Focus: Modern Outboards

skip · April 21, 2006, 17:17:39 CET

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?

BG · May 17, 2006, 10:34:24 CET

I have to second E-TEC's they rule

They don't have the same kind of Smart Interface to instruments like Mercury have but maybe Evinrude will introduce this.

Later....

gottie · June 14, 2006, 15:04:54 CET

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.

sergio · June 14, 2006, 15:08:05 CET

hey , i dont know much about boats . ure saying you had carbed version before. so the ETEC uses electronic fuel injection instead ?

skip · June 14, 2006, 20:47:15 CET

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."

ciappinu · June 20, 2006, 00:37:11 CET

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.

Simon G · June 29, 2006, 17:58:32 CET

unfortunatly they dont make small etec outboards yet
will have to wait and see

ciappinu · June 29, 2006, 22:27:19 CET

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.

gottie · July 06, 2006, 09:44:02 CET

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.

skip · July 06, 2006, 21:01:22 CET

Another plus point for E-TECs

Granitu · July 24, 2006, 22:02:59 CET

do you know the price range of these motors?

gottie · July 25, 2006, 14:50:44 CET

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.

Granitu · July 25, 2006, 23:04:32 CET

what about the 40hp

gottie · July 26, 2006, 09:34:00 CET

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.

DJS · July 22, 2007, 20:05:46 CET

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?