the pipes from the place in Sta Venera (Ta' Taljan) sems to be the cheapest around.
Skip - great sites for accessories... everything a fisherman could possibly need! Have you fitted a live baitwell in your Windy 9800? I have have a friend who spends nearly all his time livebaiting for dentex and amberjack near the reefs in the south - he swears that it can be very productive with a live squid, if you have the patience.
Decided to make my own downrigger last year as the cheapest seawater set available at Mister fish seemed at bit on the expensive side at around Lm85 ... helped pass those long winter evenings! Used my daughter's old bicycle stabiliser, couple of steel tubes, pulley and 3kg lead weight and some 0.90mm line that I molded. Seems to work ok-ish, can't say that I've caught anything yet though - but I remain in hope that my contraption will eventually yield some results.
HI DJS [dave] like the look of your boat.approx what would be the final cost of the boat when fully kitted out with GPS ,rod holders,canopy etc? redbus9.
Hi Redbus,
Well I guess the new boat fully kitted out with extras would have cost somewhere in the region of Lm13,000 plus circa Lm350 for boat registration. However, I bought it from a friend at a discounted price... as his daughter had won it as a prize in a competition.
Dave
Hi DJS,thanks for the info.Your friends daughter is very lucky.My sister in law enters every competition that has a boat as a prize.If she wins she is going to give it to me.She,s 70 years old,so I could still be lucky. redbus9
what other brands have models like the evinrude e-tech. i found mariner have optimax but they began from 75hp and nissan/tohatsu have tldi models
interesting areticle http://www.oceanskiffjournal.com/SubscriberContent/Articles/Vol01Issue05/General/ETEC1.aspx
comparison between e-tech, other 2-stroke engine and 4-stroke
Has anyone got an optimax? What can you tell us on performance, economy and maintenance.
Anglers runs a 150hp Mercury Optimax on his Trophy WA so I'm sure he can give some insight if he see's this.
10q skip. Waiting to hear from him then ;-)
My Trophy is 21ft 6 long and 8ft 1 wide. With its tank full of petrol it weighs 3 tons. It is powered by a mercury optimax 150. At full speed it does 40 mph. The boat is only 4 months old now. Last September I went out with 3 friends of mine for lampuki and been out for 10 hours. We went 25 miles out, of course not full speed but the first 10 miles and the way back we were doing planing speed. The total bill for fuel was 150 euros, considering the size of the boat I think I did very well. The only drawback compared with a 4 stroke engine is the noise, otherwise very happy.
Thank you for the info. Do you believe it's cheaper to run than a four stroke?
Cant really say. you have to take in consideration what boat you have. Mercury claims that the 150 optimax consumes less than the 150 verado which is a 4 stroke.
anglers thank you for giving me knowledge again. You've got a nce boat cause I've seen it on some pics. Sure Thye opti is economical but I personally believe that the verado would have been more fuel efficient since it provides more torque which is surely needed on your boat which is quite large for a 150 hp I believe. Four strokes give more 'push' to the boat. That is why alot of people are choosing four strokes other than inboards nowadays. Two strokes didn't quite provide that push. Therefore I think that a four stroke runs more happily on heavier boats than a two stroke does. Two strokes are than very good when it comes to deep V hulls build for speed. Infact racing boats are still mounted with the racing version of the optis from Mercury Racing. If you see american large centre consoles, they are all mounted with four strokes. It's just my opinion ;-)